Filtern
Erscheinungsjahr
Dokumenttyp
- Zeitschriftenartikel (63) (entfernen)
Sprache
- Deutsch (30)
- Englisch (30)
- Französisch (2)
- Mehrsprachig (1)
Schlagworte
Steam generator (SG) tubes are part of the primary circuit of pressurised water reactors and therefore also part of the pressure retaining boundary components. Furthermore, steam generator tubes are the components which guarantee the separation between the primary and secondary circuits. Therefore the knowledge of the loss of tube integrity as soon as possible is an essential. Optimised nondestructive testing methods based on the eddy current array technique are used to find material degradation, especially intergranular stress corrosion cracks during the periodical in-service inspection. These methods are supported by the measurement of the leakage rate during operation based on radioactivity and Tritium measurement regarding a high crack grows. Shutdown criteria depending on leakage rates which are described in the operation procedures but there are no specifications about the conditions for the measured leakage. Is the leakage coming from a single crack or are there multiple cracks or is this the leakage of a critical crack. With the help of FE calculations answer about the uncertainties of leakage rate versus critical crack grows were found. Shutdown criteria must guarantee to avoid critical crack sizes, i.e. between the measured tritium activity and the critical crack size must be a safety gap.
Abhängigkeit der Echoanzeige von nutartigen Reflektoren vom Prüfkopfschallfeld und von der Frequenz
(1979)
Abhängigkeit der Echoanzeige von nutartigen Reflektoren vom Prüfkopfschallfeld und von der Frequenz
(1977)
The aging management system for the mechanical components of nuclear power plants (NPPs) must be established and used by the licensee in such a way that the quality of safety relevant components is guaranteed for the completely designed lifetime of the NPP. This demands an extensive plant life management with special emphases on the knowledge of the degradation in material properties. The basic safety concept in Germany observes this circumstance. Lifetime extension of the German NPPs is an aim of the current valid coalition agreement of the German government. Operational extension of interim storage facilities requires, in comparison to the aging management system for NPP, an aging management system adapted to the Special circumstances of spent fuel storage casks. Extension of interim storage periods for spent fuel casks beyond the designed lifetime requires, in comparison to the components of an NPP, an increasing knowledge of material degradation with potential impact on cask integrity, e.g. leak tightness. Dry interim storage in Germany has been approved for 40 years. After that time, according to the present strategy, a final repository should be available. However, until now, such a final facility still does not exist, and the German exploration and licensing process is heavily delayed. Currently, discussions are continuing regarding further exploration of the Gorleben salt mine. There is willingness to overcome this situation that is clearly described in the available coalition agreement of the federal government. Anyway, however, the prediction is viewed; a repository for heat generating radioactive waste in Germany will not be available in the near future and may not be available when first storage facilities and casks reach their 40 years of approved lifetime, which will occur in ~25 years starting from now. Therefore, the question must be asked:
what has to be done with the existing storage casks in the interim facilities? May these casks be fit for continued use, with an extension of the storage period? One option is to have an aging management system, which creates enough information about the technical condition of safety relevant cask properties. This is the basis for safety evaluation for extended storage periods. In the present paper, possible aging mechanisms for high level waste storage casks are discussed, as well as the influence of the time dependent changes of the component properties.
Analysis of the dielectric and electromechanical properties of the cellular polypropylene ferroelectret films (EMFIT) evidences their high potential for the application in the air-coupled ultrasonic transducers. Simple prototype transducers, based on the EMFIT films, were developed and their high sensitivity was proved in the air-coupled ultrasonic experiment. Amplitude and delay time scanned images of the polyethylene step wedge with holes, obtained in both pulse-echo and transmission modes, demonstrate that non-contact ultrasonic imaging with EMFIT transducers is possible.
