Nuclear Engineering and Design 134 (1992) 283-294 283

North-Holland
Eval uat i on of check val ve moni t ori ng me t hods *
H. D. Haynes
Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, USA
Received 4 April 1990, revised version 30 October 1990
Check valves are used extensively in nuclear plant safety systems and balance-of-plant (BOP) systems. Their failures have
resulted in significant maintenance efforts and, on occasion, have resulted in water hammer, overpressurization of
low-pressure systems and damage to flow system components. Consequently, in recent years check valves have received
considerable attention by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the nuclear power industry. Oak Ridge National
Laboratory (ORNL) is carrying out a comprehensive two phase aging assessment of check valves in support of the Nuclear
Plant Aging Research (NPAR) program. As part of the second phase, ORNL is evaluating several developmental and/or
commercially available check valve diagnostic monitoring methods; in particular, those based on measurements of acoustic
emission, ultrasonics, and magnetic flux. These three methods were found to provide different (and complementary)
diagnostic information. The combination of acoustic emission with either ultrasonic or magnetic flux monitoring yields a
monitoring system that succeeds in providing sensitivity to detect all major check valve operating conditions. The three
check valve monitoring methods described in this paper are still under development and are presently being tested as part of
a program directed by the Nuclear Industry Check Valve Group (NIC) in conjunction with the Electric Power Research
Institute (EPRI). Phase 1 of this program (water testing) is being carried out at the Utah Water Research Laboratory
located on the Utah State University campus.
1. I n t r o d u c t i o n
1.1. Backgr ound
Check valves are used extensively in nuclear plant
safety systems and balance-of-plant (BOP) systems.
Their failures have resulted in significant maintenance
efforts and, on occasion, have resulted in water ham-
mer, overpressurization of low-pressure systems and
damage to flow system components. These failures
have largely been attributed to severe degradation of
internal parts (i.e., hinge pins, hinge arms, discs, and
disc nut pins) resulting from instability (flutter) of
check valve discs under normal plant operating condi-
tions. Check valve instability may be a result of misap-
Correspondence to: H.D. Haynes, Engineering Technology Di-
vision, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, P.O. Box 2009, Oak
Ridge, TN 37831, USA.
* Research sponsored by the Office of Nuclear Regulatory
Research, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission under In-
teragency Agreement DOE 1886-8082-8B with the U.S.
Department of Energy under contract No. DE-AC05-
840R21400 with Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Inc.
plication (using oversized valves) and exacerbated by
low flow conditions and/ or upstream flow distur-
bances. [1] Present surveillance requirements for check
valves have been inadequate for timely detection and
trending of such degradation, because neither the flut-
ter nor the resulting wear can be detected prior to
failure. Consequently, in recent years, check valves
have received considerable attention by the U.S. Nu-
clear Regulatory Commission (USNRC) and the nu-
clear power industry.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has car-
ried out a comprehensive two phase aging assessment
of check valves in support of the Nuclear Plant Aging
Research (NPAR) program that was established by the
USNRC Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES)
primarily as a means to resolve technical safety issues
related to the aging of electrical and mechanical com-
ponents, systems, and structures used in commercial
nuclear power plants [2]. ORNL check valve research
provides information applicable to the NRC inspection
and regulation of nuclear power plants, the ASME
Pressure Vessel Code, the ASME Operation and
Maintenance ( O&M) Standard, and the resolution of
NRC generic issues. It also is consistent with the
0029- 5493/ 92/ $05. 00 1992 - El sevi er Sci ence Publ i shers B.V. Al l ri ght s r eser ved
284 H.D. Haynes / Evaluation of check l,alce monitoring methods
objectives of the recently organized Nuclear Industry
Check Valve Group (NIC) in coordinating the nuclear
industry response to the Significant Operating Experi-
ence Report (SOER 86-03) prepared by the Institute
of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO). SOER 86-03
recommends that nuclear power plants establish a pre-
ventative maintenance program to ensure check valve
reliability which should include periodic testing,
surveillance monitoring, and/ or disassembly and in-
spection.
1.2. Objective and scope
The primary objective of the check valve aging
assessment program is to identify and recommend
methods of inspection, surveillance, and monitoring
that would provide timely detection of check valve
degradation and service wear (aging) so that mainte-
nance or replacement can be performed prior to loss of
safety function(s). In that regard, ORNL has been
carrying out an evaluation of several developmental
and/ or commercially available check valve diagnostic
monitoring methods, in particular, those based on mea-
surements of acoustic emission, ultrasonics, and mag-
netic flux. The evaluations in each case have focused
on the capability of each method to provide diagnostic
information useful in determining check valve aging
and service wear effects (degradation), check valve
failures, and undesirable operating modes.
