Progress of the Ageing Material Evaluation and Studies by Non-Destructive Techniques AMES-NDT Concerted Action

Within the frame of the European Network AMES (Ageing Materials Evaluation & Studies), several shared cost action projects are ongoing on understanding, assessment, mitigation of the ageing mechanisms. In particular, materials are ageing due to many different causes; e.g. thermal treatment, thermal ageing, stress ageing, corrosion, irradiation embrittlement, and on such issues the European Network AMES is currently focusing. The assessment of material ageing requires normally extensive destructive testing by using different kinds of testing and samples. One example is the use of the Charpy impact technique. The possibility to use Non Destructive Techniques, NDT, for assessing material ageing is very promising and needs further investigation, assessment and qualification. The possibility to qualify Non Destructive Techniques, NDT, at least for some of the above mentioned ageing cases, would make the studies on ageing and the relative assessment much easier and cheaper, saving a lot of money and resources in Europe. Furthermore, it would make it possible to assess on site various components that now-a-days can only be assessed either by calculation or by means of very expensive sample gaining techniques. This last factor would mean a terrific increase in EC citizen safety. About the feasibility, it has to be noted that a growing number of publications on the subject are appearing more and more in the proceedings of International Conferences like the recent ICONE Conference. The AMES-NDT Concerted Action, sponsored by the Nuclear Fission Safety program of the EC, is aiming to undertake the intermediate needed step of listing all known techniques, their application and limits and reporting on sample demonstration tests before a proper systematic qualification of techniques. In this paper, the AMES-NDT Concerted Action project and progress are presented.