Altran Solutions

Ken Schrader, DCPP Licensing Manager for the LAR, said: "Altran is performing an outstanding job. They provided required expertise in the writing of the LAR based on the new NRC ISG-6 Rev. 1 for the DCPP pilot application. They are very "Client Oriented", and effectively managed and coordinated multiple vendors and associated entities while meeting the required schedule. We would definitely utilize their skills again. We are successfully continuing the process for Phase 2 with the same stellar results."

Frank Ulisse has recently joined Altran Solutions as the Director of Non-Nuclear Generation in the Cranbury office. He will be leading the Non-Nuclear (Fossil) Generation group. Frank has 25 years of experience in engineering, management, and construction of various industrial, civil infrastructure, energy, and large commercial projects. His specific areas of technical expertise include medium and low voltage power distribution, and power quality. He has extensive experience with renewable energy systems, including solar photovoltaic electrical systems. His experience also includes managing general engineering and on-call contracts for federal, state, and local government agencies. He has also managed large multi-disciplined design-build projects and international projects. He is a licensed professional engineer in seven states and maintains NCEES certification. He holds a B.S. degree in electrical engineering from Rutgers University and is a member of the IEEE, the NFPA, the World Trade Center of Greater Philadelphia, and the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME).

Prior to joining Altran, Frank spent 18 years of his career at Pennoni Associates Inc., a midsized multi-disciplined consulting engineering firm, where he served as Vice President and Principal MEP Engineer. At Pennoni Associates, Frank had P&L Responsibility for a multi-office division of the firm. Before that he served as a lead electrical engineer at BE&K where he was responsible for projects in the chemical and pharmaceutical sectors. Earlier in his career, he had experience in design and project management in the steel and powder metal manufacturing industries and in the design of modifications and upgrades to nuclear reactor plants for submarines.

Aaron Kelley, Altran's Manager of Engineering Programs, attended a workshop on Flow Accelerated Corrosion (FAC) for the State Nuclear Power Technology Corporation (SNPTC) held at the Shanghai Nuclear Energy Design and Research Institute (SNERDI) in Shanghai, China from December 7 through 10, 2011. The workshop was sponsored by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and was designed for the purpose of providing FAC training to SNERDI concerning the detection, inspection techniques, evaluations, and mitigation of FAC in operating Nuclear Power Plants.

China is committed to increasing the country's nuclear capabilities by constructing several new nuclear plants. The workshop was to aid SNERDI in the establishment of a life extension system for operational nuclear power plants in China through implementation of a Plant Life Management (PLiM) Program and accumulation of key technologies for the long term operation of Nuclear Power Plants.

In the early 1980s, several plants experienced steam leakage in plant piping caused by FAC damage. A catastrophic pipe rupture which occurred at the Surry Nuclear Power Plant in 1986, prompted the U.S. and certain international utilities to work toward the development of a guideline for the management of pipe wall thinning.

What is FAC? All carbon steel piping corrodes when it comes into contact with water or wet steam. This normally protective oxide layer would typically protect the piping from further corrosion damage. However, FAC induced pipe wall thinning is caused by the dissolution of the normally protective oxide layer in the moving stream of water or wet steam. The oxide layer reforms and is again dissolved as a continuing process. The Flow Accelerated Corrosion (FAC) program has been developed to monitor, predict, measure, analyze and mitigate the problem of pipe wall loss.

Most utilities have implemented a program to assess, predict, inspect, evaluate and mitigate FAC. The knowledge of the degradation and the mitigation techniques are critical in the success of a FAC program. The goal of a FAC program is to ensure not only the safety and reliability of the operating unit, but most importantly the safety of the plant workers.

If you have any questions concerning the FAC workshop recently held in China, or concerning Altran's capabilities with assisting our clients with their FAC programs, please contact Aaron Kelley at (815) 663-1492 (office) or (815) 878-3843 (mobile) or aaron.kelley@altran.com.