Tender opportunity: Testing of NDE technologies on defective pipe welds
30/03/2021
The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) is a non-departmental government body carrying out research into nuclear fusion as a future source of energy. The UKAEA is actively involved in the ITER project. ITER is an international project, with 35 nations collaborating to design, construct and operate a prototype controlled nuclear fusion reactor in southern France.The ITER machine is scheduled to begin operations in 2025. Once operational, many components will operate in extreme conditions, which significantly degrade the components over time. Many of these components will need to be maintained and replaced during ITER’s operational lifetime.
When maintenance on ITER components in-vessel/in-cryostat or in the neutral beam cell is required, they shall be remotely removed by the remote handling systems (RHS) and transferred into the hot-cell facility where they can be inspected, refurbished or disposed of.
The ITER components to be maintained by the RHS commonly have an associated embedded piping set, either for actively cooling them or to perform their process. These pipes must be remotely cut by the RHS as part of the component removal operation and remotely re-welded when the replaced components are re-installed.
The integrity of the remotely welded joints must be demonstrated remotely by the means of NDT (visual examination, volumetric inspection, helium leak test and pressure test).
UKAEA is leading a programme of work in collaboration with ITER Organisation to define and develop the volumetric inspection process for the remotely welded joints.
Dry-couplant PAUT, ECT and EMAT have been identified as the most promising candidate NDE technologies for the given application and detection requirements.
UKAEA is seeking a company with one, both or all of these selected technologies to test their system against reference samples, ie there are up to three lots to this tender, which should be bid for separately. However, it is entirely feasible that one company could win all lots. Alternatively, each lot could be awarded to separate companies.
The results of these tests will be compared against X-ray computed tomography of the samples to assess the applicability and performance versus a known set of defects.
The advert for this tender has been published on Contracts Finder as: ‘Testing of NDE Technologies on Defective Pipe Welds’; CPV code: 71632200.
Also, UKAEA will be hosting a webinar from 1300 to 1500 hrs on 13 April 2021 to discuss the proposed work and allow the consultant to discuss any queries they may have regarding the tender.
Please contact Kwame Akowua (kwame.akowua@ukaea.uk) or David Wallis (david.wallis@ukaea.uk) to arrange attendance.
