Non-destructive evaluation is widely used in nuclear power plants in order
to ensure security by studying the evolution of numerous parameters and per
forming modelling. We describe a non-destructive method based on acoustics
in order to determine the composition of the helium-xenon mixture in the fr
ee volumes of fuel ros in pressurised water reactors by measuring the time-
of-flight. A thermodynamic model based on a virial type expansion is used t
o relate the ultrasound velocity in the gas mixture to its composition and
the ultrasound velocity in one gas to its pressure. Thus we present an orig
inal application of acoustics to be used as a non-destructive testing metho
d in the nuclear industry.