Determining the feasibility of identifying creep rupture of stainless steel cladding tubes on-line using acoustic emission technique
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to determine the feasibility of identifying the creep rupture of reactor cladding tubes using acoustic emission technique (AET).
Design/methodology/approach
The creep rupture tests were carried out by pressuring stainless steel capsules upto 6 MPa at room temperature and then heating continuously in a furnace upto rupture. The acoustic emission (AE) signals generated during the creep rupture tests were recorded using a 150 kHz resonant sensor and analysed using AE Win software.
Findings
When rupture occurs in the pressurized capsule tube representing the cladding tube, AE sensor attached to a waveguide captures the mechanical disturbance from the capsule and these data can be advantageously used to identify the creep rupture event of the cladding tube.
Practical implications
The creep rupture data of fuel clad tube is very important in design and for smooth operation of nuclear reactors without fuel pin failure in reactors.
Originality/value
AE is an advanced non-destructive evaluation technique. This technique has been successfully applied for on-line monitoring of creep rupture of the reactor cladding tube which otherwise could be detected by thermocouple readings only.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors are thankful to Dr P.R. Vasudeva Rao, Director, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR), Kalpakkam for constant encouragement and support. The authors thank Dr B.P.C. Rao, Head, Non-Destructive Evaluation Division, IGCAR, for useful discussions. The authors also thank the colleagues of IDEAS, Metallurgy and Materials Group, IGCAR for the design and developmental works related to this activity.
Citation
Mahendra Prabhu, N., Gopal, K.A., Murugan, S., Haneef, T.K., Mukhopadhyay, C.K., Venugopal, S. and Jayakumar, T. (2015), "Determining the feasibility of identifying creep rupture of stainless steel cladding tubes on-line using acoustic emission technique", International Journal of Structural Integrity, Vol. 6 No. 3, pp. 410-418. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSI-08-2014-0038
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2015, Emerald Group Publishing Limited