Cable insulation polymers are among the more susceptible materials to age-related degradation within a nuclear power plant. This is recognized by both regulators and utilities, so all plants have developed cable aging management programs to detect damage before critical component failure in compliance with regulatory guidelines. Although a wide range of tools are available to evaluate cables and cable systems, cable aging management programs vary in how condition monitoring and NDE is conducted as utilities search for the most reliable and cost-effective ways to assess cable system condition. Frequency domain reflectometry (FDR) is emerging as one valuable tool to locate and assess damaged portions of a cable system with minimal cost and only requires access in most cases to one of the cable terminal ends. This work examines a physics-based model of a cable system and relates it to FDR measurements for a better understanding of specific damage influences on defect detectability.
Revised: October 9, 2019 |
Published: April 11, 2018
Citation
Glass S.W., L.S. Fifield, A.M. Jones, and T.S. Hartman. 2018.Frequency Domain Reflectometry Modeling and Measurement for Nondestructive Evaluation of Nuclear Power Plant Cables. In Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Environmental Degradation of Materials in Nuclear Power Systems - Water Reactors, edited by JH Jackson, D Paraventi and M Wright, 2, 51-65. Cham:Springer.PNNL-SA-125030.doi:10.1007/978-3-319-68454-3