Development and Applications of Laser-ultrasonic Testing in Nuclear Industry
A laser-based maintenance system, which includes the las er-ultrasonic testing as a non-destructive testing technology, the laser-peening as a surface stress imp rovement technology and the laser welding as a repair technology, for the in-service maintenance of n uclear reactor internal components is presented. Regarding the laser-ultrasonic testing, surface acoustic wave generated and detected by lasers is used to detect surface-breaking cracks. As the benefits of broad -ban feature of the laser-ultrasonics, this method allows to detect very small cracks having the depth of les s than 0.1mm. Also, a frequency response analysis technique of the surface acoustic wave, which propagates through the crack, is developed to size the depth of the crack. The error of this depth measurement thod is estimated at less than 0.2 mm through a series of experiments using stress corrosion cracki ng. A part of the laser-based maintenance system has been already applied to the actual maintenance works in Japanese nuclear power plants . The developed system and its operation are presented. Finally, m ore recent work to detect and visualize small defects on the weld bead by using leakly-Rayleigh waves is introduced.
Multi-detector receiver for laser ultrasonic measurement on the run
Laser-based ultrasonic (LBU) is now becoming a more mature technology, making the transition from research laboratory equipment to an industrial on-line measurement system. The non-contact and remote capability of LBU is an undeniable advantage for high-speed inspection. As LBU competes with other inspection technologies for on-line integration, LBU must retain its performance advantages despite operating in a far from ideal environment. In this paper, we review recent developments in a receiver based on multi-detector elements, which was specifically developed to meet the demanding needs of industrial inspections. We show that by integrating detector arrays into a classic interferometer design, we can transform a high sensitivity but delicate laboratory interferometer into a rugged system capable of enduring tough industrial environment.
The peculiar thermo-structural behavior of the anionic lipid DMPG.
Aqueous dispersions of the anionic phospholipid dimyristoyl phosphatidylglycerol (DMPG), around 100 mM ionic strength, are known to exhibit a thermal behavior similar to that of the largely studied lipid dimyristoyl phosphatidylcholine (DMPC), which undergoes a gel to liquid crystalline phase transition at 23 degrees C, well characterized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and other methods. However, at low ionic strength, DMPG has been shown to present a large gel-fluid transition region, ranging from 18 to 35 degrees C. This intermediate phase is optically transparent and characterized by a continuous change in membrane packing. Structural properties of the DMPG gel-fluid transition region will be discussed, based on results obtained by several techniques: electron spin resonance (ESR) of spin labels at the membrane surface and intercalated at different depths in the bilayer; light scattering; DSC; small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS); and fluorescence spectroscopy of probes in the bilayer.