Nuclear Engineering and Technology

Korean Nuclear Society (한국원자력학회)
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Thickness evaluation of Cr coating fuel rod using encircling ECT sensor

  • Park, Jeong Won (Intelligent Wave Engineering Team, Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS)) ;
  • Ha, Jong Moon (Intelligent Wave Engineering Team, Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS)) ;
  • Seung, Hong Min (Intelligent Wave Engineering Team, Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS)) ;
  • Jang, Hun (Materials Development Team, Koras Electric Power Corporation Nuclear Fuel (KEPCO NF)) ;
  • Choi, Wonjae (Intelligent Wave Engineering Team, Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS))
  • Received : 2022.01.11
  • Accepted : 2022.03.24
  • Published : 2022.09.25
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Abstract

To improve the safety and life extension qualities of nuclear fuel rods which is currently made of zirconium (Zr) alloy, research on the application of chromium (Cr) coating was conducted. Cr coating has advantages such as increased corrosion resistance and reduced oxidation rate, but non-destructive thickness evaluation studies are needed to ensure the reliability of the steps taken to provide uniform coating thickness. Eddy current testing (ECT) is a representative non-destructive technique for such as thickness evaluation and surface defect inspection. To inspect changes in thickness at micron scale, the Swept Frequency Eddy Current Testing (SFECT) method was applied to select a frequency range sensitive to changes in thickness. The coating thickness was evaluated using changes in signals, such as that for impedance. In this study, basic research was performed to evaluate the thickness of the Cr coating on a rod using an encircling sensor and the SFECT technique. The sensor design parameters were determined through simulation, after which the new sensor was manufactured. A sensor capable of measuring the thickness of a non-uniformly Cr-coating rod was selected through an experiment evaluating the performance of the manufactured sensor. This was done using the impedance-difference of a Cr-coating rod and a Zr alloy rod. The possibility of evaluation of the Cr coating thickness was confirmed by comparing the experimental results with the selected sensor and the signals of the measured Cr-coating rod. All simulation results were verified experimentally.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This research was carried out with the support of the project 'Development of Safety Enhanced Nuclear Core Technology for APR0 (Research Number: 20217810100050) supported by the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP).

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