Eddy Current for Sizing Cracks in Canisters for Dry Storage of Used Nuclear Fuel
The storage of used nuclear fuel (UNF) in dry canister storage systems (DCSSs) at Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installations (ISFSI) sites is a temporary measure to accommodate UNF inventory until it can be reprocessed or transferred to a repository for permanent disposal. Policy uncertainty surrounding the long-term management of UNF indicates that DCSSs will need to store UNF for much longer periods than originally envisioned. Meanwhile, the structural and leak-tight integrity of DCSSs must not be compromised. The eddy current technique is presented as a potential tool for inspecting the outer surfaces of DCSS canisters for degradation, particularly atmospheric stress corrosion cracking (SCC). Results are presented that demonstrate that eddy current can detect flaws that cannot be detected reliably using standard visual techniques. In addition, simulations are performed to explore the best parameters of a pancake coil probe for sizing of SCC flaws in DCSS canisters and to identify features in frequency sweep curves that may potentially be useful for facilitating accurate depth sizing of atmospheric SCC flaws from eddy current measurements.
- Publication Date:
- OSTI Identifier:
- Report Number(s):
- DOE Contract Number:
- Resource Type:
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: NACE International Corrosion Conference Series: Corrosion 2014: Collaborate, Educate, Innovate, Mitigate, March 9-13, 2014, San Antonio, Texas, Paper No. NACE-2014-4166
- National Association of Corrosion Engineers International, Houston, TX, United States(US).
- Research Org:
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (US)
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- Country of Publication:
- United States
- nondestructive evaluation; dry storage; eddy current; spent fuel; used fuel; stress corrosion