Experience feedback and future perspectives for the qualification of NDT techniques on the EDF nuclear park

A French decree, ordered in 1999, has led EDF to formally qualify the Non Destructive Testing processes for the in-service inspection of its PWRs nuclear power plants' primary and secondary coolant circuits. Since then, about 140 qualifications have been pronounced. This paper briefly describes the procedure that has been established to examine the processes under qualification, and gives a ten year experience feedback in terms of performance demonstration methodology, technical evolutions, defect description and qualification limitations. Perspectives are identified for the NDT inspection techniques that are developed for future EPR type reactors and the monitoring of plants operated since more than thirty years