The ENIQ pilot study: an example of how to put into practice the European methodology for inspection qualification

A pilot study is currently being carried out by ENIQ in order to explore th e issues involved in inspection qualification applied along the general pri nciples of the European methodology. The components selected for the pilot study are austenitic pipe to pipe and pipe to elbow welds typical of those in BWR recirculation loops. A range of defect parameters has been defined. A suitable inspection procedure designed to find the designated defects wil l be applied to geometrically representative test-pieces. The procedure/equ ipment was qualified through open trials and technical justification, The p ersonnel qualification was done in a blind way. An in-service inspection wi ll be simulated in order to test the feasibility of the qualification appro ach followed. In this paper the current status of this pilot study is discu ssed.