DEVELOPMENT OF NONDESTRUCTIVE TESTS FOR THE EXPERIMENTAL GAS-COOLED REACTOR FUEL ELEMENT

The Title I design fuel assembly and each of its components for the Experimental Gas-cooled Reactor are described. The development of the specific nondestructive testing techniques for the evaluation of the components and the fabricated fuel capsule is presented. These techniques include penetrants, pulse- echo and resonance ultrasonics, radiography, eddy-currents, helium leak testing, and others. Discussion is made on the capabilities and limitations of these techniques for the specific inspection problems and reasons presented for the selection of the inspection requirements. (auth