Ultrasonic phased array examination of circumferential weld joint in reactor pressure vessel of BWR

The weld joints in the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) of Boiling Water Reactors (BWR) are required to be examined periodically for assurance of structural integrity. Ultrasonic phased array examination technique has been developed in authors’ laboratory for inspection of the top flange to shell circumferential weld joint in RPV of BWRs, which are in operation in India since the late 1960s. The development involved detailed simulation studies for computation of focal laws followed by validation on mock-up. The paper brings out the limitations of the conventional ultrasonic technique and how this can be overcome by the phased array approach for the weld joint under consideration. The phased array technique was successfully employed for field examination of this weld joint in RPV during the re-fuelling outage.