Non-Destructive Evaluation of RPV Embrittlement by Means of the Thermoelectric Power Method

Nondestructive evaluation (NDE) methods are widely used for inspecting safety relevant components in nuclear reactors. Most of these NDE-methods are optimized and applied for the detection of cracks but there is still no reliable NDE method for measuring the embrittlement of RPV steels. However, since the evaluation of RPV embrittlement of so-called Surveillance specimens with the Charpy test is a destructive approach, NDE methods are highly required. Among the investigated technics are acoustic (Ultrasonic scattering), electric (resistivity, thermoelectric) and magnetic (Barkhausen Noise, Non-Linear Harmonics Analysis, Micromagnetic Multiparameter) methods. However, all the methods under investigation suffer from the fact that fracture toughness of steel depends upon several factors, especially on lattice defects such as vacancies, dissolved atoms, dislocation loops, solute clusters, precipitates and dislocations. A major obstacle to the application of NDE methods for the quantification of material embrittlement is that they may be not only sensitive to these defects but also to other factors, such as magnetic, acoustic and electrical properties, as well as to surface quality and ambient temperature, etc.). In this paper, we present results gained by the optimization and application of the thermoelectric power method (TEPM) at the Paul Scherrer Institut (PSI) in Switzerland. The TEPM uses the change of the Seebeck coefficient (K) as an indicator for the material embrittlement. A clear almost linear correlation between the shift of the Nil-Ductile-Transition-Temperature (NDTT) and the change of the K was found. Beside the TEPM and its optimization with the finite element method, we describe the influencing parameters and the potential of this promising NDE method.

Diagnosis of Corrosion Processes in Nuclear Power Plants Secondary Piping Structures

The current aging management plans of passive structures in nuclear power plants (NPPs) are based on preventative maintenance strategies. These strategies involve periodic, manual inspection of passive structures using nondestructive examination (NDE) techniques. This manual approach is prone to errors and contributes to high operation and maintenance costs, making it cost prohibitive. To address these concerns, a transition from the current preventive maintenance strategy to a condition-based maintenance strategy is needed. The research presented in this paper develops a condition-based maintenance capability to detect corrosion in secondary piping structures in NPPs. To achieve this, a data-driven methodology is developed and validated for detecting surrogate corrosion processes in piping structures. A scaled-down experimental test bed is developed to evaluate the corrosion process in secondary piping in NPPs. The experimental test bed is instrumented with tri-axial accelerometers. The data collected under different operating conditions is processed using the Hilbert-Huang Transformation. Distributional features of phase information among the accelerometers were used as features in support vector machine (SVM) and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) logistic regression methodologies to detect changes in the pipe condition from its baseline state. SVM classification accuracy averaged 99% for all models. LASSO classification accuracy averaged 99% for all models using the accelerometer data from the X-direction.

NOMAD: Non-Destructive Evaluation (NDE) System for the Inspection of Operation-Induced Material Degradation in Nuclear Power Plants — Overview of the Neutron Irradiation Campaigns

Worldwide there are more than 449 nuclear power plants (NPPs) in operation among which 329 reactors are older than 25 years and 94 will be operating for more than 40 years in 2020. Lifetime extensions are requested up to 50–60 years and sometimes even up to 80 years of operation for many existing NPPs. Long-term operation (LTO) of existing NPPs has therefore been accepted in many countries as a strategic objective to ensure supply of electricity for the coming decades. Within this strategy, the European Commission launched the NOMAD project, among others, through the Horizon-2020 programme. The reactor pressure vessels (RPVs) cannot be tested destructively in a direct way, neither can it be replaced. An indirect way is the use of Charpy samples from the so-called surveillance programs. The general strategy on the long term should focus on the ability to perform direct non-destructive evaluation (NDE) of the embrittlement of the vessel. NDE can be used to confirm that the data obtained by surveillance programs are being representative of the real state of the vessel for LTO. Moreover, a generic concern of large nuclear components such as the reactor vessel is the possible material heterogeneity such as macro-segregated regions which could eventually be located in the component but not in the baseline material used as surveillance material. Local non-destructive material inspection and comparison to reference materials in similar irradiation conditions would lead to a better assessment of the properties of the materials at any location of the vessel. The objective of NOMAD is to develop a tool that is capable of non-destructively evaluate the embrittlement of the vessel wall. The final system should be capable of inspecting the microstructure of the materials through the cladding. The tool that will be developed, will use existing and proven nondestructive testing techniques (NDT) with optimized and adjusted sensors. A combination of several techniques based on micro-magnetic, electrical and ultrasonic methods are investigated. Within NOMAD, they are calibrated and validated on a set of existing and newly irradiated samples consisting out of the most common RPV steels from Eastern and Western design, such as 22NiMoCr37, 18MND5, A533-B, A508 Cl.2, A508 Cl.3 and 15kH2NMFA. For the first time, a systematic study on a well-characterized set of samples that correlates the microstructure, mechanical properties, neutron irradiation conditions and non-destructive properties will be carried out. It will not only extend the existing database, but will include issues such as reliability, and uncertainty of the techniques as well as on material heterogeneity. The focus is laid on unbroken Charpy samples and large blocks with and without cladding to “simulate” the actual RPV inspection scenario. This paper gives an overview of the present status of the NOMAD project with focus on the outcome in WP1. The first preliminary NDE results from 6 set-ups and 28 parameters were compared with DBTT results from Charpy impact tests. They are very promising. Final results and detailed analysis will however only be available at the end of the project.

