Development of Bore Tools for Pipe Inspection

In the International Thermonuclear Reactor (ITER), replacement and maintenance on in-vessel components requires that all cooling pipes connected be cut and removed, that a new component be installed, and that all cooling pipes be rewelded. After welding is completed, welded area must be inspected for soundness. These tasks require a new work concept for securing shielded area and access from narrow ports. Tools had to be developed for nondestructive inspection and leak testing to evaluate pipe welding soundness by accessing areas from inside pipes using autonomous locomotion welding and cutting tools. A system was proposed for nondestructive inspection of branch pipes and the main pipe after passing through pipe curves, the same as for welding and cutting tool development. Nondestructive inspection and leak testing sensors were developed and the basic parameters were obtained. In addition, the inspection systems which can move inside pipes and conduct the nondestructive inspection and the leak testing were developed. In this paper, an introduction will be given to the current situation concerning the development of nondestructive inspection and leak testing machines for the branch pipes.