A Phased Array Inspection Solution for the Assessment of Thin Stainless Welds

EDF Energy has the requirement to detect and size lack of penetration type defects in thin-walled stainless steel components. A high frequency ultrasonic phased array inspection technique has been successfully developed and applied to thin walled pipes and is currently used as an ENIQ qualified inspection on nuclear plant. The welds are manufactured with an autogenous Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) welding technique. This type of technique can generate unique defects. The thin wall requires a high resolution very reliable, non-destructive evaluation method to provide accurate defect sizing. This paper discusses a one-stop phased array inspection system and with a highly reliable defect sizing capability for examining thin-walled pipe of different geometries and varied diameters. In addition this paper demonstrates the operator qualification process undertaken to validate the inspection method.