A PORTABLE IMAGING SYSTEM FOR NONDESTRUCTIVE EXAMINATION OF NUCLEAR POWER PLANT COMPONENTS

THE DIFFICULTY IN PREDICTING STRUCTURAL DEGRADATION RATES FOR NUCLEAR POWER PLANT COMPONENTS DUE TO CORROSION AND OTHER FACTORS HAS LED TO THE NEED FOR COSTLY, TIME CONSUMING INSPECTIONS AND INCREASED COST FROM INTENTIONALLY OVERDESIGNED COMPONENTS. THE SITUATION INDICATES A SERIOUS, UNMET NEED FOR A SIMPLE BUT ACCURATE SYSTEM FOR REAL- TIME, IN SITU, NONDESTRUCTIVE ANALYSIS OF NUCLEAR POWER PLANT COMPONENTS. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN HYDROGENATED AMORPHOUS SILICON (A-SI:H) SENSOR ARRAYS, MICRO- ELECTRONICS AND SOFTWARE SYSTEMS INDICATE THAT IT SHOULD NOW BE FEASIBLE TO DEVELOP A HIGHLY PORTABLE, SIMPLE TO OPERATE YET EXTREMELY POWERFUL IMAGING SYSTEM FOR NONDESTRUCTIVE EXAMINATION OF MANY IMPORTANT STRUCTURAL COMPONENTS FOUND IN NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS. PHASE I RESEARCH WILL QUANTIFY THE ABILITY OF THE TECHNOLOGY TO IMAGE STRUCTURAL DEFECTS IN MATERIALS OF INTEREST UNDER LABORATORY CONDITIONS. FACTORS SUCH AS SCINTILLATOR TYPE AND GEOMETRY, COLLIMATION, SOURCE ENERGY AND STRENGTH, AND DATA ACQUISITION CONCEPTS WILL BE EVALUTATED. THE ANTICIPATED RESULT IS A DETERMINATION PERFORMACE CAPABILITIES OF THE PROPOSED NEW INSTRUMENT.