• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering Conference
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• 2014.10a
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• pp.545-547
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• 2014

The portable vibration signal-based pipe wall thinning inspection device was developed in this work. Compared to wall-thinning detection using conventional ultrasonic thickness measurement gauge, the proposed device can estimate average wall thickness of wide range and be applied to in-service pipes. The measurement principle of the device was briefly described and the configrations of hardware and software were explained. It was shown that the device can gauge average wall-thickness of test specimens with high precision.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.49 no.7
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• pp.1463-1471
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• 2017

In order to monitor the pipe thinning caused by flow-accelerated corrosion (FAC) that occurs in coolant piping systems, a shear horizontal ultrasonic pitch-catch waveguide technique was developed for accurate pipe wall thickness monitoring. A clamping device for dry coupling contact between the end of the waveguide and pipe surface was designed and fabricated. A computer program for multi-channel on-line monitoring of the pipe thickness at high temperature was also developed. Both a four-channel buffer rod pulse-echo type and a shear horizontal ultrasonic waveguide type for high-temperature thickness monitoring system were successfully installed to the test section of the FAC proof test facility. The overall measurement error can be estimated as ${\pm}10{\mu}m$ during a cycle from room temperature to $200^{\circ}C$.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.947-957
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• 2023

Curved cylindrical structures such as elbows have a non-uniform thickness distribution due to their fabrication process, and as a result have a number of complex mode shapes, including circumferential and axial nodal patterns. In nuclear power plants, material degradation is induced in pipes by flow accelerated erosion and corrosion, causing the wall thickness of carbon steel elbows to gradually thin. The corresponding frequencies of each mode shape vary according to the wall thinning state. Therefore, the thinning state can be estimated by monitoring the varying modal characteristics of the elbow. This study investigated the varying modal characteristics of artificially thinned carbon steel elbows for each thinning state using numerical simulation and experimental methods (MRIT, Multiple Reference Impact Test). The natural frequencies of specified mode shapes were extracted, and results confirmed they linearly decreased with increasing thinning. In addition, by comparing single FRF (Frequency Response Function) data with the results of MRIT, a concise and cost effective thinning estimation method was suggested.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering Conference
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• 2006.11a
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• pp.156-162
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• 2006

Pipe thinning is one of the major issues for the structural fracture of pipes of nuclear power plants. Therefore a method to inspect a large area of piping systems quickly and accurately is needed. In this paper, we proposed the method for monitoring pipe thinning. Our basic idea come from that a group velocity of impact wave is different as wall thickness. If the group velocity is measured, wall thickness can be estimated. To obtain the group velocity, time-frequency analysis is used. This is because an arrival time difference can be measured easily in time-frequency domain rather than time domain. To test the performance of this technique, experiments have been performed for a plate and U type pipe. Results show that the proposed technique is quite powerful in the monitoring pipe thinning.

• Transactions of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering
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• v.16 no.12 s.117
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• pp.1224-1230
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• 2006

Pipe thinning is one of the major issues for the structural fracture of pipes of nuclear power plants. Therefore a method to inspect a large area of piping systems quickly and accurately is needed. In this paper, we proposed the method for monitoring pipe thinning. Our basic idea come from that a group velocity of impact wave is different as wall thickness. If the group velocity is measured, wall thickness can be estimated. To obtain the group velocity, time -frequency analysis is used. This is because an arrival time difference can be measured easily in time-frequency domain rather than time domain. To test the performance of this technique, experiments have been performed for a plate and U type pipe. Results show that the proposed technique is quite powerful in the monitoring pipe thinning.

• The KSFM Journal of Fluid Machinery
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.54-62
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• 2009

The feedwater heaters are Critical components in a nuclear power plant. As the operation years of heaters go by, the maintenance costs required for continuous operation increase. When the carbon steel components in nuclear make contact with running fluid, the wall thinning caused by FAC (flow accelerated corrosion) can be generated. Local wall thinning is inevitable at the area around wet steam entrance to be attacked due to the long term operation. Sometimes the shell with thinned wall is eventually ruptured. To identify the relationship between the local wall thinning and fluid behavior of the feedwater heater, the practical data of a plant, which were based on ultrasonic thickness measurement tests, were analyzed and CFD(Computed Fluid Dynamics) analyses were performed.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.182-188
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• 2016

