Development of quick opening blind flange for KSNP

A Quick Opening Blind Flange(QOBF) is developed to replace the existing Blind Flange(BF) for the Korean Standard Nuclear Power Plant (KSNP). The BF provides a means for isolating the containment building from the fuel transfer tube during reactor operation. During refueling operations, it is removed to allow passage of a fuel transfer carriage. The BF is bolted to the containment penetration closure flange and is sealed to the flange by means of two elastomer rings. In the KSNP, it is difficult to handle the operations associated with removal and installation of the BF due to the size and the weight of the flange. The developed QOBF meets the same design requirements, load conditions and safety class that were specified for the existing BF. Structural integrity of the QOBF is verified by computational analysis. All component stresses and deflections are evaluated analytically to ensure compliance with specified design and operating requirements. This paper shows the design and analysis results of the QOBF