Survey and comparison of automated UT systems

In the past decade, the limitations of manual UT inspections have become more severe and adverse. Perhaps the best evidence of this has been the problem of intergranular stress corrosion cracking (IGSCC) in boiling water reactors (BWR). The onset of this problem clearly showed that better and more sophisticated UT inspection methods must be developed to assure the industry that an appropriate level of inspection integrity could be maintained. While automated UT inspection systems have been under development for some time, this event certainly spurred this activity and has resulted in a variety of commercial systems. The intent of this project, sponsored by EPRI, is to develop a utility engineer's 'Buyer guide' to automated UT systems. Comparison of different automated UT systems along with results of questionnaires on manual UT versus automated UT costs and effectiveness are reviewed. (author)