Detecting and imaging stress corrosion cracking in stainless steel, with application to inspecting storage canisters for spent nuclear fuel

One of the primary concerns with the long-term performance of storage systems for spent nuclear fuel (SNF) is the potential for corrosion due to deliquescence of salts deposited as aerosols on the surface of the canister, which is typically made of austentic stainless steel. In regions of high residual weld stresses, this may lead to localized stress-corrosion cracking (SCC). The ability to detect and image SCC at an early stage (long before the cracks are susceptible to propagate through the thickness of the canister wall and leaks of radioactive material may occur) is essential to the performance evaluation and licensing process of the storage systems. In this paper, we explore a number of nondestructive testing techniques to detect and image SCC in austenitic stainless steel. Our attention is focused on a small rectangular sample of 1 × 2 in² with two cracks of mm-scale sizes. The techniques explored in this paper include nonlinear resonant ultrasound spectroscopy (NRUS) for detection, Linear Elastodynamic Gradient Imaging Technique (LEGIT), ultrasonic C-scan, vibrothermography, and synchrotron X-ray diffraction for imaging. Results obtained from these techniques are compared. Cracks of mm-scale sizes can be detected and imaged with all the techniques explored in this study.