A description of each monitoring method is pro-
vided in this paper including examples of test data
acquired under controlled laboratory conditions. In
some cases, field test data acquired in-situ are also
presented. The methods are compared and suggested
areas in need of further development are identified.
2. Check valve function and types
The function of a check valve is simply to open and
thus permit flow in only one direction. When the flow
stops or reverses direction, the check valve closes.
Check valves are self actuating - that is, they require
no external mechanical or electrical signal to either
open or close. As a result, most check valves have no
capability to be actuated other than by changing flow
through the valve. Several types of check valves are
commonly used, such as the swing, piston-lift, ball, and
stop-check designs. The differences between types per-
tain to the type of obturator used. The discussions
presented in this paper refer entirely to the swing
check valve, shown in fig. 1. However, all monitoring
/% o :,L,~
o F
"~-_ ~"~. 'C~, ~ I ~ ~ HINGE ARM
/ : ~ " ~ ',,t~::: : ~ %~ O HINGE PIN PLUGS
: : " ~ '~ ~ 0 q ~ ( ~ l l ~ 0 ~ CAP STUDS
' , " , \ ",,,,;\y O ' P G - - E T
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' : " ' ' ~ ) ~ / ; ' ~ ~'~ ' D , s c W , S H E .
+ H , . GE P , N
DISC NUT
Fig. ]. Typi cal swing check valve.
methods described herein have the potential for being
applied to other check valve types.
3. Acoustic emi ssi on moni tori ng
3.1. Basic principles
Acoustic emissions (pressure waves) can be gener-
ated in a variety of ways. Of particular interest are
those generated either when solids contact each other
or when liquids or gases flow through pipes and fit-
tings. Acoustic emissions are detected by sensors which
respond to pressure waves over a wide range of fre-
quencies, such as piezoelectric-type accelerometers or
microphones. Signal conditioning electronics can be
used to amplify selected acoustic noise signals while
attenuating others, e.g., unwanted environmental back-
ground noise. Analyses of acoustic emission signals
obtained from check valves can be used to monitor
check valve disc position, movement, and mechanical
condition, as well as internal flow/leakage through the
valve.
3.2. Detection of valve disc movement
Acoustic emission monitoring has been shown to
detect check valve disc movement. As an example,
H.D. Haynes / Evaluation of check valve monitoring methods 285
I I
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SYSTEM SCHEMATI C
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C O L D L E G A C C U M U L A T O R
D I S C H A R G E C H E C K V A L V E
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- ( S T R O K E T I M E = 1 0 S E C O N D S ) IN M A R C H 1 9 8 4
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I
ACOUSTI C EMI SSI ON SI GNATURE
T H R O I - I - L I N G N O I S E
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I ' T . : ~ I i ~ : i
II ~. L| I ~ FLOWNOISE--I..
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T I M E " l " 2 0 ( S ) PJ
Fig. 2. Acoustic signal vs. time for a ten inch check valve tested by Duke Power Company in March 1984. Taken from: W.M.
Suslick. Proposed Technique for Monitoring Check Valve Performance. Presented at the INPO Check Valve Technical Workshop,
October 30-31, 1986.
Duke Power Company [3] installed an acoustic sensor
on top of a 10-inch cold leg accumulator discharge
check valve. A schematic representation of the installa-
tion is illustrated in fig. 2. After initially charging the
accumulator to 100 psig, the motor-operated discharge
valve was cycled. The acoustic sensor output during
this cycling was processed and displayed on a strip
chart recorder. The resulting acoustic signature (fig. 2)
shows that the sensor detected the metal-to-metal con-
tact occurring at the end of both the opening and
closing strokes.
Duke Power Company has also carried out check
valve acoustic emission testing under controlled flow
loop conditions and with the introduction of various
implanted defects which simulated severe aging and
service wear [4]. Accelerometers were strapped to the
bodies of three check valves in a manner depicted by
fig. 3. The following discussion summarizes the results
obtained from those tests.
Tapping of the valve disc against its backstop was
easily detected and distinguished from background flow
noise as shown in fig. 4. In addition, by using two (or
" - - ' ] - - FFT OSCILLOSCOPE
~
- 7 CHANNEL TAPE RECX)RDER
- - ' ] - - AUDIO SPEAKER
~ - - PRE AMP
l I CHECK VALVE
/
g x~ 1~ - - AC~ELEROMETER
Fig. 3. Acoustic emission equipment (schematic representa-
tion) used by Duke Power Company in 1987 flow loop tests.
Taken from: W.M. Suslick, H.F. Parker, B.A. McDermott.
