Environmental and dynamic qualification of equipment research at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory

A description of the Equipment Qualification Program at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) is presented. Current projects include research into reactor coolant pump seal behavior under station blackout conditions. The results of this project have shown that failure of elastomeric seals can be anticipated when seal cooling is interrupted. Valve research, emphasizing behavior in simulated seismic and accident conditions, is in progress with significant testing completed on containment purge and vent valves. Experimentally based techniques are described for predicting, from limited test data, the torque necessary to close butterfly valves. Other tasks include research into the adequacy of qualification standards, with respect to the simulation of vibrational environments experienced in actual service