Recent Activity of KEPIC Application for Construction and Operation of Nuclear Power Plants in Korea

Korea Electric Power Industry Code (KEPIC), a set of integrated standards applicable to the design, construction and operation of electric power facilities including nuclear power plants, has been developed on the basis of referring to the prevailing U.S. codes and standards which had been applied to the electric power facilities in Korea. KEPIC has been applied to the construction of Ulchin Nuclear Units 5&6 since 1997 as per the endorsement of Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST), and is being completely applied to the construction of Shin-Kori and Shin-Wolsung Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) in Korea. Although the technical requirements of KEPIC related to design and inspections for pressure vessels have been developed on the basis of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code (BPVC), Korea Electric Association (KEA) that is KEPIC maintenance organization is trying to find and improve unreasonable requirements based on the acquired experiences for the continuous construction and operation of NPPs. In the administrative requirements, KEPIC, unlike ASME, adopted not only mechanical field but also electrical field related to NPPs. Furthermore, the qualifying system for services such as Nondestructive Examination, Heat Treatment, Design and Equipment Qualification Organization was adopted to improve safety and reliability for NPPs. In the technical requirements, KEA has been performing betterment study such as pressures for system hydrostatic test, temperatures for Post-Weld Heat Treatment (PWHT) of P-No. 4 materials, counterbore for Pre-Service Inspection (PSI) of elbows in piping systems. The construction method of Steel Plate Concrete (SC) structure studied by Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., Ltd. (KHNP), has been adopted to KEPIC, recently. In the case of inservice NPPs, KEA is trying to establish the equivalent material tables for ASME unassigned materials to solve problems of material during the Repair & Replacement step. KEA is performing development study for Standard Welding Procedure Specification (SWPS) which can be used for production weld without any specific procedure qualification test performed by manufacturers in order to improve reliability and reduce costs. The SWPS will be adopted in KEPIC-MQW Appendix. KEA hopes to collaborate and grow with other Standard Development Organizations (SDOs) through the above efforts.