Description:
Reference #: 1743
The University of South Carolina is offering licensing opportunities for Noncontact inspection and detection of stress corrosion cracking defect.
Background:
Stress corrosion cracking has been observed in the high-level nuclear waste tanks that were constructed by welding carbon steel plates. This cracking presents a safety concern for nuclear spent fuel storage, as nuclear waste can leak out of the tank and pollute the environment. Such cracks may be hard to detect, especially due to the presence of the nuclear waste material inside the structure. Therefore, a method is needed to remotely identify, assess, and rectify any structural damages within these waste storage tanks.
Invention Description:
The method uses a pulsed laser to excite ultrasonic waves to propagate in the chosen structure. The wave propagates and arrives at any structural crack, thus interacting with it. The method uses a laser Doppler vibrometer to measure the waves in the plate. The resulted wave data show the presence of the crack and the characteristics associated with it.
Potential Applications:
Nuclear industry with the potential to expand to other industries that rely on detection of structural cracking in storage materials.
Advantages and Benefits:
This method can be conveniently adopted and remotely operated. It detects not only surface but defects within the structure. It shows the defect profile in the surface plane, and potentially can show the whole dimension of the crack.