Background
This project is part of the Reactor Pressure Vessel In-Service Inspection Project U1.02/92A.
In this project the preservation of Reactor Pressure Vessel (RPV) integrity was an essential factor to assure, generically VVER 1000 and specifically South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant (SU NPP) safety and long term reliability.
The goal of a comprehensive RPV in service inspection programme is to follow up the material conditions evolution to timely detect unacceptable degradation that may impair its essential safety functions.
The Task 00 (Laboratory equipment In-Service Inspection and Inspection Tank) of the project RPV ISI U1.02/92A was cancelled by the European Commission in June 1996, merged with the project Modernisation of Manipulator SK-187 and renumbered with U1.02/94H. This new project started on October 15th 1996.
The manipulator SK 187 is composed by four different particular mechanical manipulators each of them prepared to cover different parts of the reactor vessel with different geometry and accessibility. Due to its date of construction the position’s subsystem (encoders) and the ultrasonic detectors coupling’s subsystems had to be reviewed and modernized.
The electronic control systems were the manipulator’s subsystem which was in the worse maintenance condition. The project included the supply of a complete new electronic control system to assure the equipment position and to permit the operator to programme the manipulator path under a semiautomatic mode so as to assure the communication with the data acquisition system without interference and noise.
The Ultrasonic Testing System in Immersion Tank is a laboratory and/or inspection equipment with a data acquisition system and with an adequate data analyzer for reactor vessel inspection. The project included under its scope an adequate interconnection between the manipulator electronic control system and the laboratory data acquisition system.
Objectives
The objective was to modernize plant ultrasonic inspection system SK-187, updating its mechanical manipulator and associated ultrasonic data acquisition system, in order to carry out the reactor pressure vessel in-service inspection with the highest quality level.
The following activities were considered in order to obtain an adequate system to perform the Reactor Vessel In-Service Inspection:
- Manipulator assessment
- Preparation of technical specification
- Mechanical modernization of manipulators
- Electrical modernization of manipulators
- Installation of electronic control system
- System integration
- System test and calibrations
- Personnel training
- Commissioning process
- Assistance to first ISI
Project Results
It was agreed that the supplier would provide the following goods and services:
- Subsystem SK 187.01
- Control System SK 187.01
- Data Acquisition and Processing System (16c)
- Mock-up Calibration Blocks
- Piezoelectric Transducers
- Documentation
- Functional Test
Covering 80% of the equipment and services included in the Technical Specification.
The project has its continuation in project U1.02/97B that started on February 19th, 2001.