PNNL

Abstract

Studies being conducted at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Richland, Washington are focused on assessing the effectiveness of NDE inspections of control rod drive mechanism (CRDM) nozzles and J-groove weldments. The primary objective of this work is to provide information to the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (US NRC) on the effectiveness of ultrasonic testing (UT) and eddy current testing (ET) as related to the in-service inspection of CRDM nozzles and J-groove weldments, and to enhance the knowledge base of primary water stress corrosion cracking (PWSCC) through destructive characterization of the CRDM assemblies. In describing two CRDM assemblies removed from service, decontaminated, and then used in a series of NDE measurements, this paper will address the following questions: 1) What did each technique detect?, 2) What did each technique miss?, 3) How accurately did each technique characterize the detected flaws? Two CRDM assemblies including the CRDM nozzle, the J-groove weld, buttering, and a portion of the ferritic head material were selected for this study. One contained suspected PWSCC, based on in-service inspection data; the other contained evidence suggesting through-wall leakage, but this was unconfirmed. The selected NDE measurements follow standard industry techniques for conducting in-service inspections of CRDM nozzles and the crown of the J-groove welds and buttering. In addition, laboratory based NDE methods will be employed to conduct inspections of the CRDM assemblies, with particular emphasis on inspecting the J-groove weld and buttering. This paper will also describe the NDE methods used and discus the NDE results. Future work will involve using the results from these NDE studies to guide the development of a destructive characterization plan to reveal the crack morphology, to be compared with NDE responses.