Beitrag zur Verstärkungseinstellung für die Schrägeinschallung bei Anwendung der Bezugslinienmethode
(1985)
Die Vorhersage der Beanspruchung bei plastischem Versagen von zylindrischen Druckbehältern wird häufig mittels Finite Elemente Berechnungen durchgeführt. Die Berechnung der zulässigen Beanspruchung erfordert ein elastisch-plastisches Werkstoffmodell und die Berücksichtigung von nichtlinearen geometrischen Effekten. Das plastische Versagen verursacht eine gesamte Strukturinstabilität und kann nicht direkt aus der Finite Elemente Analyse bestimmt werden. In dem vorliegenden Beitrag wird die Beanspruchung für plastisches Versagen eines zylindrischen Druckbehälters mittels eines analytischen Verfahrens basierend auf einem linear elastischen ideal-plastischen Materialmodell bestimmt. Wenn Plastizität auftritt, wird zum einen der Werkstoff als inkompressibel und zum anderen der Tensor der plastischen Dehnungen als parallel zum Spannungsabweichungstensor angenommen. In diesem Fall kann die Spannungs-Dehnungs-Beziehung von Henkel angewendet werden, um den Druck zu berechnen, bei dem plastisches Fließen und Versagen eintritt. Die analytischen Ergebnisse werden von den Finite Elemente Berechnungen vollkommen bestätigt.
Contribution to the ultrasonic detection and sizing of inner wall surface breaking cracks in pipes
(1984)
Weld inspection using ultrasonic pulse-echo techniques needs high skilled operators especially if geometrical indications must be taken into consideration. A clear separation between geometrical indications and defects like cracks must be guaranteed. This requirement needs sensitive techniques like the 45(deg) shear wave technique using the mirror effect. Since more than twenty years the Time Of Flight Diffraction technique (TOFD) is still under discussion for defect sizing. But on the other hand the potential of the TOFD technique for defect detection is described in technical papers of manufacturers. The main task of examinations carried out at BAM was the comparison about the detectability of surface breaking cracks between the common methods and the TOFD approach.
Degradation of material properties significant for lifetime extension of nuclear power plants
(2010)
The discussion about the right energy sources or alternative energy generation goes around the world, mostly in connection with green-house gas reduction. Therefore, some countries have started to consider extending operation of nuclear power plants. This demands an extensive plant life management as well as the knowledge of the degradation in material properties. The Basis Safety Concept (BSC) in Germany observed this circumstance. Still, lifetime extension is not an issue in Germany due to phase out of nuclear energy. Part of the BSC is the application of non-destructive examination (NDE) methods from the beginning, i.e. from component manufacture, to the end of life. The application of a NDE method to detect and size defects in components in nuclear power plants is presented. Some material properties and their degradation during increase of operation time are also in the focus of this paper.
Einfluß des Ankoppelspaltes auf den Schallübergang bei der Ultraschallprüfung mit Schrägeinschallung
(1976)
Polypropylene based ferroelectret films exhibit a strong electromechanical activity and provide a promising solution for the air coupled ultrasonic (ACUS) transducers. Ultrasonic transmission between two air coupled ferroelectret transducers in dependence on the amplitude and polarity of the high voltage exciting pulse revealed a strongly non-linear electromechanical response of the ferroelectret transmitter which provides an increase in the transmitter efficiency. The authors present a simple model describing both promotion and competition of the piezoelectric and electrostriction contributions, as well as increase in the transducer constant under high voltage excitation. Enlargement of the inverse transducer constant of the polypropylene ferroelectret film by a factor of 4 was demonstrated. The non-linear properties of the polypropylene ferroelectrets result in a strong increase in their ACUS figure of merit under the high voltage excitation, which exceeds the results of their technological optimisation. Consequently, enhancement of the ACUS system transmission by 12 dB and signal to noise ratio by 32 dB was achieved.
The comparison of probes for the inspection of cladding shows a remarkable fact: depending on the reflectors used, a different performance characterization of the probe must be expected. It seems important for performance demonstration trials - especially those including the underclad area - to use reflector types as close as possible to the real cracks to be detected. For different detection approaches, reflectors representing underclad cracks should have a reduced diffraction at the crack tip areas in order to check their potential to detect the indication based on surface reflections of the ultrasonic waves.
