JULY 2015 Nozzles inspection at Ringhals nuclear plant (Sweden) Inspection of control rods at Krsko nuclear The Tecnatom s plant (Slovenia) news bulletin Simulator for a combined cycle plant in Mexico Tecnatom has performed the inspection of the main recirculation nozzles at Ringhals 1 nuclear power plant. Tecnatom has completed the in-service inspection of control rods during the recent refuelling outage at the Krsko Nuclear Power Plant. Gas Natural Fenosa has awarded Tecnatom the development of a simulator for its Tuxpan combined cycle plant. Image: Control Rods of a PWR Fuel Assembly
JULY 2015 Nozzles inspection at Ringhals nuclear plant (Sweden) Tecnatom has performed the inspection of the main recirculation nozzles at Ringhals 1 nuclear power plant (in Sweden), an ABB BWR reactor with a rated power of 760 MWe. This has been part of the cycle of qualified inspections that Tecnatom performs in this Nordic country, on the reactor vessels of several BWR plants. The inspection was carried out using ultrasonic non-destructive testing techniques, exploring different areas of the nozzles using the 5-STN mechanical equipment and with access gained from the inside. The scope programmed and covered in this inspection corresponded to % of the recirculation nozzles, since the other half was already inspected in 2014. The ultrasonic techniques used in this project are qualified by the Swedish body SQC and both, the acquisition operators and data analysts, are required to pass demanding validation tests. 2
JULY 2015 Inspection of control rods at Krsko nuclear plant (Slovenia) Tecnatom has successfully completed the in-service inspection of control rods during the recent refuelling outage at the Krsko Nuclear Power Plant, in Slovenia. This work is part of the multiple-cycle contract awarded to Tecnatom in 2014, the scope including two control rod inspection campaigns to be performed during the 2015 and 2018 outages, respectively. The equipment used to perform the work includes the CRONOS system, developed by Tecnatom, which simultaneously combines ultrasonic and eddy current techniques and integrates the latest generation in-house UT and ET data acquisition technology (SONIA and ETbox). 3
JULY 2015 Simulator for a combined cycle plant in Mexico Gas Natural Fenosa has awarded Tecnatom the supply of a simulator for its Tuxpan combined cycle plant. This plant, located in Veracruz (Mexico), is based on Mitsubishi technology and consists of 2 groups with a total power output of 980 MWe. The simulator will be developed using Tecnatom in-house technology and will provide a high degree of fidelity in the response of the simulated systems, the control system and the operating interface. This platform will constitute an important tool for operator training and will be capable of simulating a wide variety of operating scenarios: normal, malfunctions and emergencies. The simulator will be delivered, along with teaching material allowing for its effective use, in 2018 and will be equipped with a platform of equipment and simulation models organised around an instructor station and two trainee stations. 4
JULY 2015 Internal dosimetry at the Spanish waste repository Tecnatom has been awarded a contract by the Spanish national radioactive waste management company (ENRESA) for the annual internal dosimetry control of the personnel of its El Cabril low and intermediate level radioactive waste disposal facility. The contract will remain in force until 2018 and will include the surveillance of the dosimetry of all the facility personnel by means of a whole-body counter installed in a mobile unit owned by Tecnatom. This annual control must be performed by a personal dosimetry service authorized by the Nuclear Safety Council (CSN). Furthermore, the Tecnatom dosimetry service fulfill the requirements requested by the national accreditation body (ENAC), in accordance with the ISO/ IEC 17025 standard, this making it a reference in the national sector for internal dosimetry. 5
JULY 2015 Tecnatom performs the Tear-Down of the A400M Tecnatom is carrying out inspections of the AIRBUS A400M aircraft using non-destructive testing (NDT) techniques. This work is included within the framework of the agreement between Tecnatom and Ensia Expert, S.L. for the rendering of services, and comes in the wake of Tecnatom s certification in accordance with the UNE-EN 9100 (manufacturing work) and UNE-EN 9110 (maintenance work) standards in relation to the aerospace sector. The A400M is a long range military transport and tanker aircraft designed by the European corporation Airbus Military. Various components (landing gear access ramp, upper/lateral panels junction, crew entry door, cockpit, etc.) are being inspected within the process known as Tear-Down (the inspection of certain aircraft components, previously cut and disassembled, following a period of fatigue testing). This project, along with others included in the catalogue, consolidates the new line of aeronautical component inspection service activities for the Tecnatom Group. 6
