Feasibility of Magnetostrictive Sensor Inspection of Containments

This report describes the results of a study on the feasibility of using guided waves for long-range global inspection of containment metallic pressure boundaries (i.e., steel containments and liners of reinforced concrete containments) in nuclear power plants. Of particular concern in this study was the potential of the guided-wave approach for remotely inspecting the regions that are inaccessible; for example, regions where the metallic pressure boundary is backed by concrete on one or both sides. The study includes a literature review on long-range guided-wave inspection techniques, a modeling study of the behavior of guided waves in plates with different boundary conditions (e.g., freestanding and backed by concrete on one or both sides), and an experimental investigation of the feasibility of a guided-wave technique called ''magnetostrictive sensor (MsS)'' for (1) generating and detecting guided waves in plates and (2) detecting a defect over a long range. Results of the study showed (1) that it is feasible to achieve long-range global inspection of plates, including regions that are inaccessible, using low-frequency guided waves and (2) that the MsS technique is well suited for this application. Recommendations are made to further test and develop the MsS technique for practical implementation for containment inspection in nuclear power plants