Dry Storage Casks Monitoring by Means of Ultrasonic Tomography

Abstract Spent nuclear fuel (SNF) is one of the most hazardous types of nuclear power plant waste. This fact emphasizes the importance of careful handling and storage of SNF. There are two current state-of-the art technologies of SNF storage facility: wet and dry. It is important to mention that IAEA does not determine which kind of handling strategy should be chosen, however it is noted that dry storage of SNF could be used for one hundred years. Mining and Chemical Enterprise (MCE) is one of the leading Russian companies that deals exclusively with the dry storage of SNF. This company has implemented a long-term storage scheme. At the same time MCE faced the challenge of nondestructive monitoring of the degradation process of structural material of cask and its sealing with weld seam. Currently, X-ray testing is used for this purpose but in order to provide an effective nonradioactive method of monitoring MCE has initiated a collaborative R&D project with TPU supported by the Russian Government. Ultrasonic industrial tomography technique was proposed as the solution. The method is based on application of phased and sparse arrays transducer with real-time visualization algorithm. Received acoustic data is processed and realized by means of Sampling Phased Array technology which is a collaborative development of TPU and I-Deal Technology, GmbH. The multichannel ultrasonic set-up of immersion control was assembled for performing testing of seven experimental specimens with representative defects (side drill-holes, notches, natural welding flaws). X-ray tomography of high-resolution was chosen as the reference method. All indications were successfully reconstructed in B and C-scans and 3D image. The next step is to automate the monitoring procedure completely and to introduce an evaluation tool for current flaw state and prediction of its further behavior.