S. Crutzen et P. Jehenson, INSPECTION PERFORMANCE WITH A VIEW TO PRESSURE-VESSEL LIFE MANAGEMENT, International journal of pressure vessels and piping, 54(1-2), 1993, pp. 107-136
Inspection results are an important part of the information required f
or any structural integrity assessment of a pressure component during
service. Before applying any scheme of margin to failure evaluation, i
t is essential to know as accurately as possible: the state of the str
ucture, fracture evaluation methods, the material properties, the poss
ible degradation mechanisms and the defects present. Such a knowledge
is acquired by inspection procedures that do not offer the same degree
of effectiveness and reliability in all cases of reactor pressure ves
sel (RPV) inspection and on all components of an RPV.