Power/energy: Finding the flaws in nuclear power plants: Nondestructive, remote testing techniques are necessary ¿ and are being devised ¿ to improve the operational safety of nuclear plants

Research and development sponsored by the Electric Power Research Institute in Palo Alto, California, has led to new nondestructive evaluation techniques. These include: a high-energy, portable X-ray system for ensuring the integrity of thick metal reactor vessels and coolant pumps, ultrasonic methods to enable reliable detection and characterization of corrosion-induced cracks in pipes, advanced eddy-current inspection equipment for steam generator tubing and automated inspection and evaluation systems capable of reducing plant downtime.