Abstract
An inspection procedure to assess the mechanical integrity of the International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility (IFMIF) capsules and rigs during the irradiation campaign is necessary. Due to its penetration ability and contrast mechanism, the X-ray microtomography is the only known tool that could meet these requirements. In the high flux test module (HFTM) of IFMIF miniaturized specimens are densely packed in capsules. The capsules, which wear electric heaters and thermocouples, are housed in rigs. To assure a well-defined thermal contact the heater wires have to be attached to the capsules by brazing them into grooves. The examination of the quality of the braze material layer is of crucial interest in order to assure the best heat coupling of the heater wires to the capsule. A high density of the heaters is necessary to maintain the required temperature and, in addition NaK filling of narrow channels is employed for improving the 3D-heat transfer between the irradiation specimens and the capsule wall. Fully 3D tomographic inspections of a prototypical HFTM instrumented capsule, developed and manufactured at FZK, were conducted. In order to identify the optimum irradiation parameters and scanning configuration we carried out a comparative NDT analysis on two microtomography facilities: a compact, high magnification installation at NILPRP and a high-end industrial tomography facility with higher X-ray energy and intensity at HWM. At optimum inspection parameters of a directional microfocus X-ray source ( U = 220 kV and I = 300 μA) the geometry resolution was about 30 microns for characteristic dimension of the sample of 50 mm. Voids of 30 microns diameter and cracks of about 20 microns width can be detected. The absolute error of geometrical measurements is sufficient for the assessment of the structural integrity of the irradiation capsule and for the geometry description within the thermal-hydraulic modeling. The space resolution and the overall reconstruction quality could be further improved by operating the X-ray source at low intensity and, consequently, very small focus size and, in addition, by implementing procedures to compensate geometry and beam hardening artifacts.
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