Research on Digital Radiographic Inspection of In-Service Fiber Reinforced Plastic Pipe

With the development of material technology, non-metallic materials are applied to pressure pipes in petrochemical plant. Fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) is widely used because high mechanical strength and corrosion resistance. The non-metallic pipeline has been running for more than 20 years in petrochemical plant of China. Due to the fiber material anisotropy, it is difficult to measure thickness and detect defect by conventional ultrasonic method in FRP inspection. According to Chinese pressure pipeline inspection laws and regulations, the main inspection methods are macroscopic examination and hydraulic pressure test. The inspection of non-metallic pipelines has not been specified in detail. Compared with traditional radiographic detection, digital radiographic detection has better contrast and image processing technology, so digital radiographic detection has more advantages in thickness measurement and corrosion detection. Elbows are most prone to corrosion defects due to fluid erosion. In this paper, fiber reinforced plastic pipe is detected by digital radiographic technology. In digital radiographic detection, appropriate parameters and accurate measurement are proposed. The accurate wall thickness of the pipe is obtained and the internal defects are detected. By comparing the measurement results with the actual wall thickness, the measurement accuracy of digital radiographic detection could meet the requirement of ultrasonic thickness gauge in NB/T47013.3. Digital radiographic technology is strongly recommended for FRP pipeline periodic inspection.

Research on the Inspection Parameters of Ultrasonic Phased Array for the Periodic Inspection of High-Pressure Hydrogen Vessel

Steel layered high-pressure hydrogen vessel is one of different kinds of high-pressure vessel, which is invented in China and is widely equipped in hydrogen refueling stations for its good safety and storage functions. Many of these vessels are put into application these years, and it is nearly the time for these vessels to go through periodic inspection. However, there is no such a method for the periodic inspection especially on the butt weld connecting the double-layer head and the interface forging. To conquer the difficulties about the periodic inspection, a set of periodic inspection methods was first proposed in a lasted released Chinese group standard, in which the inner ultrasonic phased array is considered to be the most complicated detecting approach. To establish effective inspection parameters, simulations and experiments were conducted on the factors, including coupling, elements and aperture, focal law, scanning approaches and ultrasound field. Standard test block and contrast test block were designed and machined and tested, then a series of feasible parameters were determined. Thus, specific probe, wedge and instrument were manufactured, and the inspection on the actual vessel product was carried out. The results showed that the proposed ultrasonic method and its inspection parameters could meet the periodic inspection well. Finally, the periodic inspection methods were established and issued as a standard.

Experimental Studies of Typical Defects on Large Capacity Hoop-Wrapped Composite Cylinder of Steel Liner Based on X-Ray Digital Radiography Test

Tube trailers assembled with large capacity hoop-wrapped composite cylinder of steel liner (i.e., large capacity type 2 tube (LCT2T)) have shown an increasing trend in China. It is an urgent issue to detect nondestructively the defects of cuts, scratches and voids on the composite overwrap, and corrosion, cracks or other defects on the steel liner during their use and manufacturing processes. In this paper, the double-wall single-image technique of X-ray digital radiography (DR) method was studied for the typical defects on the LCT2T by making specimens of cracks and pitting corrosion on the steel liner, as well as cuts, scratches and void defects on the composite overwrap. The optimal penetration parameter was selected based on the identification of image quality indicators (IQI), and the detection sensitivity of the DR method for the typical defects on the LCT2T was obtained. The results showed that the above-mentioned artificial defects were effectively detected with double-wall single-image technique, and this technique had a higher detection sensitivity to longitudinal defects on the composite overwrap of the LCT2T than that to circumferential defects, as well as the detection sensitivity of steel liner defects was higher than that of composite overwrap defects.

