INSTRUMENTATION & CONTROL | INTEGRATING NDE advanced NDE Integrating As nuclear plants operate for longer degradation introduces uncertainty and
places more emphasis on advanced NDE techniques. Integrating this approach within established maintenance programmes is a key enabler of better plant performance.
By Dr. Pradyumna Gupta, Founder & Chief Scientist, Infinita Lab and Founder & CEO, Infinita Materials
Reactor vessel internals and containment structures are among those structures which are susceptible to degradation. Source: EPRI
THE GLOBAL FLEET OF NUCLEAR power plants is ageing. Many reactors built in the 1970s and 1980s are now operating well past their original design lives, while ongoing decarbonisation goals drive operators to extend plant lifetimes even further. In this extended operating context, maintaining safety margins, regulatory compliance, and economic efficiency has never been more critical. Predictive maintenance, the practice of anticipating failures before they occur, is central to this effort. However, traditional predictive maintenance strategies that rely heavily on historical failure data and periodic inspection are reaching the limits of their effectiveness when confronting the complex degradation pathways of ageing nuclear materials and structures. The integration of advanced non-destructive evaluation
technologies with predictive maintenance frameworks represents a significant shift in how nuclear assets are managed. This approach transforms maintenance programmes from reactive or calendar-based schedules into data-informed and risk adaptive systems. By combining high resolution diagnostics, physics based modelling, and advanced analytics, modern non-destructive evaluation techniques extend inspection visibility beyond surface
20 | March 2026 |
www.neimagazine.com
defects and into subsurface microstructural evolution, enabling earlier detection of degradation and more effective maintenance planning. In nuclear plants, where failure consequences are severe
and outages carry substantial financial penalties, predictive insight has exceptional value. The integration of advanced NDE into maintenance strategies is no longer optional. It is a practical necessity for sustaining long-term safety and reliability in complex reactor systems.
The evolving challenge of ageing nuclear plant Nuclear power plants operate in environments that accelerate material degradation. Radiation exposure, thermal cycling, corrosion, mechanical loading, and complex stress states interact over decades, driving subtle changes in critical components. Reactor vessel internals, steam generator tubing, primary loop piping, and containment structures are susceptible to degradation mechanisms such as irradiation embrittlement, stress-corrosion cracking, creep, fatigue, and neutron-induced swelling. Historically, plant maintenance programmes relied on scheduled outages and fixed inspection intervals. These approaches assumed predictable
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