Detecting small leaks in pipes in nuclear power plants by measuring aerosol parameters

It is found experimentally that when through defects appear in water pipes the concentration and dispersion composition of the aerosols in the room air change. A water or steam leak in a pipe at an early stage of the development of a defect, when the leak still has no effect on the standard operation of the equipment, can be detected by monitoring the aerosol component of the air. The stage where a leak can be detected by aerosol monitoring depends on the background aerosol concentration in the room air, the temperature and pressure in the pipe, and the arrangement of samplers in the monitoring system. The leak-detection method proposed is much more sensitive than moisture content measurements.Translated from Atomnaya Énergiya, Vol. 97, No. 3, pp. 189–195, September, 2004.