Nickel electroplating as a remedy to steam generator tubing PWSCC

Nickel plating appears to be a versatile process, as the application field, even if always used against PWSCC, is different from plant-to-plant. Its usage has been from a purely preventive action on tubes without defects, to a corrective action on through-wall cracked and leaking tubes. As a background for the large scale on-site operations of Doel 2 in 1990 (345 tubes) and Tihange 2 in 1992 (600 tubes), studies on four points are outlined, i.e. corrosion tests, stress measurements, sulfamate bath quality control, and in-service inspection. In conclusion, it appears that the nickel plating technique, following a case-by-case study, can often be a convenient remedy against Alloy 600 stress corrosion problems. New applications, in locations other than the steam generator field are under consideration