• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.184-190
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• 2008

Various ECT techniques have been applied basically to assess the integrity of steam generator tithing in nuclear power plant. Among these techniques, the bobbin probe technique is applied generally to examine the volumetric flaws such as a crack-like defect and wear which is generally occurred on steam generator tubing, and additionally MRPC probe is used to examine closely tile top of tubesheet and bending regions due to the high possibility of cracking. Dent and bulge also may be formed on tube during installation process and operation of steam generator, but the dent and bulge indications greater than specific size criteria are recorded on examination report because these indications are not considered as flaw. These indications can be easily detected with bobbin probe and approximately sized with profile bobbin probe, but the size and shape can not be accurately verified. Accordingly, in this study, the $8{\times}1$ multi-array EC probe was designed to increase the measurement accuracy of the sectional profiling EC testing of tube. As a result, we would like to propose the application of $8{\times}1$ multi-array EC probe for the measurement of size and shape of profile change on steam generator tube in OPR-1000 nuclear power plant.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.545-550
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• 2012

Steam generator is one of the major components of nuclear power plant and steam generator tubes are the pressure boundary between primary and secondary side, which makes them critical for nuclear safety. As the operating time of nuclear power plant increases, not only damage mechanisms but also scaled deposits on steam generator tubes are known to be problematic causing tube support flow hole blockage and heat fouling. The ability to assess the extent and location of scaled deposits on tubes became essential for management and maintenance of steam generator and eddy current bobbin data can be utilized to measure thickness of scale on tubes. In this paper, tube reference standards with various thickness of scaled deposit has been set up to provide information about the overall deposit condition of steam generator tubes, providing essential tool for steam generator management and maintenance to predict and prevent future damages. Also, methodology to automatically measure scale thickness on tubes has been developed and applied to field data to estimate overall scale amount.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.315-324
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• 2004

In eddy current testing(ECT), differential probes have been frequently used since they .an reduce the number of parameters that influence ECT signals. However, differential signal is actually the difference of the two coils' impedance so that signal prediction and interpretation are not easy, On the other hand, absolute coil signal is rather straightforward to predict and analyze. Therefore, combined use of the two types of signals would increase the test reliability. In this paper, absolute coil signals from Inconel plate and tubes are predicted by the finite element analysis and efforts of lift-off, fill-factor, conductivity, operating frequency, test specimen thickness, inner diameter defects, and outer diameter defects are investigated. As a result, various impedance plane diagrams are drawn and analyzed. Significant practical knowldege about absolute signals is accumulated and similar characteristics of the two types of signal could be understood. Finally, slope angle versus defect depth calibration corves are prepared for three different frequencies.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.289-292
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• 2013

• Journal of the Korean Magnetics Society
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.305-308
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• 2006

Magnetic flux leakage (MFL) pigs are traditionally used for the detection of gross corrosion on steel pipelines used for the transmission of natural gas. Alternative nondestructive evaluation (NDE) modalities are required for the detection of stress corrosion cracking (SCC) which tends to exist in colonies oriented axially along the length of the pipeline. This paper describes the use of multiphase rotating magnetic fields in the remote region of the probe as a possible SCC detection mechanism. Details of a prototype pig and test rig are given and the challenges associated with the finite element modeling of the device are discussed. Initial experimental results show that this novel NDE modality is sensitive to axially oriented tight cracks.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.164-170
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• 2004

Liquid Injection Nozzle(LIN) tube and Calandria tube(CT) in pressurized Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) are .ross-aligned horizontally. These neighboring tubes can contact each other due to the sag of the calandria tube resulting from the irradiation creep and thermal creep, and fuel load, etc. In order to judge the contact which might be the safety concern, the remote field eddy current (RFEC) technology is applied for the gap measurement in this paper. LIN can be detected by inserting the RFEC probe into pressure tube (PT) at the crossing point directly. To obtain the optimal conditions of the RFEC inspection, the sensitivity, penetration and noise signals are considered simultaneously. The optimal frequency and coil spacing are 1kHz and 200mm respectively. Possible noises during LIN signal acquisition are caused by lift-off, PT thickness variation, and gap variation between PT and CT. The simulated noise signals were investigated by the Volume Integral Method(VIM). Signal analysis on the voltage plane describes the amplitude and shape of LIN and possible defects at several frequencies. All the RFEC measurements in the laboratory were done in variance with the CT/LIN gap and showed the relationship between the LIN gap and the signal parameters by analyzing the voltage plane signals.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.195-201
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• 2016