Dielectric and electromechanical properties of the cellular polypropylene ferroelectret films (EMFIT), combining strong piezoelectric response with a low density and softness, evidence their high potential for the air-coupled ultrasonic applications. The disadvantage of the low coupling factor is compensated by the extremely low acoustic impedance, which provides excellent matching to air and promises efficient sound transmission through the airtransducer interface. The influence of the electrodes on the electromechanical properties was investigated. Electron beam evaporation technology was adapted to the EMFIT films, and films with both-sided Au and Al electrodes were prepared without reducing or suppressing of the electromechanical properties. Finally, prototype transducers based on the EMFIT films were developed. In spite of the simple construction and absence of matching layers, high sensitivity of the EMFIT transducers was proved in the air-coupled ultrasonic experiment. Amplitude and delay time scanned images of the polyethylene step wedge with holes, obtained in both pulse-echo and transmission modes, demonstrate that non-contact ultrasonic imaging and testing with EMFIT transducers is possible.
Für die luftgekoppelte Ultraschall-Prüfung wird der Prototyp eines neuartigen Prüfkopfes vorgestellt. Statt eines piezokeramischen Ultraschall-Wandlers mit einer λ/4-Anpassschicht wird eine Ferroelektret-Folie aus schaumförmigem Polypropylen eingesetzt. Durch die außerordentlich geringe akustische Impedanz der Folie reduzieren sich die Reflexionsverluste an den Grenzschichten zur Luft so stark, dass bei diesem Prüfkopf auf eine λ/4-Anpassschicht verzichtet werden kann. Außerdem ist die Folie hochspannungsfest. Sie konnte mit Spannungen von mehr als 3500 V angesteuert werden und erlaubte eine Vorspannung am Ultraschall-Wandler des Empfangsprüfkopfes von 2000 V. Mithilfe der hohen Anregungsspannung stieg die Amplitude des akustischen Prüfimpulses auf das 11,2-Fache. Die Empfindlichkeit des Empfängers erhöhte sich durch die Vorspannung weiter um den Faktor 4,3. Insgesamt steigt die Amplitude am Empfänger also auf das 48-Fache, bei gleichbleibendem Rauschpegel. Ein abschließender Vergleich mit kommerziellen Luftultraschall-Prüfköpfen belegt die Überlegenheit der Folien-Prüfköpfe. Damit rückt der Einsatz einer vollwertigen Impuls-Echo-Technik auch bei der luftgekoppelten Ultraschallprüfung deutlich näher.
Rads?tze von Hochgeschwindigkeitsz?gen (ICE u.a.) sind w?hrend ihrer Lebensdauer einer hohen dynamischen Belastung ausgesetzt. Derzeit werden die Rads?tze von ICE ? Z?gen etwa alle 250000km einer zerst?rungsfreien Pr?fung im Bereich des Radkranzes und der Radscheibe unterzogen. F?r eine neue Generation von europ?ischen Hochgeschwindigkeitsz?gen wird das zerst?rungsfreie Pr?fsystem "SUPRA" vorgestellt, mit dem sich R?der bei einer ?berrollgeschwindigkeit von ca. 5km/h pr?fen lassen. Ein kostenintensiver Stillstand des Zuges w?hrend der zerst?rungsfreien Werkstoffpr?fung der R?der entf?llt.
Zur Gewährleistung des sicheren Betriebs von Schienenfahrzeugen werden bei der laufenden Instandhaltung die Radsätze (Laufräder und Radsatzwellen) mittels Ultraschall auf Fehlerfreiheit geprüft. Auf Grund der Komplexität der durchzuführenden Prüfungen an der Radscheibe von scheibengebremsten Fahrzeugen ist beim Einsatz konventioneller Techniken eine große Anzahl Ultraschallprüfköpfe erforderlich, deren Reduzierung eine technische Herausforderung darstellt. Auch bei der Prüfung von Radsatzvollwellen sind auf Grund der eingeschränkten Zugänglichkeit unterschiedliche Winkelprüfköpfe erforderlich. Ein Ziel der Untersuchungen bestand darin, die Anzahl der erforderlichen konventionellen Prüfköpfe deutlich zu reduzieren. Dazu kann die Gruppenstrahlertechnik einen Beitrag leisten.
