The Oak Ridge Research Reactor (ORRR) was operated as an isotope production and irradiation facility from March
1958 until March 1987. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) permanently shut down and removed the fuel from the
ORRR in 1987. The water level must be maintained in the ORRR pool as shielding for radioactive components still
located in the pool. The DOE Office of Environmental Management (EM) needs to decontaminate and demolish the
ORRR as part of the Oak Ridge cleanup program. In February 2004, increased pit corrosion was noted in the pool's 6-
mm (¼")-thick aluminum liner in the section nearest where the radioactive components are stored. If pit corrosion has
significantly penetrated the aluminum liner, then DOE EM must accelerate its decommissioning and demolition (D and D)
efforts or look for alternatives for shielding the irradiated components. The goal of Mississippi State University's
Institute for Clean Energy Technology (ICET) is to provide a determination of the extent and depth of corrosion.
Results from the work will facilitate ORNL in making reliable disposition decisions.
ICET's inspection approach is to quantitatively estimate the amount of corrosion using Fourier transform profilometry
(FTP). FTP is a non-contact 3-D shape measurement technique. By projecting a fringe pattern onto a target surface and
observing its deformation due to surface irregularities from a different view angle, FTP is capable of determining the
height (depth) distribution of the target surface, thus reproducing the profile of the target accurately. ICET has
previously demonstrated that its FTP system can quantitatively estimate the volume and depth of removed and residual
material to high accuracy.
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