Open AccessLong-term aging and loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) testing of electrical cables
Author(s) -
C.F. Nelson,
G. Gauthier,
F. Carlin
Publication year - 1996
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
DOI - 10.2172/385579
Subject(s) - polyethylene , accelerated aging , ethylene propylene rubber , materials science , composite material , loss of coolant accident , cross linked polyethylene , forensic engineering , coolant , engineering , polymer , mechanical engineering , copolymer
Experiments were performed to assess the aging degradation and loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) behavior of electrical cables subjected to long-term aging exposures. Four different cable types were tested in both the U.S. and France: (1) U.S. 2 conductor with ethylene propylene rubber (EPR) insulation and a Hypalon jacket. (2) U.S. 3 conductor with cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) insulation and a Hypalon jacket. (3) French 3 conductor with EPR insulation and a Hypalon jacket. (4) French coaxial with polyethylene (PE) insulation and a PE jacket. The data represent up to 5 years of simultaneous aging where the cables were exposed to identical aging radiation doses at either 40{degrees}C or 70{degrees}C; however, the dose rate used for the aging irradiation was varied over a wide range (2-100 Gy/hr). Aging was followed by exposure to simulated French LOCA conditions. Several mechanical, electrical, and physical-chemical condition monitoring techniques were used to investigate the degradation behavior of the cables. All the cables, except for the French PE cable, performed acceptably during the aging and LOCA simulations. In general, cable degradation at a given dose was highest for the lowest dose rate, and the amount of degradation decreased as the dose rate was increased