Automated Mode of Improvement of the Quality Control System for Nuclear Reactor Fuel Element Shell Tightness

The article deals with the problem of quality control of the tightness of the shell of nuclear reactor fuel elements. It is proposed to improve the control system by introducing an information and measuring module for detecting defects as a subsystem of the automated process control system of a nuclear power unit. The algorithm of the fractal method of quality control is presented, which determines the sequence of operations to determine the location, type and size of defects on the surface of the shells by calculating the fractal dimension indicators. A block diagram of the computing module for implementing the algorithm for estimating the fractal dimension of defects in the shell material was developed. The structural and functional scheme of the system was improved by integrating a computing module that provides data processing on the quality of the seal and the transfer of information to the control system. The practical value lies in the information and measuring unit for detecting defects, which allows real-time assessment of the quality of the shells’ tightness and transmitting data to an automated workstation for making decisions on the operation of leaky fuel elements.