JULY 2015 ENUSA and Tecnatom deliver new equipment to China The SICOM-UT inspection equipment, jointly developed by Enusa and Tecnatom, has successfully passed its Site Acceptance Tests (SAT). The process was carried out at the training facilities belonging to SNPI (Suzhou Nuclear Power Research Institute) at Daya Bay (China). The SICOM-UT is an inspection system for the thorough detection of wall defects in fuel rods by means of ultrasonic techniques. It incorporates in-house Tecnatom technology, such as the SONIA ultrasonic data acquisition modules, the InspectView treatment software and the SIROCO UMAC movement control module, as well as the vast experience of Enusa as provider of these inspection services. Although this is the first item of equipment belonging to the SICOM family to be exported to China, it is the third system to be jointly exported by Enusa and Tecnatom to the country. 7
JULY 2015 Tecnatom trains AP1000 instructors Tecnatom is involved in the training of the operators of the VC Summer nuclear power plant (United States), which is one of the two North American sites where AP1000 reactors are being built, the other being Vogtle. Tecnatom has an International Training Center with 13 instructors specializing in Westinghouse AP1000 reactor. This is a generation III+ reactor based on passive safety elements that, in the event of a design basis accident, are capable of taking the plant to safe shutdown conditions without the intervention of the operators or the need for electrical current or pumps. 8
JULY 2015 newproduct Tecnatom certifies its ultrasonic equipment in the United States GE Aviation and NORDAM have certified the AG-2 inspection system by Marietta NDT, which includes SONIA electronics and the InspectView software, both developed by Tecnatom. In addition to allowing for the rendering of services to these two companies, this will provide a platform for the demonstration of our ultrasonic products in the United States. The qualification of this system with other clients, such as Boeing and Gulfstream, is foreseen in the near future. In addition, the coming months will see the installation at Marietta of our RABIT robot-operated demonstration system, which to date has been in use at Tecnatom headquarters for both the validation of ultrasonic hardware, software and techniques. In this way we aim to boost the introduction of our TAURUS robot-based inspection systems on the American market. New turbine-driven pump and feedwater control on the Cofrentes simulator Tecnatom has upgraded the full-scope simulator of the BWR Cofrentes nuclear power plant to incorporate the new digital turbine-driven pump and feedwater control system. This upgrading allows for training on the simulator and verification of the response of this new system prior to its implementation at the plant, scheduled for the next refuelling outage. The result of this project has made it possible to perform up-front training on the simulator and optimise the new control, thus contributing to a more efficient and safer start-up of the system. This is an example of the use of full-scope simulators as engineering tools, in addition to their standard use as operator training tools. 9
JULY 2015 othernews New non-destructive testing website Tecnatom chose the 13th national NDT congress, held in Seville in early May, to showcase its new website, designed to promote the sale of products and services in the area of non-destructive testing. Tecnatom is characterised as a company by its development of in-house technology for the rendering of services and the development of equipment for third parties, this implying heavy investments in R&D that make it a reference in the engineering sector in this field. Products such as eddy current and ultrasonic equipment, electronics, probes, sensors and associated software are offered via the new website, along with integrated systems. The address is as follows: www.tecnatom-ndt.com 10
JULY 2015 agenda WNA Symposium From 9 to 11 September 2015, London (England) http://www.wna-symposium.org/ehome/index.php?eventid=108035& 59th Regular Session of the IAEA General Conference From 14 to 18 September 2015, Vienna (Austria) https://www.iaea.org/about/policy/gc/gc59 41th Annual Meeting SNE From 23 to 25 September 2015, A Coruña (Spain). http://www.reunionanualsne.es/ Nuklea 2015 From 30 September to 1 October 2015, Orleans (France). http://www.nuklea.fr/2015/fr/ 11