Condition monitoring system for cyclically loaded components using electromagnetic acoustic transducers - EMUS-4-STRESS

The restructuring of energy production worldwide towards increasing use of solar and wind energy is directly coupled to increasing load dynamics of fossil and nuclear power plants. This leads to a rising amount of stress-induced fatigue. Therefore, the knowledge required for decisions regarding continued operation, maintenance and condition monitoring has to be improved. Regarding piping systems, the development of a method for the monitoring of inner-wall stress is particularly relevant. The overall goal of the project EMUS-4-STRESS is the development of a method for determining the load-induced stress gradient originating from the inner wall of pipe components in case of fast load transients, by means of measurements at the outer wall, and finally fusing the developed approach with Framatome's existing FAMOSi system. The contribution discusses an ultrasonic time-of-flight-based approach that has been developed and successfully demonstrated on a pressurized austenitic pipe of 1.4550 material (X6CrNiNb18-10). Furthermore, core challenges of the ongoing implementation phase of the project are presented, such as high measuring speed (> 10Hz), improved sensitivity, temperature resistance for 350 °C operating conditions and determination of multiaxial loads.