Advanced Cutting Experiences for a Nuclear Power Plant Application

The maintenance and repair services in nuclear power plants are characterized by a critical operating environment. In this paper, the technical requirements and the quality assurance applicable to cutting equipment designed for a special nuclear power plant application are defined. The real practical case operation is to cut fuel alignment pins. Three techniques are evaluated to perform the underwater operation: (1) traditional machining by means of an abrasive cutting wheel; (2) metal disintegration machining; and (3) electrical discharge machining. The qualification procedure of the alignment pin removal tools and the resulting cuts are reported.