Acoustic Emission Monitoring of Check Valve Performance.
Presented at the EPRI Power Plant Valves Symposium, Octo-
ber 11-12, 1988.
286 1-1.D. Haynes / Evaluation of check valve monitoring methods
more) valve mounted acoustic sensors, Duke Power
was able to approximately locate the source of the
tapping based on a comparison of the "time of arrival"
of the acoustic signals acquired from the two sensors.
An example of this technique is shown in fig. 5.
By using the acoustic emission check valve monitor-
ing method demonstrated by Duke Power Company, it
appears likely that the following check valve opera-
tional conditions can be determined:
- Valve rapid opening (backseat impact)
- Valve disc tapping during reduced flow
- Hinge arm tapping during reduced flow
- Valve rapid closing (seat impact).
Although a fully open check valve could be assumed by
the existence of flow noise without the presence of
tapping, the absence of detectable tapping noise is
itself no guarantee that the check valve is fully open
since the valve disc may be oscillating without tapping
in mid-stroke or have fallen off and be in a position
that prevents it from impacting the valve body at any
location.
Several tests were carried out by Duke Power Com-
pany on an 8-inch check valve in new condition and
with simulated degradation. Hinge pin diameters and
disc/hinge arm clearances were both varied during
valve cycle tests that generated acoustic emission signa-
tures during opening and closing.
c n ..,~
ud
/ - ,
~ A
] ,
I
I
tX \~^
;.I ~,IL~ \
- i
d,t = 1 3 4 ~ TIME
TAPPI NG SENSOR RESPONDING
LOCATION TO PRESSURE WAVE FIRST
HINGE PI N THE ONE NEAREST THE HINGE PIN
BACKSTOP THE ONE NEAREST THE BACKSTOP
Fig. 5. Time-of-arrival technique. Taken from: W.M. Suslick,
H.F. Parker, B.A. McDermott. Acoustic Emission Monitoring
of Check Valve Performance. Presented at the EPRI Power
Plant Valves Symposium, October 11-12, 1988.
I r
t gl
O
UNSTABLE OPERATION
. t L _ _4 L , t
r ~ ] I r r T - . ~
~2
u~
o_
(n
8
STABLE OPERATION I
TIME
I
i t
Fig. 4. Acoustic waveforms for a check valve during unstable
(tapping) and stable (flow noise only) operations. Taken from:
W.M. Suslick, H.F. Parker, B.A. McDermott. Acoustic Emis-
sion Monitoring of Check Valve Performance. Presented at
the EPRI Power Plant Valves Symposium, October 11-12,
1988.
Valve closures with new and artificially worn hinge
pins are illustrated in fig. 6 and show that, with the
worn hinge pins, an acoustic transient preceded the
seat impact. This transient may result from impact
between the hinge pin and hinge arm surfaces as a
result of the increased clearance between these two
parts.
A similar transient event occurred as a result of
increased clearance between the disc stud and hinge
arm as illustrated in fig. 7. Also shown is a closure of a
check valve having both a worn hinge pin and a loose
disc/hinge arm connection.
3.3. Qualitative leak detection
Acoustic emission techniques have long been used
to detect fluid leaking through a valve. Philadelphia
Electric Company (PECO) has been utilizing acoustic
techniques to detect valve leakage in their nuclear
power plants since 1974 [5]. Their test procedure con-
sists of acquiring two sets of valve acoustic emission
readings, one while unpressurized and one with a pres-
sure difference across the (closed) disc. The acoustic
H.D. Haynes / Evaluation of check valve monitoring methods 287
noise associated with a leaking valve is then deter-
mined based on the difference in readings.
PECO has had good success with a portable, bat-
tery-powered data acquisition unit for leakage monitor-
ing. The acoustic data collected from baseline (unpres-
surized) and pressurized tests are downloaded into a
computer for analysis, trending, and archiving.
3.4. Specialized acoustic leak detection equipment
Leak Detection Services, Inc., of Annapolis, Mary-
land, has developed an acoustic valve leak detector for
use aboard U.S. Navy submarines which has also been
used to detect internal vane leakage at several com-
mercial nuclear and fossil power plants. The device
permits the operator to observe the acoustic emission
signals on a meter and to record them on an X- Y
plotter. The device provides capability for acquiring
u'J
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, (
i
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t . . , . . . l i l l l l i i i i l l ' ~ , _ _ _
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t , = , , . ~ L I
~ . . . . . . . t i l l l i H i i , I
! ~ , , . , _ t l l t i l l [ l N . . . . . . . . , .
i l , . l t l ' l - " ~
~ , , T I ' - 1 1 1 H i 1 1 1 ' ~ 7 2
' t l l f 1 1 " / . . . .
t ' ~ 1 ' /
TIME (20 ms/div)
O.20-1NCH
UNOERSIZED
HINGE PIN
0.40-INCH
UNDERSIZED
HINGE PIN
Fig. 6. Check valve closures with new and artiticially worn
hinge pins. Taken from: W.M. Suslick, H.F. Parker, B.A.
