Ultrasonic inspection of nodular cast iron insert edge distance using curved linear PA-probe

Nuclear fuel disposal canisters consist of a copper tube and a cast iron insert. The copper tube is designed for corrosion protection. The design and use of the nodular cast iron insert is based on strength and fracture mechanic aspects and it is the load carrying part of the structure. The preliminary acceptance criteria for the cast iron insert are under study. There are several aspects in accepting the inspection results of nodular cast iron insert for use. One aspect among others is the position of the edge which is nearest to surface. In an earlier study this was stated to have a tolerance of edge position ±5 mm. There have been studies both on eccentricity and the real position of the nearest edge tolerances. To determine the edge position, different ultrasonic techniques were tested using a curved linear PA-probe. To evaluate whether the distance variation is within the tolerance limit, the real geometrical nominal distance must be computed. Because the tolerances of the cast iron insert and its internal geometry can give a large variation in the edge position, these must be carefully evaluated. The applied ultrasonic system is a 128 element phased array equipment. The used probe is curved and adjusted to curvature of the cast iron insert. The curved probe was designed to inspect the edge of the channel with one long axial line scanning. During line scanning the phased array probe does at the same time electronical scanning. To optimize this electronic scanning, three different ultrasonic techniques were used. This evaluation of edge distance was tested in four inspections of real size cast iron inserts. It was seen that the variation of the edge position is about 1 to 12 mm in radial direction (straightness) and in circumferential direc-tion about 2 to 8 mm (twist) in range of about 4 m.