RESULTS OF STUDIES OF OPERATION OF SPECIAL IMPEDANCE TRANSDUCERS ON THE RIGID METAL STRUCTURES OF REAL PRODUCED OBJECTS

Abstract

The paper presents the studies of capabilities of special impedance transducers with mechanical filter of oscillation frequencies at the input (output) as a tool of non-destructive testing of real produced objects. Objects under test were elements of a power reactor, which are exposed to high temperature aggressive medium and which are inaccessible for direct contact because of the cooling system. The use of special transducers allowed the development of a new method, which used natural oscillations of the object under test and, thus, provided a mean for monitoring of inaccessible elements of the structure. The method is based on fixation of energy redistribution by the modes of natural oscillations of the object under test, when exposed to damping factors caused by cracks, erosion and other defects. It is shown, how this method operates, when using an artificial damper and in presence of real defects. The use of the artificial damper made it possible to determine that this method allowed the non-destructive testing over the entire surface of the monitored element of the structure.