Vibrothermographic weld inspections
AssigneeAreva GmbH
InventorsJeremy B. Renshaw, Samuel W. Glass, III, Bradley A. Thigpen, Matthieu Taglione
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Abstract
The present invention is related to a system and method of inspecting a weld. The weld to be inspected is subjected to a transient sonic excitation while the weld area is monitored using a remote infrared camera. The sonic excitation induces mechanical vibration, which causes heat generation at any cracks or other anomalies in the weld. The infrared camera detects any temperature differentials in the weld, indicating the presence of an anomaly. The system and method is particularly useful for welds in environments that are unsafe for extended human presence or that are crowded or otherwise inaccessible, such as with piping or other structural components.
Claims16
A method of inspecting a J-groove weld in a nuclear reactor, comprising:
- providing an electrically operated vibration device near the weld;
- providing an electrically operated thermal imaging device near the weld;
- vibrating the weld with said vibration device;
- obtaining a thermal image of the weld with said imaging device;
- analyzing said thermal image;
- and
- determining, based on said analyzing, whether there is a flaw within the weld;
- wherein said providing said vibration device includes positioning said vibration device in a position such that it is not in physical contact with the weld;
- and
- wherein said vibration the weld includes operating said vibration device while said vibration device is in said position.
A method of inspecting a plurality of J-groove welds in a nuclear reactor, comprising:
- providing a vibration device near the plurality of J-groove welds;
- providing an imaging device near a selected one of the plurality of J-groove welds;
- vibrating the plurality of J-groove welds with said vibration device;
- obtaining a thermal image of the selected one of the plurality of J-groove welds with said imaging device;
- analyzing said thermal image;
- and
- determining, based on said analyzing, whether there is a flaw within the selected one of the plurality of J-groove welds;
- and
- making a plurality of iterations of inspections for others of the plurality of J-groove welds within the reactor;
- wherein inspections of multiple J-groove welds are made without repositioning said vibration device.
A method of inspecting a J-groove weld between a tube and a nuclear reactor pressure vessel, comprising:
- providing a vibration device near the tube or the pressure vessel;
- providing a thermal imaging device near the weld;
- imparting a transient sonic excitation to the weld with said vibration device;
- obtaining a thermal image of the weld with said imaging device;
- analyzing said thermal image to identify the presence of any heat differential within the weld;
- and
- determining, based on said analyzing, whether there is a flaw within the weld;
- wherein said providing said vibration device includes positioning said vibration device in a position such that it is not in physical contact with the weld;
- and
- wherein said imparting the transient sonic excitation to the weld includes operating said vibration device while said vibration device is in said position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.