This technological process is a part of the mandatory pre-commissioning control measures undertaken at power units. The purpose of the ECT is to confirm the integrity of the technical characteristics of the main equipment metal in the reactor compartment after the hot run-in.
According to Andrei Zalozny, Head of Atomenergoremont JSC representative office in Belarus, eddy current testing of the equipment at the Belarusian NPP was done following a unique method and using high-precision devices and manipulators that were manufactured by Atomenergoremont specialists and have no analogues in Russia. The method objective is to measure the speed and depth of the current passing through metal. These data allow for conclusions about the state of the material, as well as detection of cavities, and the smallest longitudinal and transverse cracks. "Simple and at the same time reliable manipulators make it possible to bring measuring devices to any point to perform measurements, while the data fixing devices can work for hours with maximum load. The testing is being done with maximum accuracy providing for almost 100% precision," the company representatives said.
The timely done ECT allows for the compliance with the related commissioning activities schedule, as well as for meeting the deadlines for the reactor main equipment inspection. “The coordinated actions, efficiency and highest professionalism of all those involved in the process from the Russian and Belarusian sides made possible the timely completion of the stage without quality reduction,” said Oleg Shperle, Vice President at ASE EC JSC.
Since 2017, all branches of Atomenergoremont JSC have been involved in the largest project in Belarus - the construction of a nuclear power plant. At the same time, the Representative Office of the repair company was set up in the Republic of Belarus.
To date, the specialists of the Center for Non-Destructive Testing of Atomenergoremont JSC have already completed the eddy current testing of the equipment at unit 1 of the Belarusian NPP, which is a mandatory part of the unit commissioning stage.
This complex technological testing is performed with high-precision devices. The Ural branch of the repair company has been manufacturing eddy current control manipulators for many years. These manipulators while being one-of-a-kind in Russia are used at all NPPs with VVER-type reactors (except the Kola NPP).
At the Belarusian nuclear power plant, the testing was performed in difficult operaton conditions simultaneously with commissioning activities. The non-compliance with the ECT schedule could influence the terms of the related works and the whole stage of the reactor main equipment inspection. Thanks to the well-coordinated work with representatives of ASE JSC and Atomtekhenergo JSC, the testing didn’t change the terms of these operations. Andrey Zalozny, Head of the Representative Office of Atomenergoremont JSC in the Republic of Belarus, the official from the repair company who was in charge of the work.