Use of Data Processing in the Mechanized Inspection of Reactor Pressure Vessels

摘要

The reactor vessel is a Class I component and is therefore subject to all the in-service inspection requirements defined in Section XI of the ASME code. This Section requires the periodic inspection of the welds and adjacent zones, the internal radius of the nozzles, the ligament and threaded zones of the flange, etc by volumetric techniques. For reasons which lie outside the scope of this article, the inspection of these areas is carried out ultrasonically. Because of the high radiation levels inside the vessel, manual inspection is not feasible, apart from other considerations of physical accessibility, and therefore use has to be made of mechanised equipment with remote control to position and move the ultrasonic probes. Electronic data processing is an excellent tool in all technical fields, and therefore in the mechanised inspection of the reactor vessels of nuclear power stations. A brief description is presented of the first steps which have been made in this field. (ERA citation 10:051286)