BWR Surveillance Capsule Testing Services

Structural Integrity Associates, Inc. (SI) of San Jose, California and BWXT Services, Inc. (BWXT) of Lynchburg, Virginia have signed a one-year agreement to jointly pursue boiling water reactor (BWR) reactor pressure vessel (RPV) surveillance program capsule material testing services and associated engineering analyses.

The agreement joins SI's BWR system and analytical expertise with BWXT's extensive laboratory and hot cell testing capabilities, and provides a viable team for providing RPV surveillance program testing services to all BWR owners worldwide.

BWR RPV surveillance programs typically include three sealed capsules that were installed inside the reactor during initial vessel fabrication. The capsules contain various test specimens, and they are removed at specific time intervals to determine the change in material behavior caused by neutron irradiation. The capsules typically contain Charpy specimens, tensile test specimens, and flux wires. Typical testing services include Charpy testing, tensile testing, chemical composition analysis, and flux wire dosimetry analysis in accordance with ASTM standards.
Related analytical services include material review and documentation, fluence calculations, and pressure-temperature (P-T) curve development in accordance with industry regulations. See adjacent typical P-T curve.

Structural Integrity Associates, Inc.