In-service inspection of liquid metal (sodium) fast reactors requires the use of ultrasonic transducers capable of operating at high temperatures (>200°C), high gamma radiation fields, and the chemically reactive liquid sodium environment. In the early- to mid-1970s, the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission supported development of high-temperature, submersible single-element transducers, used for scanning and under-sodium imaging in the Fast Flux Test Facility and the Clinch River Breeder Reactor. Current work is building on this technology to develop the next generation of high-temperature linear ultrasonic transducer arrays for under-sodium viewing and in-service inspections.
Revised: November 28, 2012 |
Published: December 31, 2011
Citation
Griffin J.W., G.J. Posakony, R.V. Harris, D.L. Baldwin, A.M. Jones, and L.J. Bond. 2011.High Temperature Ultrasonic Transducers for In-Service Inspection of Liquid Metal Fast Reactors. In IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium (IUS), October 18-21, 2011, Orlando, Florida, 1924-1927. Piscataway, New Jersey:The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Inc.PNNL-SA-83476.doi:10.1109/ULTSYM.2011.0479