Steam Generator Tube Integrity Program:
Annual Report August 1995-September 1996
by
D. R. Diercks, S. Bakhtiari, K. E. Kasza, D. S. Kupperman,
S. Majumdar, J. Y. Park, and W. J. Shack
Abstract
This report summarizes work performed by Argonne National Laboratory on the Steam
Generator Tube Integrity Program from the inception of the program in August 1995
through September 1996. The program is divided into five tasks: (1) Assessment of
Inspection  Reliability, (2)  Research  on  ISI   (in-service-inspection)  Technology,
(3) Research  on Degradation Modes and Integrity, (4) Tube Removals from       Steam
Generators, and (5) Program Management. Under Task 1, progress is reported on the
preparation of facilities and evaluation of nondestructive evaluation techniques for
inspecting a mock-up steam generator for round-robin testing, the development of better
correlations between failure pressure and leak rate with eddy current (EC) signals, the
inspection of sleeved tubes, workshop and training activities, and the evaluation of
emerging NDE technology. Under Task 2, results are reported on closed-form solutions
and finite-element electromagnetic modeling of EC probe responses for various probe
designs and flaw characteristics. Under Task 3, facilities are being designed and built for
the production of cracked tubes under aggressive and near-prototypical conditions and for
the testing of flawed and unflawed tubes under normal operating, accident, and severe
accident conditions. In addition, crack behavior and stability are being modeled to provide
guidance for test facility design, develop an improved understanding of the expected
failure behavior of tubes with circumferential cracks, and predict the behavior of flawed
and unflawed tubes under severe accident conditions. Task 4 is concerned with the
acquisition of tubes and tube sections from retired steam generators for use in the other
research tasks. Progress on the acquisition of tubes from the Salem and McGuire 1 nuclear
plants is reported.

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