Research on Collaborative Assurance System of Precision, Uncertainty, and Reliability for Non-Destructive Testing in Nuclear Industry

Abstract The extreme environments (high temperature, high pressure, and strong irradiation) in the nuclear industry pose challenges to traditional non-destructive testing (NDT), such as low precision, high uncertainty, and poor reliability. This paper proposes a "Precision-Uncertainty-Reliability" (PUR) collaborative assurance system, which achieves systematic improvement in detection performance through a multi-physics field coupling model, an improved uncertainty quantification method, and a Bayesian dynamic Probability of Detection (PoD) model. In the application of the HuaLong Pressurized Reactor 1000(HPR1000) reactor pressure vessel, the ultrasonic testing error was reduced from 7.2–1.8% (a 75% improvement in precision), and the defect detection capability (\(\:{a}90/95\)) was improved from 1.85 mm to 0.92 mm (meeting the Level 1 nuclear safety standard). The PUR system provides technical support for the safe operation of nuclear facilities and lays a theoretical foundation for the development of NDT technology for Generation IV nuclear power plants.