Eddy current testing (ECT) is commonly applied for the inspection of automated production lines of metallic products, because it has a high inspection speed and a reasonable price. When ECT is applied for the inspection of a metallic object having an uneven target surface, such as the spline gear of a spline shaft, it is difficult to distinguish between the original signal obtained from the sensor and the signal generated by a defect because of the relatively large surface signals having similar frequency distributions. To facilitate the detection of defect signals from the spline gear, implementation of high-order filters is essential, so that the fault signals can be distinguished from the surrounding noise signals, and simultaneously, the pass-band of the filter can be adjusted according to the status of each production line and the object to be inspected. We will examine the infinite impulse filters (IIR filters) available for implementing an advanced filter for ECT, and attempt to detect the flaw signals through optimization of system design parameters for detecting the signals at the system level.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.12-17
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• 2006

A steam generator of nuclear power plant has thousands of thin tubes. These tubes play an important role in maintaining the pressure boundary between the primary and secondary side of nuclear power plant. The steam generator tube is easy to be damaged because of the severe operating conditions such as the high temperature and pressure. Therefore, tremendous efforts are made to assess the structural integrity of the steam generator tubes. The eddy current test is the most popular non-destructive test to assess the integrity of the tubes. However, the eddy current test has the limitation to size the flaw accurately because the eddy current signal behavior depends on the total volume of flaw. This paper shows the possibility that the ultrasonic test method can be applied to detect the flaws in the steam generator tubes and to measure them quantitatively. From the test results, it is expected that if the ultrasonic test is put to practical use in the steam generator tube inspection, the inspection results will be improved.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.191-199
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• 2000

In this paper, a numerical analysis using the finite element method (FEM) is presented which models the eddy current testing (ECT) of tubes with 3-dimensional defects. For the description of 3-dimensional eddy current problems, the governing equation is derived from the Maxwell's equations. The 3-dimensional FEM formulation with hexahedral elements is carried out using the Galerkin weighted residual method. The INCONEL 600 steam generator tube with inner and outer diameter defects is adopted for the numerical analysis, and the ECT signal, which is the trajectory of the probe impedance, is calculated. For the verification of the numerical analysis method, results of numerical calculations and experiments are compared and they show good agreements. Based on this verification, several defect signals are predicted and their characteristics are investigated with the variation in the defect depth and the circumferential angle of the defect.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.254-259
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• 2014

A pressurized heavy water reactor (PHWR) core has 380 fuel channels contained and supported by a horizontal cylindrical vessel known as the calandria, whereas a pressurized water reactor (PWR) has only a single reactor vessel. The pressure tube, which is a pressure-retaining component, has a 103.4 mm inside diameter ${\times}$ 4.19 mm wall thickness, and is 6.36 m long, made of a zirconium alloy (Zr-2.5 wt% Nb). This provides support for the fuel while transporting the $D_2O$ heat-transfer fluid. The simple tubular geometry invites highly automated inspection, and good approach for all inspection. Similar to all nuclear heat-transfer pressure boundaries, the PHWR pressure tube requires a rigorous, periodic inspection to assess the reactor integrity in accordance with the Korea Nuclear Safety Committee law. Volumetric-based nondestructive evaluation (NDE) techniques utilizing ultrasonic and eddy current testing have been adopted for use in the periodic inspection of the fuel channel. The eddy current testing, as a supplemental NDE method to ultrasonic testing, is used to confirm the flaws primarily detected through ultrasonic testing, however, eddy current testing offers a significant advantage in that its ability to detect surface flaws is superior to that of ultrasonic testing. In this paper, effectiveness of flaw detection and the depth sizing capability by eddy current testing for the inside surface of a pressure tube, will be introduced. As a result of this examination, the ET technique is found to be useful only as a detection technique for defects because it can detect fine defects on the surface with high resolution. However, the ET technique is not recommended for use as a depth sizing method because it has a large degree of error for depth sizing.