Some aspects of quality control problems experienced in nuclear component manufacture

The Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) has been adopted by India for all its first-generation nuclear power stations. This type of reactor contains a number of massive and sophisticated reactor components which have to be built to the stringent quality requirements of nuclear specifications. In the Indian nuclear programme great emphasis has been laid on achieving self-sufficiency in the manufacture of nuclear components. Due to sustained efforts over the past few years this goal has almost been reached. It has been a challenging task for Indian industry to take up the manufacture of sophisticated nuclear components and as a result a new outlook on quality has emerged. Many problems were faced in achieving the desired quality standards during the manufacture of nuclear components. Some aspects of these problems relating to raw material, fabrication, weld quality and non-destructive examination are discussed. As an illustration, quality control problems experienced during the manufacture of the reactor vessel are highlighted. Indian industry has demonstrated that the stringent quality standards required by nuclear specifications can be achieved by a developing country with limited resources. While the efforts made to date are commendable, still greater efforts are required to strengthen quality control departments in order to maintain effective quality control. (author)