Research on the Measurement Accuracy of Ultrasonic Phased Array Time-of-Flight Method

In special public pipelines, High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) had been widely applied, making integrity and safety priority. In the periodic inspection of pressure vessel and pressure pipeline, the safety level shall be determined by the defect geometric size. Therefore, it is necessary to get the defect size data as accurately as possible. Digital radiography inspection is a feasible method for detecting butt fusion welds. Defect size can be measured accurately by digital radiographic image. Due to factors such as damage to human body caused by ray, it is difficult to detect HDPE pipelines in some occasions in field. Ultrasonic phased array testing has high accuracy in flaw inspection, high efficiency and little artificial criteria error. But conventional phased array has difficulties in detecting butt fusion welds due to acoustic attenuation and noise affection. In this paper, PE butt fusion welding is inspected by immersion phased array. The absolute time-of-flight method is used to measure the defect size, and the accuracy is qualified with the requirements of the butt fusion welding inspection. For more important, inspector does not need to move equipment probe, avoiding artificial errors and improving the efficiency.

A Finite Element Simulation Study on Reducers Based on Ultrasonic Guided Waves

Due to its special structural form, the reducers have common corrosion defects such as corrosion thinning, cracks and so on after being strongly impacted by the medium inside the pipes. However, there are few studies on the detection of reducers with the help of ultrasonic guided waves at present. In order to explore the effect of reducers to ultrasonic guided waves detection, the propagation characteristics of ultrasonic guided waves in reducer were simulated by using ABQUES. In the simulation, L (0, 2) mode was used to detect the reducer by two set of experiments. The first set of simulation experiment, L (0, 2) mode was excited from the large end of the pipe to detect the pipe with axial crack, circumferential crack and no crack respectively. The second set of simulation experiment, L (0, 2) mode was excited from the small end of the pipe to detect the pipe with axial crack, circumferential crack and no crack. The ability to detect defect was assessed by the time domain waveform of reflected echo, and the dynamic stress distribution cloud map is used to visually explain the propagation characteristics of the guided waves passing through the reducer, and the difference of detection capability between the two ends of excitation is judged by comparing the detection results. The conclusion shows that it is more sensitive to detect defect when ultrasonic guided waves are excited at the larger end, the ability to detect defects is weak when ultrasonic guided waves are excited at the small end. The mode conversion occurs and generate F (1, 1) mode, when the guided waves pass through the reducer from both ends. This paper provides effective technical guidance when ultrasonic guided waves detect defect on reducers.

A New Research Method for Corrosion Defect in Metal Pipeline by Using Pulsed Eddy Current

Pulsed eddy current (PEC) is a new technique to distinguish corrosion defeats inside and outside the metal pipeline. In comparison with other eddy current techniques, the PEC technique has the advantage of being simple and high velocity. In this article, a brand-new PEC probe based on differential conductivity is established through the combination of modules like square wave generator, eddy current coil bridge, differential current, voltage sample circuits and so on. The 50% duty cycle square wave is used as the driving signal. To measure differential conductance, a coil bridge configuration with two legs is adopted. One leg is composed of measurement eddy current coil and the in-series resistor, and the other is reference eddy current coil and the in-series resistor. Because the two legs go through defects in pipeline non-synchronously, there is a differential conductance between the two coils. A trans-impedance amplify circuit is used to detect coil eddy current. At the same time, two amplifiers are used to measure the differential voltage between the two coils. A 14 bit ADC is used to sample differential voltage, measurement and reference eddy currents which transferred to differential current by main processor Complex Programmable Logic Device (CPLD). CPLD is used to get differential conductance by differential current divide differential voltage. At last the eddy current signal sampling sequence is developed. A dynamic testing fixture with artificial defects carved on the pipeline is used to validate PEC probe’s accuracy. The differential conductance signals were displayed on the oscilloscope. Results showed that the inside defect had two peaks, positive peak and negative peak, but the outside defect only had one positive peak. We can conclude that the brand-new PEC probe has high accuracy in distinguishing the inside and outside defects.

Acoustic Emission Characterization of Damage Patterns in Composite Scarf Joints Using Unsupervised Learning

Interest in damage detection and damage pattern recognition of engineering structures by non-destructive techniques has been increasingly growing. As a non-destructive technique, acoustic emission (AE) has developed rapidly to detect dynamic defects and their evolution behaviors of composite structures, based on the transient elastic waves produced by rapid energy release due to the geometry change of structures. In this paper, AE technology is utilized to monitor the real-time condition of the composite scarf joint (SJ) under tensile loading. First, after AE signal acquisition, dimensionality reduction of eight AE features is realized by employing principal component analysis such that the Curse of Dimensionality can be avoided. Second, feature selection is continued by introducing two evaluation indexes, i.e., correlation coefficient and Laplacian score. Third, after the optimal cluster number is determined, damage pattern recognition is accomplished by introducing k-means++ algorithm which explores the distribution of each pattern in the space constructed by four informative AE features. Based on the clustering results, damage initiation and evolution in SJ specimens under tensile loading are subsequently explored. The shear failure of the adhesive layer which is a characteristic damage pattern for SJ specimens shows a relatively-high activity after the early stage. Matrix cracking and fiber/matrix interface debonding are two fundamental damage patterns which keep active in the whole process.