Asset Integrity Nuclear Solutions
Information
Date
September 2022
Location
United Kingdom
HSEQ
Zero lost time incidents (LTI’s)
Scope of Work
A client contracted Stork to carry out Asset Integrity services on a decommissioned nuclear site. The workscope required the inspection of duct hanger rods to determine if any had sheared during their use within the plant, which was decommissioned in 2006.
The main component of the workscope related to the tie rods, which were situated on the roof of a reactor building, set in concrete and 120+ feet in the air. Only the top-end of the component was open to the surface at the roof.
Stork’s Solution
To undertake the in-depth task, the use of ultrasonic testing was proposed. This solution used low-frequency techniques to determine the strength of a return signal on the component. Our Asset Integrity team designed the process to be repeatable, which enabled the scope to be completed over two mobilisations.
The process was designed to determine two things:
- The presence of the return signal, at an expected linear range, which would indicate the rod being full-length and not sheared.
- The strength of the signal which would indicate significant material losses over the range of the component.
Results & Benefits
The results of the inspection allowed our client to make a critical decision on the suitability of these hangers to support the gas ducts until they were decommissioned.