On line and global structural health monitoring of high temperature steam lines

该项目的目标是通过使用永久安装在管道工程上并始终提供100%管道覆盖率的连续结构健康监测系统，早期检测核电厂过热蒸汽管道中的蠕变开裂、疲劳开裂和侵蚀减薄。该系统（ULTRASTEAMLINE）将通过创新使用远程引导超声与干声耦合到压电换能器，在350 ℃下长寿命运行。现有的停机检查实践留下了许多未被发现的大缺陷，因为100%的覆盖率仅在10年内达到。系统性能目标是检测和跟踪所有缺陷的增长>管壁横截面积的0.25%，理想情况下> 0.05%，大大减少大修时的检查需求、维修和管道故障发生率，计划和强制大修时间每反应堆年节省约3.5天。预计全球潜在的停电成本节省为12亿英镑，英国/欧洲经济区的投资回报率约为54：1。主要的创新是干式声耦合和能够在高温下工作的换能器

The project aim is the early detection of creep cracking, fatigue cracking and erosion thinning in superheated steamlines in nuclear plants through the use of a continuous structural health monitoring system permanently installed on line pipe work and providing 100% pipe coverage at all times. This system (ULTRASTEAMLINE) will work through the innovative use of long range guided ultrasound with dry acoustic coupling to piezoelectric transducers with long life operation at 350C. Existing inspection practice at outages leaves many large defects undetected because 100% coverage is only reached over 10 years. The system performance target is to detect and track the growth of all defects > 0.25% of pipe wall cross sectional area and ideally > 0.05% , greatly reducing the need for inspection at outages, repairs and incidence of pipe failure , to save ~ 3.5 days per reactor pa of planned and forced outage time. Estimated potential global savings in outage costs are £1.2bnpa and the UK/EEA ROI ~ 54:1. pa.Major innovations to achieve are dry acoustic coupling and transducers able to perform at high temperstures