McDermott. Acoustic Emission Monitoring of Check Valve
Performance. Presented at the EPRI Power Plant Valves Sym-
posium, October 11-12, 1988.
ACOUSTIC EMISSION WAVEFORM OF SWING
CHECK VALVE CLOSURE WITH WORN DISC STUO CONNECTION
' I I , , I I I I ~ , ,.
~ '
' i I I m m l l i i M l | I I
. _ t , . ' l a l n . ~ - , I I
I r I B B H I B I I I B U
= . . . . I I l l m B l l l m t I I
8 , t ? " ' T " F I I
* , a
T IM E
ACOUSTIC EMISSION WAVEFORM OF SWING CHECK
VALVE CLOSURE WITH WORN HINGE PIN AND DISC ARM CONNECTION
z l
9 . l i _ d ~ l . . J l i l i / i _ .
i I T " I F r i I B T " I I
' H i l l
, , = | ? , r
TIME
Fig. 7. Check valve closures with two artificial degradations.
Taken from: W.M. Suslick, H.F. Parker, B.A. McDermott.
Acoustic Emission Monitoring of Check Valve Performance.
Presented at the EPRI Power Plant Valves Symposium, Octo-
ber 11-12, 1988.
acoustic signals from two sensors simultaneously, one
sensor mounted on the valve and the other mounted
on the pipe about 10 pipe diameters away from the
valve [6]. The two channel responses are then adjusted
and the background noise signal (acquired by the
pipe-mounted sensor) is electronically subtracted from
the valve-mounted signal. A positive difference signa-
ture is a qualitative indication of a leaking valve.
Other vendors that supply specialized acoustic emis-
sion monitoring equipment for valve leak detection
include Canus Corporation and TAPSCO, Inc.
4 . U l t r a s o n i c i n s p e c t i o n
4.1. Basic principles
Ultrasonic inspection involves the introduction of
high-frequency sound waves into a part being exam-
ined and an analysis of the characteristics of the re-
flected beam. Presently a device (CHECKMATE TM) is
commercially available from Henze-Movats, Inc., that
can determine disc position of a swing check valve
using an ultrasonic inspection method.
288 H.D. Haynes / Eualuation of check ualue monitoring methods
t'.
i H3ZA7VNV ] VNDI S ~SBA~I NV4~t ' ~3N30~I
03SVB-El31nd~lO0 " I V N g I 8 01NOSYI:II7n
u 3 o n a s N v u l C)tNOSVU17n
Fig. 8. A simplified depiction of the CHECKMATE TM sys-
tem.
Fi gur e 8 provi des a si mpl i fi ed drawi ng t hat illus-
t rat es t he basi c oper at i on of t he CHECKMATE TM
system. One ul t rasoni c t r ansducer is used (pul se-echo
t ype) t hat provi des bot h t ransmi ssi on and receiving
(sensing) capabi l i t i es [7]. The ul t rasoni c signal passes
t hr ough t he valve body where it is refl ect ed by an
i nt ernal par t (e.g., disc, hi nge arm, etc.) back t owards
t he t ransducer. By knowing t he t i me r equi r ed for t rans-
mission of t he ul t rasoni c signal from and back to t he
t ransducer, t he t r ansducer location, and ot her valve
geomet ri es, t he i nst ant aneous disc posi t i on may be
det er mi ned.
CHECKMATE TM utilizes signal processi ng cir-
cuitry t hat filters out undesi r abl e ul t rasoni c signal re-
flections pr esent in t he raw recei ved signal so t hat t he
resul t ant pr ocessed signal provi des a more easily i nt er-
pr et ed valve disc posi t i on si gnat ure.
4.2. Detection of calue disc mo~'ement
Fi gur e 9 shows ul t rasoni c si gnat ures t aken from a
swing check valve i nst al l ed in a flow l oop at two disc
positions: full open and par t i al l y open. It is not ed t hat
t he disc was fl ut t eri ng (unst abl e) in t he part i al opcn
posi t i on and t he fl ut t er was cl earl y det ect ed using t he
ul t rasoni c met hod.
