The increasing needs in term of energy production lead to new rotor shafts designs with larger dimensions. A new generation of nuclear power plants is already being deployed worldwide with such heavy components. Their implementation requires new inspection tools in order to guarantee the public safety and to ensure the quality of these critical parts. This presentation addresses the implementation and validation of new solutions for large mono-block rotor shaft forgings.

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Large Rotor Shaft
Inspection
Application Solution
August 2018

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• Inspection Challenge
• Recommended PA UT Solution
• Performance Validation
• Benefits of Zetec Solution
Overview
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• New nuclear power plant designs bring new challenges for
NDT due to increased size of forged components
• Acceptance criteria for rotor and disk inspections during
manufacturing are based on size of equivalent disk-type
(FBH) reflectors, using DGS diagrams
• Due to increasing sound path length (up to 2800 mm),
standard conventional UT probes cannot provide sufficient
SNR on small reflectors to comply with code requirements
• Rotor inspection needs to be performed at different angles to
increase probability of detection
Inspection Challenge
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Limitation of conventional UT
probes :
• B2S type probes (mono-crystal, 2 MHz,
 24 mm) or equivalent are typically
used for straight beam inspection of
rotors
• Due to the increasing sound-path
length, B2S (or equivalent) probes
cannot provide sufficient SNR, because:
− Limited active surface
(acoustic energy)
− Natural divergence of probe
Inspection Challenge
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DGS Diagram of B2S Probe

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• Semi-flexible 2D matrix array probe, capable of generating
straight and angle beams, for improved detection capability at
long sound paths (up to 3000 mm)
• and , high-power PA UT
systems, capable of driving large matrix arrays
• UltraVision Classic, supports semi-flexible PA probes, and
includes acoustic beam simulation and DGS simulation tool
• Integration with customer manipulator, using UltraVision SDK
(Software Development Kit)
Recommended PA UT Solution
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2M8x4E16-64-QUAD : 2 MHz, 4 individual matrix
array probes, each with 8 x 4 elements (128 in total)
2M7x3E14-40-TRI : 2 MHz, 3 individual matrix
array probes, each with 7 x 3 elements (63 in total)
• Semi-flexible configuration allows for direct
coupling on OD 250 mm and up
• More acoustic energy on reflector, through large
active aperture / small beam divergence
• Capability to efficiently focus acoustic energy at
various depths, using a single probe
• Beam steering capability, i.e. efficiently generate
multiple beam angles using a single probe,
from - 45°LW to +45LW
• Can generate beams using partial aperture for
examination of near-surface zone
Semi-Flexible 2D Matrix Array Probes
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Large rotors Intermediate rotors
Semi-Flexible 2D Matrix Array Probes
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2M8x4E16-64-QUAD 2M7x3E14-40-TRI

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Preliminary validation,
comparison with B2S :
• rotor calibration block
• Ø 1.6 mm FBH
• sound path 1800 mm
Performance Validation
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Detection capability 0LW:
• 3 focal laws, to cover depth
range up to 2800 mm
• Validation on curved and
flat specimens with Ø 1.6
mm FBH, from 5 mm to
2713 mm depth
• SNR > 20 dB
Minimum detectable flaw
< Ø 0.9 mm FBH (6 dB SNR)
Performance Validation
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for All Rotor Types
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• Drives semi-flexible 2D matrix arrays
up to 256 elements
• 200 V Pulser
• A-Scan length up to 256,000 points
• 16-bit amplitude resolution
• Data throughput up to 30 MB/s
• Controlled by UltraVision Classic

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for Intermediate Rotors
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• Drives semi-flexible 2D matrix arrays
up to 64 elements
• Portable battery-operated unit
• No air intake
• Bipolar Pulser 150 Vpp
• 16-bit amplitude resolution
• Data throughput up to 50 MB/s
• Controlled by UltraVision Classic

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• Supports semi-flexible 2D matrix array probe configurations
• Includes DGS simulation tool for conventional UT and various PA UT probe
types (1D linear, 2D matrix, semi-flexible 2D matrix)
• Allows to generate, visualize and save DGS curves from Advanced
Calculator parameters
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Classic Software

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• During calibration and inspection, DGS curves for each focal law can
be displayed on A-Scan views
• Provides dedicated information fields, to quantify and evaluate
indications in accordance with Equivalent Reflector Size (ERS) method
Classic Software
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• Semi-flexible 2D matrix array probes offer important SNR
improvement compared to conventional UT probes and
standard linear PA UT probes
• and , high-power PA UT
systems for improved detection capability at long sound paths
• UltraVision Classic, supports semi-flexible PA probes, and
includes acoustic beam simulation and DGS simulation tool
• Seamless integration with third-party manipulators, using the
UltraVision SDK (Software Development Kit)
Benefits of Zetec Solution
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