Nuclear Engineering and Technology

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

  • Heo, Taehoon (Center for Safety Measurement, Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science) ;
  • Cho, Seung Hyun (Center for Safety Measurement, Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science)
  • Received : 2016.04.12
  • Accepted : 2016.05.18
  • Published : 2016.12.25
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Abstract

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.

Keywords

References

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