Ultrasonic inspection of complex geometry components for the Sizewell ``B`` pre-service inspections
- Nuclear Electric plc, Manchester (United Kingdom)
- OIS plc, Stockton (United Kingdom)
Sizewell B, the first British PWR, is nearing completion and the primary and secondary circuits are undergoing extensive pre-service inspection. OIS are carrying out the inspection of most of the Incredibility Of Failure (IOF) and Class 1 components. These are nearly all automated inspections and many of the components are austenitic. The NDT Applications Center of Nuclear Electric have provided their MIPS and GUIDE automated ultrasonic inspection software systems for these inspections. The high quality of inspection required for Sizewell B has required the development of novel manipulators, particularly for the complex geometry components such as the 45{degree} Branch Nozzle, to enable the necessary ultrasonic coverage to be achieved. Some of these manipulators have 4 axes of motion and the MIPS software has been enhanced to enable the required complex scan patterns to be achieved. The precise plotting of ultrasonic data provided by MIPS and GUIDE has enabled the methods successfully deployed by Nuclear Electric during the PISC 2 trials to be implemented for these site inspections. Many of the inspections are subject to independent validation by the inspection Validation Center operated by AEA Technology. This paper describes the inspection system developments which have been undertaken and reviews the experience to date in performing these inspections.
- OSTI ID:
- 72587
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-931061--; ISBN 0-87170-506-0
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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