No abstract

No abstract

In nuclear power plants, neutron embrittlement of pressure vessel steels has been one of the main concerns. The use of micromagnetic Barkhausen emissions is a promising method to monitor the variations in microstructural and subsurface stress states due to their influence on these emissions. Measurements of these emissions can reveal neutron irradiationdegradation in nuclear power plant components. Samples which were irradiated at differentneutron fluences and annealed at different temperatures were obtained from three reactor surveillance programs. The results of different neutron fluences and annealing procedures showed noticeable fractional changes in the magnetic Barkhausen effect signal parameter, ΔMBE/MBE, and in the mechanical properties of these specimens. For example, increased intensity of neutron fluence decreased the ΔMBE/MBE as well as impact energy and upper-shelf energy, but increased Rockwell hardness and yield strength. Typical changes in this parameter were in the range from −20% to −45% for fluences of up to 25×10 18 n cm −2. A study on the radiation damage and recovery of neutron irradiated vessel steel using magnetic Barkhausen noise In nuclear power plants, neutron embrittlement of pressure vessel steels has been one of the main concerns. The use of micromagnetic Barkhausen emissions is a promising method to monitor the variations in microstructural and subsurface stress states due to their influence on these emissions. Measurements of these emissions can reveal neutron irradiation degradation in nuclear power plant components. Samples which were irradiated at different neutron fluences and annealed at different temperatures were obtained from three reactor surveillance programs. The results of different neutron fluences and annealing procedures showed noticeable fractional changes in the magnetic Barkhausen effect signal parameter, AMBE/MBE, and in the mechanical properties of these specimens. For example, increased intensity of neutron fluence decreased the AMBE/MBE as well as impact energy and upper-shelf energy, but increased Rockwell hardness and yield strength. npical changes in this parameter were in the range from-20% to-45% for fluences of up to 25 X lOI n cmm2.

Non Destructive Testing (NDT) methods that are capable of detecting the wall thinning and defects through insulation and cladding sheets are necessary. In this study we developed a Pulsed Eddy Current (PEC) system to detect wall thinning of ferro magnetic steel pipes covered with 95 mm thick fiber glass thermal insulator and shielded with aluminum plate of thickness 0.4 mm. In order to confirm the thickness change due to wall thinning, two different sensors, a hall sensor and a search coil sensor were used as a detecting element. In both the cases, the experimental data indicates a considerable change in the detected pulse corresponding to the change in sample thickness. The thickness of the tube was made to change such as 2.5 mm, 5 mm and 8 mm from the inner surface to simulate wall thinning. Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) was calculated using window approach and the results were summarized which shows a clear identification of thickness change in the test specimen by comparing the magnitude spectra.

No abstract