Spanish engineering firm Tecnatom and nuclear fuel manufacturer Enusa have delivered a new irradiated fuel inspection system to China’s Suzhou Nuclear Power Institute, a subsidiary of China General Nuclear.
Tecnatom said in February that the equipment will be used at Chinese NPPs to measure corrosion on peripheral fuel assembly rods, as well as for their visual inspection. The equipment will allow micron-level accuracy in the examination of oxide layers on fuel rods. Tecnatom said inspection and characterisation of irradiated fuel can help guarantee the safe use of fuel, optimise the economy of the fuel cycle, locate and characterise faults in the fuel, determine the root cause of fuel faults and evaluate fuel behaviour models.
The system was supplied under a framework cooperation agreement signed in January 2016.
