Nuclear Engineering and Technology

Korean Nuclear Society (한국원자력학회)
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Thickness measurements of a Cr coating deposited on Zr-Nb alloy plates using an ECT pancake sensor

  • Jeong Won Park (Intelligent Wave Engineering Team, Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS)) ;
  • Bonggyu Ji (Intelligent Wave Engineering Team, Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS)) ;
  • Daegyun Ko (Department of Nuclear Fuel Technology, Korea Electric Power Corporation Nuclear Fuel (KEPCO NF)) ;
  • Hun Jang (Department of Nuclear Fuel Technology, Korea Electric Power Corporation Nuclear Fuel (KEPCO NF)) ;
  • Wonjae Choi (Intelligent Wave Engineering Team, Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS))
  • Received : 2022.12.29
  • Accepted : 2023.05.30
  • Published : 2023.09.25
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Abstract

Zr-Nb alloy have been widely used as fuel rods in nuclear power plants. However, from the Fukushima nuclear accident, the weakness of the rod was revealed under harsh conditions, and research on the safety of these types of rods was conducted after the disaster. The method of depositing chromium onto the existing Zr-Nb alloy fuel rods is being considered as a means by which to compensate for the weakness of Zr-Nb alloy rods because chromium is strong against oxidation at high temperatures and has high strength. In order to secure these advantages, it is important to maintain the Cr thickness of the rods and properly inspect the rods before and during their use in power generation. Eddy current testing is a typical means of evaluating the thickness of thin metals and detecting surface defects. Depending on the size and shape of the inspected object, various eddy current sensors can be applied. In particular, because pancake sensors can be manufactured in very small sizes, they can be used for inspections even in narrow spaces, such as a nuclear fuel assembly. In this study, an eddy current technique was developed to confirm the feasibility of Cr coating thickness evaluations. After determining the design parameters of the pancake sensor by means of a FEM simulation, a FPCB pancake sensor was manufactured and the optimal frequency was selected by measuring minute changes in the Cr-coating thickness using the developed sensor.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This research was supported by the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP) (20217810100050) and by National Strategic R&D Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea(NRF) funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT (2021M2E6A1084687).

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