ABSTRACT
Design control for nuclear construction is specified in Appendix B to 10 CFR 50 (1), and is intended to apply to all aspects of the design having an effect on the quality of safety related items. A specific emphasis is placed on reactor physics, stress, thermal, and hydraulic analyses, accident analyses, compatibility of materials, acce ssibility for in-service inspection, maintenance, and repair, and delineation of acceptance criteria for inspection and tests. This is certainly a major expansion of the traditional concept of quality assurance. The usual practice has been to check drawings to ensure that inspection and acceptance criteria are included, welding or other special processes are detailed and to determine whether hardware manufactured to the drawing to be inspected" A notable exception has been for defense and aerospace procurements, where formal reliability and maintainability program requirements are often imposed that require design reviews to verify the attainment of reliability goals, and accessibility to system components for in-service inspections, maintenance and repair. There is a great deal of emphasis put on actually challenging the nuclear equipment design's suitability to provide acceptable hardware to meet its intended use. Actual prototypes or first production articles may be subjected to vigorous qualification testing, or the design challenging process may take the form of formal design reviews or less formal independent technical reviews (peer reviews).