Fi gur e 10 i l l ust rat es t he si mi l ari t y bet ween disc mo-
tion si gnat ures acqui red with t he ul t rasoni c sensor and
with a speci al l y i nst al l ed r ot ar y vari abl e di fferent i al
t r ansf or mer ( RVDT) at t ached di rect l y to t he hinge pin
to provi de a di rect measur ement of disc posi t i on.
4.3. Diagnostic capabilities
Ul t rasoni cs can be used to det ect t he following
oper at i onal modes
Oper at i onal mode
Full open or full cl osed
Fr ee fl ut t er
Backst op t appi ng
Seat t appi ng
Si gnat ure charact eri st i c
St eady signal
Smoot h cyclic signal
Si mi l ar to free fl ut t er, but
with f l at t ened upper peaks
Si mi l ar to free fl ut t er, but
with f l at t ened lower peaks
0. 21
0 . 0 0
~ -o.21
- 0. 41
- 0 . 6 2
C H E C K M A T E
V2~T6
D I S C A T S T A B L E P O S I T I O N
0. 91
D I S C A T U N S T A B L E P O S I T I O N
0 . 6 0
i C H E C K M A T E
/ \
>~ 0.30 / f~,
o.oo j.,
-0. 3C I ~ I i I i i ~ i ,
0 . 0 0 . 4 0 . 8 1. 2 1. 6 2 . 0 2 . 4 2 . 8 3 . 2 3 . 6 4 . 0
T I M E ( s)
Fig. 9. CHECKMATE TM signatures during stable and unstable check valve operations. Used with the permission of HENZE-
MOVATS, Inc.
H.D, Haynes / Evaluation of check valve monitoring methods 289
0.16
0 . 0 0
- 0 . 1 6
- 0 . 3 3 '
-0.49
0 . 2 1
~ " o . o 0
1,-
,_,1
~ -0.21
-0.41
-0.6
CHECKMATE
V 2 W2
CHECKMATE VS. RVDT ON HINGE PIN
R V D T
r~ ' ,/d V2W1
V
I I I I I I I I I I
0.0 0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6 2.0 2.4 2.8 3.2 3.6 4.0
TIME (s)
Fig. 10. Comparison of CHECKMATE TM signature with that from a RVDT installed on the hinge pin of a check valve. Used with
the permission of HENZE-MOVATS, Inc.
In addi t i on to disc posi t i on i ndi cat i on, ul t rasoni c signa-
t ures can be used to det ect missing and st uck discs,
l oose hi nge a r m/ d i s c connect i ons, and worn hinge
pins. The CHECKMATE TM dat a analysis pr ogr am can
also pr ovi de est i mat es of hi nge pi n wear r at es and
fat i gue damage of valve i nt er nal part s.
5 . M a g n e t i c f l u x m o n i t o r i n g
5.1. Basic principles
Resear ch car r i ed out by ORNL as par t of t he
NPAR phase 2 st udy of check valves has l ed to t he
i dent i fi cat i on of anot her new check valve di agnost i c
t echni que, Magnet i c Fl ux Si gnat ure Anal ysi s ( MFSA) .
MFSA is based on cor r el at i ng t he magnet i c fi el d
st rengt h vari at i ons moni t or ed on t he out si de of a check
valve with t he posi t i on of a per manent magnet pl aced
on a moving par t inside t he check valve (fig. 11).
Pr oof - of - pr i nci pl e t est s have ut i l i zed a Hal l -effect
gaussmet er pr obe out si de of t he check valve t o det ect
t he magni t ude of t he magnet i c fi el d pr oduced by a
smal l cyl i ndri cal or r ect angul ar (bar) per manent mag-
net at t ached t o t he hi nge arm. The Hal l -effect pr obe
det ect s bot h st at i onar y and varying magnet i c fields,
and t hus cont i nuousl y moni t or s bot h t he i nst ant aneous
posi t i on and t he mot i on of t he check valve disc.
5.2. Detection o f valve disc movement
MFSA provi des t he abi l i t y to moni t or disc posi t i on
t hr ough an ent i r e valve st roke using one ext ernal l y
mount ed sensor. A compar i son of disc posi t i on mea-
sured mechani cal l y (by an angul ar di spl acement t rans-
ducer at t ached to t he hi nge pi n) with t hat obt ai ned by
MFSA is shown in fig. 12 for a 3-inch swing check valve
~ GAUSSMETER
, , J
Fig. 11. Magnetic flux signature analysis (MFSA) principle of
operation.
290 H.D. Haynes / Et;aluation of check valve monitoring methods
70"
Z 60,
Q
i::: 50-
o3
N lO.
0 '
- 1 0
3-INCH SWING C, HEC, K VALVE - DISC MOVED MANUALLY
f
0.24'
0.21.
