Development of advanced non-destructive evaluation methodologies for detection and characterisation of defects, microstructure, deformation, fracture and health monitoring of structures and components of FBR and associated fuel cycle programme
Achievements
First of its kind under sodium ultrasonic 3D imaging developed for complex geometry as part of the IA project with CEA, Cadarache.
Inspection procedure developed for Dissimilar Metal Weld Joint between 10Cr Steel and Alloy 617M Welded Rotor for Advanced Ultra Super Critical (AUSC) Thermal Power Plants Project (DAE group achievement award for 2019).
Ultrasonic inspection procedure developed for non-destructive inspection of D9 clad tubes to SS316LN plug welds made by magnetic pulse welding.
In-house development of multi-modal plane wave imaging based phased array ultrasonic inspection methodology for imaging of planar defects
Development of non-contact ultrasonic guided wave-based methodology for inspection of steam generator tubes of PFBR.
In-house developed remote field eddy current (RFEC) technique for inspection of ferromagnetic steam generator tubes of PFBR has been successfully deployed for collecting baseline data of 8 steam generators (SG) of PFBR (DAE Group achievement award for 2016).
Detect of inner side corrosion due to fuel clad chemical interaction (FCCI) in irradiated MOX fuel pins by eddy current testing.
A first of its kind, high sensitive segmented surface differential eddy current probes developed and deployed for detection of shallow (75μm deep) notches/scratches in calandria tubes of NPCIL.
Flexible GMR array sensors developed for magnetic flux leakage testing of ferromagnetic components (tubes, wire ropes and plates).
Acoustic Emission (AE) technique successfully used to identify potential leaky pressure tubes of Madras Atomic Power Station.
NDE Consultancy provided to other DAE units like NFC, NPCIL and strategic sectors of the country like Indian Air Force, Indian Navy, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd., etc
In-house developed computed tomography setup
Expertise
Indigenous development of phased array ultrasonic methodology for the inspection of:
800 mm diameter X12Cr turbine rotor shaft forging and
270 mm thick narrow gap dissimilar metal (Alloy617/X12Cr) rotor weld joints being used for Advanced Ultra Super Critical (AUSC) thermal power plant project.
Development of an L-mode magnetostrictive transducer and associated methodology for non-contact ultrasonic guided wave-based inspection of steam generator tubes of PFBR.
Development of ultrasonic guided wave-based methodology for the inspection of Arjun MBT fuel tank for the detection of cracks in thin fillet weld joints.
Development of glancing angle imaging methodology (GAIM) for identification of protrusion and bowing of the PFBR fuel sub-assembly heads.
Simulation of under-sodium ultrasonic scanning of PFBR core using underwater ultrasonic studies on 1/10th model of PFBR core for different protrusion scenarios of fuel sub-assemblies.
Development of theta-Z scanning methodology for under-water ultrasonic imaging of complex specimens.
Development of a multimodal plane wave imaging (PWI) based phased array ultrasonic inspection methodology for detection and characterization of inter-granular stress corrosion cracking (IGSCC) type defects in the recirculation line weld joints of TAPS 1&2.
Qualification of thin walled Nickel tubes used for hydrogen sensor application in PFBR using ultrasonic technique.
Development of digital image correlation (DIC) technique and an algorithm:
To map the strain in tensile specimens and to understand the notch effects during tensile deformation and
To optimize the geometry of the miniaturized specimens for post irradiation examination (PIE) of irradiated clad tube.
Development of a novel ultrasonic high frequency guided wave(HFGW) based methodology for in-service inspection of shell weld in main vessel core-support structure (MV-CSS) in PFBR.
Development of a non-contact EMAT based methodology for inspection of thick (tri-junction) welds and dissimilar weld (roof slab) in main vessel of PFBR.
Micro magnetic studies using magnetic force microscope (MFM) and magnetic barkhausen emission (MBE) techniques to characterize the microstructural changes in duplex stainless steels, austenitic stainless steels and high strength low alloy (HSLA).steels.
A novel Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) based tactile sensor with a potential for imaging discontinuity/crack is developed and used for 3D mapping of surface opening fatigue cracks. /li>
Development of FBG based sensor for detection of rebar corrosion in concrete structures
Failure analysis and microstructural characterization using in-situ metallography has been successfully carried out on (i) control valves of Unit#1, KKNPP, (ii) Helium storage tank, MAPS, (iii) weld overlay deposit on steam generator nozzle, PRP and (iv) spent fuel storage tanks, BHAVANI
Visual inspection and defect characterization using industrial videoscope of various components:
Bottom shield cooling pipe to identify the leak source in the biological shield cooling system of PFBR.
Top and Bottom Bearing race, Backup Seal of LRP of PFBR.
Helium Circulating Tanks of MAPS
Remote field eddy current technique
High sensitive eddy current technique
Development of a unique segmented probe for inspecting irradiated carbide fuel pins
GMR based magnetic flux leakage and metal magnetic memory techniques
Evaluation of weld residual stress using XRD, Lcr and MBE techniques
In-house development of advance processing algorithms for application of Infra-red thermal imaging for various applications including inspection of metallic fuel pin
Infrastructure/Facilities
Phased array ultrasonic systems (M2M,Omniscan, Gekko)
Under sodium ultrasonic imaging facility
Magnetostriction based ultrasonic guide wave transducer and associated setup
