Thin-Plate-Type Embedded Ultrasonic Transducer Based on Magnetostriction for the Thickness Monitoring of the Secondary Piping System of a Nuclear Power Plant

Pipe wall thinning in the secondary piping system of a nuclear power plant is currently a major problem that typically affects the safety and reliability of the nuclear power plant directly. Regular in-service inspections are carried out to manage the piping system only during the overhaul. Online t...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Taehoon Heo, Seung Hyun Cho
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2016-12-01
Series:Nuclear Engineering and Technology
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1738573316300882
Description
Summary:Pipe wall thinning in the secondary piping system of a nuclear power plant is currently a major problem that typically affects the safety and reliability of the nuclear power plant directly. Regular in-service inspections are carried out to manage the piping system only during the overhaul. Online thickness monitoring is necessary to avoid abrupt breakage due to wall thinning. To this end, a transducer that can withstand a high-temperature environment and should be installed under the insulation layer. We propose a thin plate type of embedded ultrasonic transducer based on magnetostriction. The transducer was designed and fabricated to measure the thickness of a pipe under a high-temperature condition. A number of experimental results confirmed the validity of the present transducer.
ISSN:1738-5733