Recent Updates on the Application of Non-Destructive Testing to Assess Corrosion Damage in SAVY containers

Year
2019
Author(s)
Rajendra U. Vaidya - Los Alamos National Laboratory
Abstract
Stainless steel SAVY containers are widely used at TA-55 for long-term storage of nuclear materials.  Recent surveillance activities completed have shown that these SAVY containers are prone to interior corrosion while in use due to a number of factors they encounter during use.  The development of non-intrusive inspection techniques which can monitor these corrosion processes in-situ was initiated last year.  This paper will provide various updates on the progress of the application of ultrasonic testing (UT) and eddy current technology (ECA) to these SAVY containers.  The preliminary tests completed last year have shown that UT and ECA testing complement each other and can be used to determine corrosion on the interior surface as well as pitting.  In addition, ECA can also be used to determine cracks within the containers.  Building upon this work, an automated inspection system can generate color-coded contour plots of the interior of each container. The progress made on this inspection system will be communicated in this presentation.