The effects of a chemical decontamination process on ultrasonic responses

This paper investigates the effects of a chemical decontamination process (hydrofluoric/nitric solution dip with a freon wash) on ultrasonic responses. This process was employed to clean the pipe samples used in intergranular stress corrosion cracking (IGSCC) operator qualification activities. The pipe-to-elbow joint removed from a nuclear power plant, during the 1983 outage was used for the study. Primarily, the signal amplitude changes were examined. A computerized ultrasonic data acquisition and processing system (CUDAPS) was utilized for data acquisition. The conclusion was reached that, on the average, this chemical decontamination process had no significant effect on ultrasonic responses