The development of non-destructive techniques (NDT) techniques for the in-service inspection of railroad wheels and gauge corners was the main activity of the NDT division VIII. 4 at BAM over the last 2 years. For such different components, two different inspection techniques were fundamentally chosen in order to fulfil the end-user requirements. Firstly the inspection of the wheelsrim and diskshould be carried out without dismantling the wheels and using ultrasonic techniques. On the other hand, the inspection of the railroad track surface at a train speed of about 70 km/h should be guaranteed using eddy current techniques. The above-mentioned tasks were a challenge for the lab staff. The accessibility for the wheel inspection was limited due to several impassable barriers such as sand tubes, etc. Eddy current application focused mainly on the detection of head check defects occurring at the gauge corner of the rail. Investigations carried out also showed, that other types of surface defects (e.g. Belgrospis, wheel burns, short-pitch corrugations, etc.) could easily be detected. Some aspects of the inspection system as well as an overview of test results are presented in the current contribution.
In general, the application of phased array techniques used to be limited to heavy components with large wall thicknesses, such as those in the nuclear power industry. With the improvement of the phased array equipment, including phased array search units, other application areas are now accessible for the phased array inspection technique, e.g. the inspection of turbine blade roots, weld inspection with a wall thickness ranging from 12 to 40 mm, inspection of aircraft components, inspection of spot welds and the inspection of concrete building components. The objective for the use of phased array techniques has not significantly changed since their first application, e.g. instant adjustment of the sound beam to the geometry of the test object by steering incidence angle, skew angle and/or sound field focusing. Because some new phased array technique applications are still in the experimental (laboratory) stage, this article will focus on some examples for practical, real-weld applications.
The ultrasonic transmission between two air-coupled polypropylene (PP) ferroelectret (FE) transducers in dependence on the amplitude of the high-voltage exciting pulse revealed a strongly nonlinear electromechanical response of the FE transmitter. This phenomenon is described by a linear increase of the inverse electromechanical transducer constant t33(1) of the PP FE film with an increase of the exciting electrical pulse amplitude. Enlargement of t33(1) by a factor of 4 was achieved by application of 3500 V exciting pulses. The electrostriction contribution to t33(1) can be attributed to the electrostatic force between electrodes and the Maxwell stress effect. The nonlinear electromechanical properties of the PP FE result in a strong increase of its air-coupled ultrasonic (ACUS) figure of merit (FOM) under the high-voltage excitation, which exceeds results of the PP FE technological optimization. The FOM increase can be related to the increase of PP FE coupling factor and/or to the decrease of its acoustic impedance. A significant enhancement of the ACUS system transmission (12 dB) and signal-to-noise ratio (32 dB) was demonstrated by the increase of excitation voltage up to 3500 V. The nonlinear electromechanical properties of the PP FEs seem to be very important for their future applications.
Electromechanical response of polypropylene ferroelectret transducers under application of high-voltage pulses was measured by laser Doppler vibrometry and compared with results of ultrasonic through-air transmission between two ferroelectret transducers. The electromechanical response was completely explained by piezoelectric and electrostrictive effects. The electrostrictive effect dominates at high voltages and provides significant enlargement of the transducer constant, up to factor of 2.5. The induced strain of 1.7% was achieved at – 2000 V. The nonlinear ultrasonic transmission was shown to be well described by the piezoelectric and electrostrictive response of transmitter, except in the range of high negative exciting voltages where some limitation of the transmitted signal was observed. This limitation seems not to be a fundamental one and does not abolish the advantages of high-voltage excitation of polypropylene ferroelectret transducers.
Angeregt durch experimentelle Arbeiten zur hochauflösenden Ultraschallprüfung mit fokussierenden Prüfköpfen wird mit Hilfe von Modellrechnungen der Einfluss verschiedener Schallfeld- und Reflektorparameter auf die Echohöhe untersucht. Von besonderem Interesse ist dabei das Verhalten typischer Testreflektoren wie der Kreisscheibenreflektor und die Querbohrung in "verformten" Schallfeldern, die durch Bauteilkrümmungen und Fokussierung entstehen können. Für solche Fälle lassen sich Abstandskurven (DAC) für verschiedene Reflektortypen rechnerisch erstellen und der experimentelle Aufwand erheblich reduzieren. Ein deutlicher Fortschritt wurde durch die Weiterentwicklung des Schallfeldmodells erreicht, das insbesondere für die Entwicklung neuer Typen von Gruppenstrahlerprüfköpfen unverzichtbar ist. Die Gültigkeit des Modells wird durch bisherige Messergebnisse bestätigt.