Significant piping wall thinning caused by Flow-Accelerated Corrosion (FAC) and Erosion-Corrosion (EC) continues to occur, even after the Mihama Power Station unit 3 secondary pipe rupture in 2004, in which workers were seriously injured or died. Nuclear power plants in many countries have experienced FAC and EC-related cases in steam cycle piping systems. Korea has also experienced piping wall thinning cases including thinning in the downstream straight pipe of a check valve in a feedwater pump line, the downstream elbow of a control valve in a feedwater flow control line, and failure of the straight pipe downstream of an orifice in an auxiliary steam return line. Cause analyses were performed by reviewing thickness data using Ultrasonic Techniques (UT) and, Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) images for the failed pipe, and numerical simulation results for FAC and EC cases in Korea Nuclear Power Plants. It was concluded that the main cause of wall thinning for the downstream pipe of a check valve is FAC caused by water vortex flow due to the internal flow shape of a check valve, the main cause of wall thinning for the downstream elbow of a control valve is FAC caused by a thickness difference with the upstream pipe, and the main cause of wall thinning for the downstream pipe of an orifice is FAC and EC caused by liquid droplets and vortex flow. In order to investigate more cases, additional analyses were performed with the review of a lot of thickness data for inspected pipes. The results showed that pipe wall thinning was also affected by the operating condition of upstream equipment. Management of FAC and EC based on these cases will focus on the downstream piping of abnormal or unusual operated equipment.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2007.05a
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• pp.1702-1707
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• 2007

The reduction of pipe-thickness induced by flow accelerated corrosion (FAC) is one of the most serious problems on the maintenance of piping system in nuclear power plants (NNP). If the thickness of a pipe component is reduced below the critical level, it cannot sustain pressure and consequently results in leakage or rupture. For this reason, wall thinning by FAC has been inspected in secondary side piping systems in NPPs. In this research Round Robin Test (RRT) was conducted to verify confidence of wall thinning measurement system in NPP. 12 inspectors from 3 companies participated and 23 specimens were used according to standard practice in RRT. The gage R&R analysis was introduced in regard to repeatability and reproducibility that are affected to measurement system errors. Confidence intervals of thickness measurement system were obtained.

• Journal of the Korea Society for Simulation
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.35-43
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• 2005

Feedwater heaters of many nuclear power plants have recently experienced wall thinning damage, which will increase as operating time progresses. As it is judged that the wall thinning damages have generated due to local fluid behavior around the impingement baffle installed in downstream of the high pressure turbine extraction steam line to avoid colliding directly with the tubes, numerical analyses using PHOENICS code were performed for two models with original clogged impingement baffle and modified multi-hole impingement baffle. To identify the relation between wall thinning and fluid behavior, the local velocity components in x-, y-, and z-directions based on the numerical analysis for the model with the clogged impingement baffle were compared with the wall thickness data by ultrasonic test. From the comparison of the numerical analysis results and the wall thickness data, the local velocity component only in the y-direction, and not in the x- and z-direction, was analogous to the wall thinning configuration. From the result of the numerical analysis for the modified impingement baffle to mitigate the shell wall thinning, it was identified that the shell wall thinning may be controlled by the reduction of the local velocity in the y-direction.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.144-153
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• 2003

The object of this paper is the probabilistic failure analysis on the cladding performance of WPF(Whole Pin Furnace) test fuel pins under transient conditions, and analysis of the KALIMER fuel pin using the preceding analysis. The cumulative damage estimation and Weibull probability estimation of WPF test are performed. The probabilistic method was adapted for these analyses to determine the effective thickness thinning due to eutectic penetration depth. In the results, it is difficult to assume that a brittle layer depth made by eutectic reaction is all of the thickness reduction due to cladding thinning. About 93% cladding thinning of the eutectic penetration depth is favorable as an effective thickness of cladding. And the unreliability of the KALIMER driver fuel pin under the same WPF test condition is lower than that of the WPF pin because of the higher plenum-fuel volume ratio and lower cladding inner radius vs. thickness ratio. KALIMER fuel pin developed from conceptual design has a more stable transient performance for a failure mechanism due to fission gas buildup than the WPF pin.