Advanced and innovative approaches to inspect the Phenix Fast Breeder Reactor

Phenix is France's experimental fast breeder reactor which is located in Marcoule and is operated by the French Atomic Energy Commission (CEA). The CEA, has decided to renovate the aging plant to extend the life expectancy of the reactor. The program requires field inventory and inspection of equipment to support the component life-span evaluation studies. The presence of liquid sodium and the high temperature of the reactor coolant system even at cold shutdown -- between 150 and 180 deg C make inspection of Fast Breeder Reactors (FBR) a difficult technical challenge. Framatome-ANP has in particular completed four innovative non-destructive tests at Phenix : Inspection of the conical shell that helps to support the reactor core. The technique, which was developed in concert with the CEA/STA, was performed in late 1999. It involved ultrasonic testing of welds immersed in liquid sodium and located several meters from the scan surface; Inspection of the top portion and the hanging shells of the main vessel using small transducers able to withstand temperatures of 130 deg. C; Inspection of the tubesheet in an intermediate heat exchanger using a photothermal camera; TV inspection of the primary circuit internals through dedicated periscopes, that needed the partial draining of the primary sodium, and was successfully achieved in April 2001. (author)