SR`s reactor tank inspection program: UT development, application, and results

Conference · Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 1990

OSTI ID:10164043

Howard, B. ^[1]; McKaig, M. M. ^[2]

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1. Westinghouse Savannah River Co., Aiken, SC (United States)
2. ABB AMDATA, Inc., Windsor, CT (United States)

Savannah River Site (SRS) has the nation`s only plutonium and tritium production reactors. All three reactors have been idle for more than a year so that a variety of modifications can be made. Modifications are being carried out to enhance safety and technical systems. A 1987 decision was made to develop an inspection capability which would allow volumetric inspection of the SRS reactor tanks for the purpose of life extension. The scope of this inspection was defined to address the heat affected zones (HAZ`s) of the tanks` weldments for the presence of service induced flaws, i.e., intergranular stress corrosion cracking (IGSCC). In order to be consistent with the existing practices and technology of the nuclear industry a state-of-the-art ultrasonic (UT) examination was chosen as the primary examination medium. Both ultrasonic and eddy current testing were selected as complementary methods for this application, since both can be configured to acquire test data remotely, and the test data can be digitized and stored for post-test analysis. Since intergranular stress corrosion cracking was believed to be the service-induced flaw most likely to occur adjacent to SRS`s type 304 stainless steel reactor tank welds, the Savannah River Site`s nondestructive testing specialists were faced with a unique challenge. Up to this point the major concentration of effort in the commercial nuclear world has been to apply ultrasonic testing techniques which were developed to detect and size IGSCC on the inside surface of piping with the search unit scanning on the outside surface of the pipe. Proven methods for detection and depth sizing IGSCC which initiated on the near surface (the surface in which the ultrasonic wave enters the metal) had not been established.

• Research Organization: Westinghouse Savannah River Co., Aiken, SC (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC09-89SR18035
• OSTI ID: 10164043
• Report Number(s): WSRC-MS-90-253; CONF-901053-4; ON: DE92017060
• Resource Relation: Conference: Fall conference of the American Society for Nondestructive Testing, Seattle, WA (United States), 9-12 Oct 1990; Other Information: PBD: [1990]
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
REACTOR VESSELS
WELDED JOINTS
PRODUCTION REACTORS
ULTRASONIC TESTING
STAINLESS STEEL-304
INTERGRANULAR CORROSION
STRESS CORROSION
TANKS
SAVANNAH RIVER PLANT
INSPECTION
DETECTION
REACTOR SAFETY
220900
220600
360105
RESEARCH
TEST
TRAINING
PRODUCTION
IRRADIATION
MATERIALS TESTING REACTORS
CORROSION AND EROSION