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Whether you are an energy producer, operator, manufacturer or supplier of equipment for nuclear power plants, LNE can help you meet the challenges of safety, reliability and traceability by offering services combining its expertise in metrology and equipment qualification tailored to the nuclear sector.
Benefits for the nuclear sector
With recognised expertise in metrology and skills adapted to the nuclear field, LNE offers you various services in calibration, technical assistance, or even metrological qualification and robustness testing of your equipment.
These services can be adapted to different types of applications: the use of equipment in test stations, the manufacture of microreactors, forgings, primary components of nuclear islands, storage vessels or containers, etc. or for the characterization of sensors specific to nuclear power for the control of structures.
LNE carries out metrological verification under ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation of fleets of measuring devices and covers all the quantities of the International Measurement System.
In possession of the primary standards in its laboratories, LNE is able to calibrate and connect reference standards as well as complete instrument fleets with the best uncertainty, whether in temperature, dimensional, pressure, torque, force, etc.
On-site checks are also possible when necessary (e.g. on temperature sensors, pressure chains, test benches). LNE can thus calibrate the various measuring instruments installed in nuclear power plants.
- One-stop shop and single point of contact, dedicated to your fleet.
- Cofrac accreditations*
*List of sites and scopes available on cofrac.fr
Electrical metrology and high-voltage calibration
LNE carries out the calibration of impulse waves and the on-site calibration of high-voltage equipment (transformers, dividers, capacitors, etc.) present in the test stations with companies such as EDF.
Calibration of temperature and stage sensors
Processes in the nuclear industry require the detection of even the slightest defects, anomalies and rapid temperature variations. The control of these parameters therefore requires equipment that is precisely checked and calibrated.
LNE calibrates temperature probes and platinum probes (platinum resistance thermometers) used for high-precision calibrations, but it can also perform metrological qualification of the response times of temperature probes by putting them in real conditions of use (temperature variation simulating a rapid rise in heat).
This qualification guarantees the reliability of the temperature measurements of the probes used in the context of the safety of stack steam circuits for the nuclear industry.
LNE has a unique test facility dedicated to the metrological qualification of the response time of temperature sensors, which corresponds to the time needed for the sensor to respond in a constrained environment (water at a certain flow rate, speed and temperature) in order to validate its installation in nuclear power plants.
Areas of application:
Manufacture of forgings to constitute the primary components of nuclear islands (reactor vessels and vessel internals, Steam Generators, etc.).
Characterization of Fiber Optic Interrogators
Thanks to its combined expertise in photonics and thermals, LNE has participated in the development of temperature probes based on Raman technology (temperature measurement via optical fibers) to monitor, by temperature measurement, the drums present in radioactive waste burial areas.
The optical fibers used are also deployed in specific structures such as dams, buildings, etc., in order to recover a map of the state of the structure according to temperature variations or the different mechanical stresses subjected to different distances from the optical fiber.
LNE can support its customers in the calibration and characterization of their Raman or Brillouin interrogators (study of acoustic properties) by identifying the measurement noises, and provide advice on the drifts observed.
Areas of application:
Nuclear waste burial (control of the heating temperatures of buried materials), control of heat exchange between two primary circuits (passage of contaminated water), tank manufacturers, manufacturers of forgings used to constitute the primary components of nuclear islands, manufacturers of steam generators, welding specialists, etc.
Welding controls
In order to ensure the performance of the electrical measuring equipment used for the monitoring of welding operations, LNE audited a production site and analysed the measurement methods used with a view to improving them and recommending the most appropriate instrumentation.
Testing of control and measurement systems
As part of the government's policy to maintain and extend the life of nuclear power plants, LNE carries out tests on control and measurement systems installed in these plants, at various strategic control points, such as heat exchange bridges.
No failure is tolerated on the instruments present in the plant's circuits (primary, secondary, cooling), and it is necessary to ensure the reliability of the instruments used, regardless of temperature, pressure, electromagnetic emissions, etc. Surrounding.
Qualification tests aim to verify the robustness of instruments, such as pressure sensors, by subjecting them to severe environmental conditions (climatic, mechanical, EMC and electrical safety constraints.These services consist of validating, on the basis of specifications, the metrological and functional characteristics of the instruments.
- Cofrac* Tests accreditation n°1-0007(in french)
- LNE is the only laboratory able to verify and calibrate pressure sensorsunder high line pressure and low differential pressure
- Unique combination of pressure metrological expertise and environmental testing to verify measurement capabilities in the context of environmental aging of products.
- Services to compare and validate the performance of instruments placed on the market.
*List of sites and scopes available on cofrac.fr
Areas of application:
Pressure transmitters and pressure switches, electrical cabinets, dosimeters, boxes, PLCs integrated into nuclear power plants, temperature sensors, pressure sensors, long-term physical deformation sensors of structures, etc.
