Moisture separator reheater failure prevention

Moisture separator reheaters (MSRs) are used in many nuclear plants between the HP and LP turbines to remove moisture and provide some superheat, thereby improving the plant heat rate. Many of the operating MSRs have experienced problems of the following types: flow induced vibration, condensate subcooling oscillation, excessive U-tube leg ΔT, and shroud buckling. Although MSR vendors have made modifications to reduce these problems, the problems have not been completely solved. Further improvements in both MSR design and operation are needed. This paper discusses the necessary improvements