ENew equipment

Graphite

brick tests

Under a contract from Nuclear

Electric plc, supported by Scottish
Nuclear, graphite moderator
bricks and slices of bricks, typical
of those which are interlocked in
layers to construct the cores of
Advanced Gas-cooled Reactor
(AGR ) power stations, are being
subjected to an extensive series of
tests to provide more
comprehensive
information on the
strength of the bricks. The results
of these tests will be used in
conjunction
with sophisticated
finite element analysis
calculations to increase accuracy
in formulating
the safety case for
core integrity.
The tests are being carried out at
the Risley Laboratory of AEA
Reactor Services and will examine
the effects of stresses within
bricks caused by external loads
and a sequence of stresses arising
from the complex shrinkage
behaviour of the graphite over the
operating lifetime of the reactor.
Radiation dose rates across the
cores are not uniform, and this
causes differential shrinkage and
distortion of the graphite
components. As a consequence
the bricks start by shrinking more
on the inside adjacent to the fuel
than on the outside. Later this is
reversed as the graphite on the
inside characteristically
stops
shrinking and begins to expand.
Towards the end of the reactor
lifetime this process leads to a
build-up of internal stress at the
roots of the keyways by which
the bricks are interlocked. These
keyway roots are the most
stressed parts of the graphite core
bricks.
The core design mainly
compensates for the graphite
dimensional changes and the
necessary movements due to
temperature changes during
operation by having the individual
bricks loosely keyed together in
an arrangement which permits
expansion and contraction of the
whole core without affecting its
stability or integrity.

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Graphite

moderator

bricks being measured

as part of an assessment

Large-scale tests using full-scale

core bricks and brick slices of
thicknesses up to 250 mm will
push and pull the specimens in
order to determine the ability of
bricks to withstand external loads.
In other tests graphite slices are
being subjected to bending forces
designed to mimic the stresses
imposed on the keyways during
the lifetime of the reactor, to test
the resilience of the bricks to this
type of stressing.
As it is not practicable to replace
damaged graphite, AGR station
operation depends on maintaining
satisfactory integrity of the bricks
and their keyways. An extension
to the graphite core lifetime
would have enormous
implications for the economics of
nuclear power generation since
the stations have high capital
costs but low marginal fuel costs.
AEA Technology, Ride y,
Warrington, Cheshire WA3 6A T,
UK

Ultrasonic
inspection

rail
system

RMKs Zenica rail fabrication

plant in Yugoslavia is the first
purchaser of the Micro Plus
ultrasonic inspection system from
Sonomatic. The plant

of the effects

of stresses

manufactures rail for Yugoslav

railways, and is gearing up to
export to other European
countries. To do this, the plant
will have to demonstrate its
quality control procedures and the
consequent quality of its product.
The Micro Plus system will
provide continuous,
full-volumetric
inspection for
internal flaws, and will eventually
be able to handle five different rail
profiles, using the non-contact
immersion technique which has
proved successful for the
inspection of round and square
steel billet and bar.
The system was developed from
Sonomatics
Midas ultrasonic
inspection and data acquisition
system, and is based around a
386 computer.
The Micro Plus is a multi-channel
inspection system with an array of
ultrasonic transducers which
examine the rail as it passes
through a water-injected
stuffing
box at line speeds up to
1.5 m s-. The water acts as an
ultrasonic couplant, and
consequently
the inspection
heads do not touch the surface of
the rail. This means that there is
no wear and the system is very
reliable.
The 32-channel
will be installed

system which
at Zenica will

N DT & E International

April 1991

-New equipment
incorporate an automatic paint
sprayer to mark the location of
defects, user-friendly displays and
audible alarms. For each batch of
rail inspected, a colour-graphic
hard-copy inspection report will
be generated as evidence of testing.
Menu screens have been written
in Serbo-Croat for this
application, and heaters and
antifreeze for the immersion tank
will be able to keep the system
operational in Yugoslav winter
temperatures down to minus 15 C.
Sonornatic Ltd, 20 Rivington
Court, Hardwick Grange,
Woolston, Warrington WA 1 4RT,
UK

Ultrasonic immersion
system for Space
Shuttle components
A computerized ultrasonic
immersion system, including a
2.1 x 1.2 x 1.2m tank, has been
delivered by Physical Acoustics
Corporation to Marshall Space
Center in Huntsville, Alabama. For
testing composite components of
the space shuttle, the Marshall
System will be able to locate and
size structural flaws, such as
delaminations, cracks and voids.
The UltraPAC II will be used to
inspect parts of the space shuttle
intertank door and other
associated flight hardware.

UltraPAC II ultrasonic immersion testing system, for testing Space Shuttle components

such as graphite with a foam

backing, are tested with the
squirter assembly; flat, mid-sized
panels can be tested in the
customized tank.
The UltraPAC II system software
incorporates a 386 SX computer
with VGA graphics. For smoother
scanning and improved inspection
accuracy, a new four-axes motor
controller card has been designed.
System features include A, B,
C-scan, flaw detection and
transducer characterization
software.

Physical Acoustics Corporation,

P.O. Box 3135, Princeton, NJ
08543 - 3135, USA

Non-contact
measuring systems
Electro-optical inspection system
specialists, C. E. Johansson, have
introduced their Q-SEE
non-contact measuring systems to
replace the existing Vidicom
range. Q-SEE machines use
similar optical systems and

Positioned between the oxygen

and hydrogen tanks of the Shuttle,
the intertank door provides access
to electronics, attaching shuttle
struts and fuel lines, and is where
the tanks feed the three main
engines on the Shuttle.
As well as the tank, the unit
includes motorized X, Y, Z axes
and turntable, along with
through-transmission adapter and
squirter-bubbler transducer
assembly. Pump, filters and
controls that can accommodate
either the squirter assembly or full
immersion tank, complete the
system hardware. Materials which
cannot be immersed in water,

NDT& E International April 1 991

Non-contact optical gauging system with computer control, from C. E. Johansson

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