Instrumentation: Nondestructive Examination for Verification of Canister and Cladding Integrity. FY2014 Status Update

Abstract

This report documents FY13 efforts for two instrumentation subtasks under storage and transportation. These instrumentation tasks relate to developing effective nondestructive evaluation (NDE) methods and techniques to (1) verify the integrity of metal canisters for the storage of used nuclear fuel (UNF) and to (2) characterize hydrogen effects in UNF cladding to facilitate safe storage and retrieval. Efforts for the first task were focused on evaluating eddy current techniques for detecting and sizing stress corrosion cracks in canisters for UNF storage. In FY13, several specimens were collected that contained flaws for potential eddy current evaluation, and initial eddy current scans performed on these specimens indicate that eddy current is capable of detecting flaws that fall below the reliable detection limit for standard visual inspection technologies.