Restoration to serviceability of Bruce 'A' heat transfer equipment

Bruce Units 1 to 4 were shut down during the 1990s by the former Ontario Hydro, due in part to a long list of system and equipment deficiencies and concerns, including steam generator tube degradation as a consequence of the then-existing steam generator secondary side water chemistry conditions. Upon its creation in 2001, and following a program of condition assessment, Bruce Power was able to determine that Units 3 and 4 could return to service; but that Units 1 and 2 would require refurbishment. That Refurbishment Program, which is currently well advanced, included the re-assessment of the condition of equipment throughout the plant including the heat transfer equipment; and determination item-by-item as to what inspection, cleaning, repair, or even replacement would be required to put the equipment into a condition where it could be expected to operate reliably for the additional 30 years expected from the plant. Clearly the objective is to suitably restore the equipment to serviceability without doing more refurbishment work than is warranted - without replacing equipment except where absolutely necessary. The first task in such a program is determination of its scope - i.e. a listing of all heat exchangers. That list included everything from the steam generators (which required replacement, now completed), to much smaller heat exchangers in the heavy water upgrader systems (which were found to be in very good overall condition). There is also a very large number of other so-called 'balance-of-plant' heat exchangers; these include the maintenance coolers, moderator heat exchangers, shutdown coolers and a whole raft of smaller coolers - many of which are cooled directly by lake water with its potential for bio-fouling and 'BIC' (Biologically Induced Corrosion). This paper focuses primarily on the engineering assessment, inspection, repair and general refurbishment of the balance-of-plant heat exchangers. As will be discussed in the paper, the assessment of the inspection results for those heat exchangers revealed a number of forms of degradation, much of it associated with secondary side fouling in lake water cooled vessels. These findings necessitated a variety of responses including recommendations for future inspection, tube plugging, secondary side chemical cleaning, shell replacement and complete vessel replacement. (author)