ASTM_E_1214_-_11.pdf

Designation:E121411Standard Guide forUse of Melt Wire Temperature Monitors for Reactor VesselSurveillance,E 706(IIIE)1This standard is issued under the fixed designation E1214;the number immediately following the designation indicates the year oforiginal adoption or,in the case of revision,the year of last revision.A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval.Asuperscript epsilon()indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.1.Scope1.1 This guide describes the application of melt wire tem-perature monitors and their use for reactor vessel surveillanceof light-water power reactors as called for in Practices E185and E2215.1.2 The purpose of this guide is to recommend the selectionand use of the common melt wire technique where thecorrespondence between melting temperature and compositionof different alloys is used as a passive temperature monitor.Guidelines are provided for the selection and calibration ofmonitor materials;design,fabrication,and assembly of moni-tor and container;post-irradiation examinations;interpretationof the results;and estimation of uncertainties.1.3 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded asstandard.The values given in parentheses are mathematicalconversions to inch-pound units that are provided for informa-tion only and are not considered standard.1.4 This standard does not purport to address all of thesafety concerns,if any,associated with its use.It is theresponsibility of the user of this standard to establish appro-priate safety and health practices and determine the applica-bility of regulatory limitations prior to use.(See Note 1.)2.Referenced Documents2.1 ASTM Standards:2,3E185 Practice for Design of Surveillance Programs forLight-Water Moderated Nuclear Power Reactor VesselsE706 Master Matrix for Light-Water Reactor Pressure VesselSurveillance Standards,E 706(0)(Withdrawn 2011)4E794 Test Method for MeltingAnd Crystallization Tempera-tures By Thermal AnalysisE900 Guide for Predicting Radiation-Induced TransitionTemperature Shift in Reactor Vessel Materials,E706(IIF)E2215 Practice for Evaluation of Surveillance Capsulesfrom Light-Water Moderated Nuclear Power Reactor Ves-sels3.Significance and Use3.1 Temperature monitors are used in surveillance capsulesin accordance with Practice E2215 to estimate the maximumvalue of the surveillance specimen irradiation temperature.Temperature monitors are needed to give evidence of overheat-ing of surveillance specimens beyond the expected tempera-ture.Because overheating causes a reduction in the amount ofneutron radiation damage to the surveillance specimens,thisoverheating could result in a change in the measured propertiesof the surveillance specimens that would lead to an unconser-vative prediction of damage to the reactor vessel material.3.2 The magnitude of the reduction of radiation damagewith overheating depends on the composition of the materialand time at temperature.Guide E900 provides an acceptedmethod for quantifying the temperature effect.Because theevidence from melt wire monitors gives no indication of theduration of overheating above the expected temperature asindicated by melting of the monitor,the significance ofoverheating events cannot be quantified on the basis oftemperature monitors alone.Indication of overheating doesserve to alert the user of the data to further evaluate theirradiation temperature exposure history of the surveillancecapsule.3.3 This guide is IIIE of Master Matrix E706 that relatesseveral standards used for irradiation surveillance of lightwater reactor vessel materials.It is intended primarily toamplify the requirements of Practice E185 in the design oftemperature monitors for the surveillance program.It may alsobe used in conjunction with Practice E2215 to evaluate thepost-irradiation test measurements.4.Selection and Calibration of Monitor Materials4.1 Selection of Monitor Materials:1This guide is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee E10 on NuclearTechnology and Applicationsand is the direct responsibility of SubcommitteeE10.02 on Behavior and Use of Nuclear Structural Materials.Current edition approved July 1,2011.Published September 2011.Originallyapproved in 1987.Last previous edition approved in 2006 as E121406.DOI:10.1520/E1214-11.2The reference Master Matrix designation in parentheses refers to Section 5,aswell as Figs.1 and 2 of Matrix E706.3For referenced ASTM standards,visit the ASTM website,www.astm.org,orcontact ASTM Customer Service at serviceastm.org.For Annual Book of ASTMStandards volume information,refer to the standards Document Summary page onthe ASTM website.4The last approved version of this historical standard is referenced onwww.astm.org.Copyright ASTM International,100 Barr Harbor Drive,PO Box C700,West Conshohocken,PA 19428-2959.United States1 4.1.1 Materials selected for temperature monitors shall pos-sess unique melting temperatures.Since composition,andparticularly the presence of impurities,strongly influencemelting te