Non-invasive ultrasonic sensing of internal conditions on a partial full-scale spent nuclear fuel canister mock-up

Zhuang, Bozhou; Gencturk, Bora; Sinkov, Anton S.; Good, Morris S.; Meyer, Ryan; Oberai, Assad

doi:10.1016/j.ndteint.2024.103242

Non-invasive ultrasonic sensing of internal conditions on a partial full-scale spent nuclear fuel canister mock-up

Journal Article · Sat Sep 21 00:00:00 EDT 2024 · NDT & E International

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ndteint.2024.103242· OSTI ID:2447542

^[1]; Gencturk, Bora ^[1]; Sinkov, Anton S. ^[2]; Good, Morris S. ^[2]; ^[3]; Oberai, Assad ^[1]

Univ. of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA (United States)
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

The safe storage of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) in dry cask storage systems (DCSSs) is critical to the nuclear fuel cycle and the future of nuclear energy. A critical component of DCSSs is the SNF canister. The canister is a sealed stainless-steel structure, which is first vacuum dried and then backfilled with helium. The structural deterioration within a canister can be monitored through its internal gas properties. This monitoring serves as the driving force behind the non-invasive ultrasonic sensing approach in this paper. A major challenge in collecting gas-borne signals using ultrasonic sensing is the impedance mismatch between the stainless-steel canister and the helium gas inside. Only a small fraction of the ultrasonic signal makes its way from the transmitter to the receiver through the gas medium. In this paper, experimental studies on a partial full-scale canister mock-up were carried out to capture the gas-borne signals. Damping materials were applied on the outside, and blocking and unblocking tests were conducted to identify the gas-borne signal. The research results showed that the excitation frequency played an important role in maximizing the gas-borne signals. The gas-borne signal was successfully detected at around the theoretical time-of-flight (TOF) at 225 kHz. A high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) was achieved in the measurements. Next, acoustic impedance matching (AIM) layers were added, and it was found that the gas signal energy was improved by 160.4% compared with that of no AIM layers. Subsequently, the relative humidity (RH) level and temperature of the gas were varied to simulate abnormal internal conditions of the canister. The non-invasive testing system demonstrated reliability and sensitivity in detecting gas temperature and RH variations. Theoretical calculations demonstrated the potential for detecting low-level xenon and air within an actual SNF canister filled with helium. Last, an active noise cancellation (ANC) method, previously developed by the authors, was verified on the canister mock-up for the first time. The results showed that the SNR of the gas signal was improved by 213.6% compared with that of no ANC.

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Research Organization:: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE; USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE), Nuclear Energy University Program (NEUP)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC05-00OR22725; AC05-76RL01830; NE0009171

OSTI ID:: 2447542

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 2448189
OSTI ID: 2513435

Report Number(s):: PNNL-SA--193418

Journal Information:: NDT & E International, Journal Name: NDT & E International Vol. 148; ISSN 0963-8695

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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