~ N o. 18-
~ o . 1 2
~ o.o,.
~ 0 . 0 6 .
0 . 0 3 -
0 . ~ T
-0.03
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
TIME (s)
1 MEASURED MEO.IANICALLY ( N~ CCAR DISPLACEMENT TRANSOUCER)
= GAUSSMETER PROSE INSTALLEO ON VALVE
F i g . ] 2 . C o mp a r i s o n o f ma g n e t i c f i e l d s t r e n g t h a n d di sc a n g u -
l a r p o s i t i o n meas ur ement s .
whose disc was moved manually. MFSA has been ap-
plied to several swing check valves ranging in size from
2- to 10-inches.
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0.0
-0.1
0.5
0 4
0.3
0.2
0.1'
0.0
-0.1
r . . . . FLUTTER MAGNITUDE
[
t
PUMP STARTED - LOW FLOW RATE
(I NSUFFI CI ENT TO OPEN VALVE FULLY)
DISC ON BACKSTOP
PUMP STARTED - HIGH FLOW RATE
(OPENS VALVE FULLY)
TI ME (2 SECONDS/ DI VI SI ON)
Fig. 13. Use of MFSA to detect disc instability (flutter).
MFSA also provides indication of disc flutter. This
was demonstrated by tests carried out by ORNL on a
2-inch swing check valve that was installed in a water
flow loop. The acquired magnetic flux signatures (see
fig. 13) showed that at a low flow rate (insufficient to
open the valve fully), the disc fluttered considerably in
mid stroke, whereas at a higher flow rate, the same
valve achieved a fully open and stable condition.
0 . 7 0
0 . 6 0
0.50
n-
UJ
0, 40
0.30 I
),..
0. 20
0. 10
i
0 . 0 0 1 , ,
0 . 0 0
S M A L L P I N I N S T A L L E D - ~ .','1 '~ , . ' '
(MORE SCATTER DUE ~ , , . ~ : " ; , "
TO INCREASED HINGE ~.';;.~...~'" VALEVNE
ARM R O C K I N G ~ . : O
. . ' " , ' ~ I~ NORMAL P
. , , . . . . . . L . . . . . . . . . i . . . . . . . . . | . . . . . . . . .
0. 10 0. 20 0. 30 0. 40
X GAUSSMETER
X GA!.JSSIqE]ER ]
Fig. 14. Detecting worn hinge pins using MFSA.
H.D. Haynes / Evaluation of check valve monitoring methods 291
5.3. Detection of worn hinge pins
Experiments carried out at ORNL have shown that
MFSA techniques can be used to detect hinge pin
wear. Figure 14 illustrates a technique for detecting
worn hinge pins that makes use of two Hall-effect
gaussmeter probes, mounted so that each probe pro-
vides an independent measurement of instantaneous
hinge arm position. When both probes are mounted on
the valve cap at locations equidistant from and perpen-
dicular to the projected hinge arm travel line, both
gaussmeters should provide identical signatures when
the hinge arm moves in a purely swinging motion as
the valve opens and closes.
In addition to swinging, the hinge arm moves in a
side-to-side rocking motion as well, as a result of flow
turbulence and the clearances between the hinge pin
and hinge arm. As this clearance increases (e.g., due to
hinge pin wear), the propensity to rock increases. Thus,
the increase in hinge arm rocking is detected as in-
creased deviations from the single line (pure swinging)
relationship between the probe output signals as shown
in fig. 14.
6. Compar i s on o f check val ve moni t ori ng me t hods
The preceding sections of this paper have provided
descriptions of three check valve monitoring methods
that are useful in determining check valve position,
motion, and leak rate. These methods, based on acous-
tic emission, ultrasonic inspection, and magnetic flux
monitoring, function according to different principles
of operation and thus provide different (and comple-
mentary) diagnostic information. At present, the esti-
mated capability of each monitoring method to detect
various check valve operational conditions is given in
table 1. The methods are rated according to the follow-
ing scale: P = poor or none, F = fair, G = good, E =
excellent.
6.1. Combined diagnostic techniques
As indicated in table 1, while no single technique
has the capability to detect all check valve operational
conditions well, a combination of acoustic emission
with either ultrasonic inspection or magnetic flux sig-
nature analysis can yield a monitoring system that
succeeds in providing sensitivity to detect all major
check valve operating conditions. Both acoustic/
ultrasonic and acoustic/magnetic combinations have
been tested.
