Case Study
TSS (Terminal Solid Solubility) Tool
TSS (Terminal Solid Solubility) Tool Problem CANDU nuclear reactors contain fuel-filled zirconium pressure tubes which slowly absorb hydrogen from the primary heat transport coolant while in service. The hydrogen concentration is an important factor in the life cycle management of the pressure tubes, as it affects the remaining service life. Hence, there is an ongoing requirement for utilities to periodically inspect the pressure tubes to monitor their service condition. The hydrogen concentration measurements are performed during a unit outage, typically by defueling and isolating a pressure tube and obtaining a scrape sample of the zirconium material for chemical analysis. This process is time consuming and dose intensive, due to the need for channel isolation (ice plugging) and reactor