Pressurized Water Reactor Steam Generator corrosion attack mechanisms pose a major challenge for utilities nationwide. Secondary side tube fouling, inter-granular attack (IGA) and stress corrosion cracking (SCC) are some of the problems that exist in PWR Steam Generators. Until recently, the solutions for tube degradation above the tubesheet have been limited to plugging or sleeving the damaged tubes or chemically cleaning the Steam Generator secondary side.

High pressure water jetting the tubesheet to remove sludge deposits has been an acceptable practice within the Nuclear industry for over twenty years. Several vendors offer systems capable of performing this service.

New technology has been developed and proven successful in physically positioning vision systems in the upper tube bundle regions for support plate inspection. The incorporation of the two technologies, high-pressure water cleaning and the inspection system, will result in a method capable of cleaning loose or soft sludge from the upper bundle regions and support plates.

Subject
Water, Tubes, Chemical cleaning, Steam generators, Inspection, Crevices, Sludge, Heat, Ports and harbors, Deposit corrosion, Visual assessment, Stress corrosion cracking, Cleaning
Keywords:
Mechanical cleaning, visual inspection, chemical cleaning, PWR Steam Generator, IGS, SCC, sludge
© 1992 Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP). All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of AMPP. Positions and opinions advanced in this work are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of AMPP. Responsibility for the content of the work lies solely with the author(s).
1992
Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP)
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