Pressure Tests on SG Pulled Tubes at TSP Level

摘要

In 2009, 12 tubes were pulled at the tube support plate level of a Steam Generator at one of France's oldest nuclear power plants. In order to identify the involved mechanisms and to characterise the defects, metallurgical examinations were carried out on these tubes. In addition, an objective was to evaluate the pressure that the tubes could withstand without leakage. Leakage/burst pressure tests are analysed and an attempt is made to correlate these results to the shape of the defect. Results suggest that the leakage pressure is mainly influenced by one parameter - the initial depth of the damage. This is carried out firstly using results from previous investigations into pulled tubes, of which several came from a decommissioned Steam Generator and included a part of their tube support plate and, secondly, using analytical modelling.