Profile

Ph. D. in Physics, M. Sc. in Nuclear Engineering and ISO certified in several NDT methods. From 2011 works in Tecnatom like R&D Engineer of NDT methods and Project Manager, and from 2017 is Responsible of Technological Development. Usual tasks are the development of NDT techniques and procedures, simulations, mock-ups design, validations...

Abstract

Non-Destructive Testing methods in concrete structures for the life extension of Nuclear Power Plants

Due to the new requirements that are being demanded of the Nuclear Power Plants for their License Renewal (LR), Life Extension (LE) and Long Term Operation (LTO), it is necessary to verify the integrity of several civil structures, such as the containment building, used fuel building and cooling towers, among others. In general, the objectives of Non-Destructive Test methods (NDT) for the inspection of concrete structures in nuclear power plants can be arranged into: location of the reinforcement and tendons, determination of the state of the concrete matrix, determination of the corrosion of the metallic armor and detection of cracks, voids, inclusions and delaminations in the matrix of the structure. For this, Tecnatom, based on the experience acquired in the field of NDT, has developed a set of techniques for determining the structures condition including surface hardness testing, ultrasound (transverse wave pulse-echo and transmission speed), electromagnetic methods (Ground Penetrating Radar - GPR) and non-contact techniques such as Infrared Thermography (IRT). These different inspection techniques have been evaluated over mock-ups and it has been established the complementary synergies between them for their application in a real in the field inspection. In this work it is presented a summary of the main NDT methods to determine the integrity of concrete structures. The method and technique best suited for a given inspection has to be selected depending on the objective sought, the typical defectology of the component, the characteristics of the structure and the conditions of the inspection itself.