Hardness Measurements Based on Electrical Resistance Technique for Power Plant Life Assessment
M. Pinto, S. Estanislau, D. Viola, R. Batista, J. Barata, Integridade, Portugal; D.Lopes, ISQ, Portugal
ABSTRACT
Hardness measurements are widely used in in-situ inspection among other NDT sampling to evaluate the structural condition of high temperature industrial components as well as to estimate its remaining life. In-situ hardness measurements are normally carried out using portable hardness equipment in which the most common are of ultrasonic nature with rather reliable results for wall thickness above 15 mm. The results obtained for thickness values bellow that, should not be considered reliable accordingly with the equipment specification. Alternative hardness portable equipment based on electrical resistivity measurements have been developed, within the scope of a collaborative BRITE-EURAM project and investigations of its applicability to industrial in-situ life condition have been carried out. The present work presents the results obtained with this new portable hardness equipment, in low wall thickness components, in particular reheater tubes from power plants boilers which were supported by a laboratory investigation workprogramme. The results obtained were quite successful offering this equipment as a promising alternative in-situ hardness technique for industrial life assessment procedure, for low thickness tubes components.
Publication Source: 3nd International Conference on NDE in Relation to Structural Integrity for Nuclear and Pressurized Components, November 14-16, 2001, Seville Spain. Publisher: Tecnatom s.a. - [Homepage]
