Replica Examination of Nuclear Generating Station’s Bleed Condenser Nozzle The replication process was performed efficiently using Kinectrics’ proven procedure for the production of field metallographic replicas. The procedure uses nuclear-safe materials and chemicals to produce a metallographic ‘fingerprint’ of the indication or area of interest. Although the in-situ replication process is useful for microstructructural characterization, it only reveals the surface plane of the defect or indication in question. Staged grinding, polishing, and replication also needed to be performed in order to determine the depth of the indication. The indication was located near the nozzle-to-shell weld and consisted of a large, linear void. Optical examination of the replica characterised the indicat

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