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An Electrical Condition Monitoring Approach for Wire and Cable--BPW Incorporated, 372 River Drive, Dahlonega, GA  30533-5248; 757-850-8679

Mr. Kenneth S. Watkins, Jr., Principal Investigator, kwatkins@alltel.net 

Mr. Jack Morris Jr., Business Official, shelby489@cox.net 

DOE Grant No. DE-FG02-01ER83153

Amount:  $600,000

Generation IV nuclear power plants will require comprehensive and cost-effective methods for monitoring plant wire and cable. Current methods primarily focus on correlating mechanical or chemical laboratory measurements of samples retrieved from installed wire and cable in the plant with acceleration-aged data.  However, physical access to samples is often difficult and time-intensive, and laboratory testing is expensive.  This project will utilize conductive composites of wire and cable insulation material to provide a simple, non-destructive, in-situ electrical measurement correlating to the age-related degradation of the insulation, thereby providing an indication of the remaining life of the cable.  Phase I demonstrated feasibility by performing accelerated age trials of the conductive composite, measuring the electrical resistivity and mechanical properties as the composite aged, and equating resistivity with the mechanical properties of the insulation material.  Phase II will expand accelerated age testing to composite “age sensors” of several candidate insulation materials for Generation IV nuclear power plants.  Analysis of data resulting from the age trials will provide the basis for a methodology to relate simple non-destructive resistivity measurements of the age sensors to the mechanical properties and remaining life of the insulation.  Finally, prototype wire or cable incorporating a distributed age sensor will be developed.

Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee:  An electrical in situ approach should take cable condition monitoring from the laboratory into the field, resulting in reduced cost compared to present methods.  Also, eliminating sample retrieval would improve personnel and equipment safety, and allow the condition monitoring of otherwise inaccessible areas.  This approach should also have application to monitoring the remaining life of other polymeric materials such as seals, gaskets, and structural components.