The result of using a combination of an acoustic
and an ultrasonic sensor is seen in figs. 15 and 16 [8]
which compares data from the two sensors obtained for
a check valve tapping its backstop and its seat respec-
tively. In both tapping modes, the acoustic signature
detected the tapping but not its location. The ultra-
- 0 . 7 1
BACKSTOP TAPPING
" " r I
~4 . 8 9
" % . 0 o . , o ' . . , : , , ' . o
T I M E Is)
BACKSTOP TAPPING
2 1 , 2 1 8
BACKSTOP TAPPING
I I
3.6 4.0
Fig. 15. CHECKMATE TM and acoustic signatures for a check valve undergoing backstop tapping. Used with the permission of
HENZE-MOVATS, Inc.
292 H.D. Haynes / Ecaluation of check calce monitoring methods
Table 1
Diagnostic capability of three check valve monitoring methods
Check valve Acoustic Ultrasonic Magnetic flux
operational emission inspection sig. analysis
condition
Full open P E E
Mid position
fluttering F- E E
Tapping
detecting E G G
locating F E E
Leakage E P P
soni c si gnat ur e di d not unambi guous l y det ect t he t ap-
pi ng, but , in conj unct i on wi t h t he acoust i c si gnat ur e,
i dent i f i ed its l ocat i on.
The combi nat i on of acoust i c emi ssi on and magnet i c
flux moni t or i ng al so pr ovi des a useful moni t or i ng sys-
t em f or check valves. Thi s is i l l ust r at ed by fig. 17, an
exampl e of t est dat a acqui r ed by OR NL on a check
val ve whos e disc was moved manual l y t o si mul at e disc
f l ut t er i ng at di f f er ent por t i ons of t he st roke.
Re c e n t de ve l opme nt s in commer ci al l y- avai l abl e
check val ve moni t or i ng syst ems i ncl ude t he addi t i on of
acoust i c emi ssi on t o t he He nz e - Mova t s CHECK-
DISC MOVED MANUALLY
A VALVE OPENED SLOWLY
B MID-STROKE FLUTTERING
0'81CI (HINGE ARM ROTATING
ON HINGE PiN) D
0.6 VALVE CLOSED SLOWLY
TAPPING ON SEAT
T ' P , . G O N B ' = S T O P t
HINGE ARM ROCKING ON
~g 0.2] .,NGEP,N
:'CO
~ 0.0
E
,I J t l . l
-0. 4
- 0. 6
1 ACOUSTIC SENSOR MOUNTED ON VA VE CAP
-0.8 I , =
0. 4
E
OPEN
0.2 F
QCO
. Jw
-> c D
u.p- O.1
~ 5
k-r.U
~ o o
TIME (s)
Fig. 17. Magnetic flux and acoustic signatures for a check
valve under several simulated operational conditions.
CHECK MATE
0. 38 r V2~T$
~ - 0. 75
- 1. 13
SEAT TAPPI NG SEAT TAPPI NG SEAT TAPPI NG
12.53 I
Z ]
0 . 0
/
0. 4 0 a 1. 2 1. 6 2 0 2. 4 2 a 3 2 3 6 4. 0
"nl~ (s)
Fig. 16. CHECKMATE T M and acoustic signatures for a check valve undergoing seat tapping. Used with the permission of
HENZE-MOVATS, Inc.
H.D. Haynes / Evaluation of check valve monitoring methods 293
DUA L S E N S O R
A S E - - ~ ; ~CONDrnONINq I COMPUTER
i ' - . . . . . . . . . "1 I B A S E D
/ DIGITAL / I S GNAL
A U D I O - - -
B / T A P E I - - - - ' ~ A N A L Y Z E R
I R ~ C R D E R 1 I
, ! ' ,
r l -
Fig. 18. Simplified depiction of the QUICKCHECK T M sys
tern.
and Canus Cor por at i on - acoust i c emission. These
tests, which began in l at e January, 1990 and ar e sched-
ul ed to be compl et ed in Apr i l , 1990, are bei ng di r ect ed
by t he Nucl ear Indust ry Check Val ve Gr oup (NIC) and
are bei ng car r i ed out at t he Ut ah Wat er Resear ch
Labor at or y l ocat ed on t he Ut ah St at e Uni versi t y cam-
pus.
Appr oxi mat el y 12 check valves will be ut i l i zed in t he
tests which will i ncl ude t he use of hi nge pi ns and disc
st uds in new condi t i on and with si mul at ed degr adat i on,
upst r eam flow di st urbances, and r educed flow rates.
Thi s t est pr ogr am, as well as ot her activities sponsor ed
by NIC, will likely make a significant cont ri but i on
t owards demonst r at i ng di agnost i c capabi l i t i es for de-
t ect i ng and moni t or i ng check valve degr adat i ons in
nucl ear power plants.