Characterization of vibrating wire sensors
Our combined expertise in dimensional measurements, testing and metrology allows us to offer specific studies, such as the metrological characterization of vibrating wire sensors that measure the physical deformation of civil engineering structures.
These sensors thus ensure the reliability of the structures storing radioactive waste and need to be calibrated on a specific bench, taking into account the various surrounding parameters.
Pressure measurement, leak and volume characterization
In the field of pressure, LNE is the the only French laboratory capable of connecting manometric balance type reference standards.
This long-standing expertise allows LNE to provide support to French power generation laboratories when necessary, as part of their risk management.
LNE has also extended its accreditation to volume calibration in order to offer a measurement method that is better suited to the needs of the market, thus making it possible to calibrate volume capacities up to 3 liters.
- Calibration under Cofrac accreditation Calibration n° 2-37 (in french)
- Flexibility to adapt measurement methods to the customer's application needs
- Unique expertise on the market in this field
*List of sites and scopes available on cofrac.fr
Three-dimensional measurement of jigs
LNE calibrates the jigs used to control the dimensional quality of a part with very low uncertainties (~μm), which makes it possible to define the reference dimensions of certain standards intended to connect measurement chains.
Our means also make it possible to calibrate the reference pellets of a nuclear fuel in order to define the reference dimensions of sets of standard pellets, intended to calibrate the measurement benches of the production lines of this fuel pellets.
- Coordinate measuring machine allowing flexibility in measurement
- Cofrac* Accreditation Flexible calibration n° 2-1446 (in french) type FLEX 3 allowing LNE to develop and validate a new calibration method adapted to a specific customer need
- Provision of technical assistance on dimensional measurement methods and audits on request (requirements according to ACMR and RCCM standards)
Thanks to all its skills, LNE offers on-site calibrations of 3R machines and Zwick machines, and performs the calibration of extensometer banks.
*List of sites and scopes available on cofrac.fr
Materials Expertise and Characterization
Our expertise in the properties of materials allows us to study their evolution and to characterize materials in contact with nuclear fuel, present in "hot" areas.
We study the behavior of the material under certain conditions (mechanical, high temperature, physicochemical environment) and can characterize it by identifying possible defects, its hardness, conductivity, emissivity, fatigue resistance, chemical resistance, etc.
Areas of application:
Materials of power plant elements (supports and infrastructure), concrete, alloys, etc.
Specific tests
Ageing tests in contact with 70% hydrochloric acid, mechanical tests on neutrophic materials (AMS 2750 standard).
Thermal properties of materials
The heat transfer of a material in contact with radioactive materials is a major issue that must be mastered in the general operation of a nuclear power plant.
LNE has a complete range of services in this field and supports its nuclear customers in determining the thermal and radiative properties of their materials by measuring the following characteristics:
- Thermal conductivity
- Thermal expansion
- Density
- Mass heat
- Emissivity
All of these measurements make it possible to have an overall assessment of the ability of a material to diffuse and conduct heat, and to understand the behaviour of the material during the transport of a fuel or during its use in a power plant.
These tests can also be combined with mechanical tests according to the standards in force (tension, bending, compression, etc.).
Thermal conductivity and emissivity measurement: what you need to know
Thermal conductivity can be measured directly or indirectly. In the second case, it is necessary to obtain information on the measurement of expansion, density and heat density. This method thus provides a more holistic view of the behavior of the material used.
Knowing the emissivity properties of materials allows for better control of the possibilities of thermal radiation, whether that material is new, modified, or standard.
Any modification of a material must be studied to assess these risks and make the installations safer and more robust.
Areas of application:
Nuclear waste storage containers to control the risks of meltdown, analysis of vessels and concrete, manufacture of microreactors, etc.
LNE has developed its own airborne infrared thermography scanner. Thanks to this tool and the mapping skills developed by our photonics team, we can measure the temperature of cooling water discharges from nuclear power plants, downstream of the river.
Thermography, which consists of carrying out optical characterization, makes it possible to identify temperature differences and to alert in the event of an increase in water temperature.
Areas of application:
Control of marine power plants and river power plants, control of waste reprocessing plants.
Technical Support
LNE can offer different types of technical assistance depending on the business requested or the expertise expected by the customer.
Examples of services provided:
- Fire safety engineering study (ISI) to understand the fire behaviour of structures and evaluate the robustness of fire doors in power plants
- Study on new intelligent welding stations for steel tubes and special alloys, in order to evaluate the appropriate control instrumentation
- Diagnostic audits
- Inter-laboratory comparisons (CILs) (in french)
- Standards and documentary monitoring
- Pre-Accreditation Audits 17025 in Radiometry
Formation
Ranges of training courses available in general or applied metrology allow us to support you in your various operational issues.
>> Consult the training catalog (in french)
Contact us
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