Abstract
It was discovered in a Korean PWR that an extensive number of very short and shallow cracks in the SG tubes were undetectable by eddy current in-service-inspection because of the masking effect of sludge deposits. Axial stress corrosion cracks at the outside diameter of the steam generator tubes near the line contacts with the tube support plates are the major concern among the six identical Korean nuclear power plants having CE-type steam generators with Alloy 600 high temperature mill annealed tubes, HU3&4 and HB3~6. The tubes in HB3&4 have a less susceptible microstructure so that the onset of ODSCC was substantially delayed compared to HU3&4 whose tubes are most susceptible to ODSCC among the six units. The numbers of cracks detected by the eddy current inspection jumped drastically after the steam generators of HB4 were chemically cleaned. The purpose of the chemical cleaning was to mitigate stress corrosion cracking by removing the heavy sludge deposit, since a corrosive environment is formed in the occluded region under the sludge deposit. SGCC also enhances the detection capability of the eddy current inspection at the same time. Measurement of the size of each crack using the motorized rotating pancake coil probe indicated that the cracks in HB4 were shorter and substantially shallower than the cracks in HU3&4. It is believed that the cracks were shorter and shallower because the microstructure of the tubes in HB4 is less susceptible to ODSCC. It was readily understood from the size distribution of the cracks and the quantitative information available on the probability of detection that most cracks in HB4 had been undetected until the steam generators were chemically cleaned.