8. Concl usi ons
MATE TM system and a combi nat i on a c ous t i c / ma g-
net i c check valve moni t or i ng system from Li bert y
Technol ogy Cent er, Inc. cal l ed QUI CKCHECK TM [9].
QUI CKCHECK TM, depi ct ed in simple form in fig.
18, ut i l i zes a combi ned a c ous t i c / ma gne t i c Dual Sensor
to moni t or si mul t aneousl y t he st r uct ur e- bor ne acous-
tics t hat resul t from flow noi se and i nt ernal par t im-
pacts, and t he posi t i on and mot i on of an encapsul at ed
magnet t hat is per manent l y i nst al l ed on a check valve
i nt ernal par t (e.g., hi nge arm, disc, etc.). Dat a acquisi-
t i on har dwar e i ncl udes t he Dual Sensor(s), signal con-
di t i oni ng el ect roni cs and a di gi t al audi o t ape r ecor der .
Recor ded signals ar e t hen processed, di spl ayed, and
anal yzed with a comput er - based system t hat provi des
det ai l ed analysis capabi l i t i es for bot h acoust i c and
magnet i c signals.
7. Nucl ear industry tests of check valve moni tori ng
methods
Thr ee commerci al suppl i ers of check valve moni t or-
ing equi pment are par t i ci pat i ng in a comprehensi ve
seri es of t est s desi gned to eval uat e t he capabi l i t y of
each moni t or i ng t echnol ogy t o det ect t he posi t i on, mo-
tion, and wear of check valve i nt ernal s (e.g., disc, hi nge
arm, etc.), and valve seat l eakage. Those vendor s are:
Henze- Movat s - ul t r as oni cs / acous t i c emi ssi on, Li b-
ert y Technol ogy Cent er - ma gne t i c / a c ous t i c emission,
Thi s paper has pr esent ed a descr i pt i on of t hr ee
check valve moni t ori ng met hods: acoust i c emission,
ul t rasoni c i nspect i on and magnet i c flux si gnat ure anal -
ysis. These met hods were shown to be useful in det er -
mi ni ng check valve condi t i on (e.g., disc posi t i on, disc
mot i on, and seat l eakage), al t hough none of t he met h-
ods were, by themselves, successful in moni t ori ng all
t hr ee condi t i on i ndi cat ors. However, t he combi nat i on
of acoust i c emi ssi on with ei t her ul t rasoni c or magnet i c
flux moni t ori ng yields a moni t or i ng system t hat suc-
ceeds in provi di ng t he sensitivity to det ect all maj or
check valve oper at i ng condi t i ons. Al l t hr ee met hods
are still under devel opment and all shoul d i mprove as
a resul t of f ur t her t est i ng and eval uat i on. The t est
pr ogr am bei ng car r i ed out by NI C and EPRI , shoul d
l ead to great l y i mproved under st andi ng of t he capabi l -
ity of t hese non-i nt rusi ve di agnost i c t echni ques in de-
t ect i on of degr adat i on in check valves in-situ, and
shoul d result in i ncr eased rel i abi l i t y of t hese i mpor t ant
component s of nucl ear plants.
References
[1] EPRI NP-5479, Application Guidelines for Check Valves
in Nuclear Power Plants (January 1988).
[2] United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Nuclear
Plant Aging Research (NPAR) Program Plan, NUREG-
1144, revision 1 (September 1987).
[3] W.M. Suslick, Proposed technique for monitoring check
valve performance, Presented at the INPO Check Valve
Technical Workshop, October 30-31, 1986.
294 H.D. Haynes / Evaluation of check vah;e monitoring methods
[4] W.M. Suslick, H.F. Parker, B.A. McDermot t , Acoustic
emission moni t ori ng of check valve performance, Pre-
sent ed at t he EPRI Power Pl ant Valves Symposium, Octo-
ber 11-12, 1988, Charl ot t e, NC.
[5] J.W. McElroy, Light wat er react or valve performance sur-
veys utilizing acoustic techniques, Present ed at t he EPRI
Power Pl ant Valves Symposium, August 25-26, 1987,
Kansas City, MO.
[6] J.G. Dimmick, J.M. Cobb. Ultrasonic leak detection cuts
valve mai nt enance costs, Power Engi neeri ng (August 1986).
[7] Let t er from J.N. Nadeau, Henze-Movats, to H.D. Haynes,
dat ed March 1, 1990.
[8] Private conversation between H.D. Haynes and Henze-
Movats, Inc.
[9] Let t er from D. Manin, Liberty Technology Center, to
H.D. Haynes, dat ed March 1, 1990.