25th April 2025
Today, we would like to bring the spotlight on an esteemed guest from Czech Republic, Pavel Mares, and discuss the use of CIVA software in his work at Research Centre Rez (CV Rez).
Dear Pavel Mares, you work for the Research Centre Rez in Czech Republic. Could you describe the activity of this organization, and the topics related to NDT there?
The mission of the company Research Centre Rez is research, development, and innovation in the field of energy, especially nuclear energy. The research infrastructure SUSEN (Sustainable Energy), two research reactors and a set of experimental equipment (probes and loops) form the backbone of the research infrastructure of the company. In the field of non-destructive testing, we are mainly engaged in applied development of diagnostic methods and providing research services in the field of advanced diagnostic methods and development of manipulators.
Could you describe your own role in CV REZ?
I have been working in the UJV group since 2006, and I joined the Research Centre Rez in 2013 as a researcher. Since 2022, I became the Head of the Diagnostics and Qualification Department. My focus is ultrasonic testing and especially phased array technique, NDT qualification and simulation in CIVA software, which I have been doing since 2007 when I started with CIVA version 7.
For which kind of projects have you and your colleagues used CIVA over the past few years?
One of the main applications where we use CIVA continuously throughout is NDT qualifications. Simulation of ultrasonic testing is used to overcome the limitations of the test piece and demonstrate compliance with the requirements of the technical specification. The simulations are carried out in several phases:
- Creation of a model representing the test body - a validation of CIVA for the test area is performed on the model.
- Performing parametric studies within the scope of the qualification criteria and determining the theoretical sensitivity of the ultrasound system.
Beyond these activities, we also realized two very interesting projects. The aim of the first project was the research and development of a methodology for using CIVA software to simulate cracks in ferritic and austenitic steel materials. The contribution lies in the possibility of using CIVA to refine the determination of crack dimensions in welded joints in real measurements, in qualifying inspection procedures and for training defectoscopic personnel.
The second project was focused on identifying the uncertainties in determining the dimensions of defects in ultrasonic testing, where we used CIVA to verify the real testing setup.
In addition, we use simulations, for example, for ultrasonic probe design and inspection planning, and more.
Could you describe the main advantages of CIVA for your NDT simulation needs?
As we are a research organization and are mainly involved in developing new methodologies and testing new inspection procedures and options, the main advantages from our point of view are definitely the variability of the setup for all possible configurations. The result itself is then very accurate and close to the results of real measurements, which we have had the opportunity to verify in the projects mentioned above. In general, CIVA is a very useful tool, from the preparation of the inspection to the verification of the procedures, to assisting with the characterization of the indications found. We are using all the above advantages very successfully.
You have recently attended the CIVA Users Community Event in Paris, in which the main features of the future release CIVA 2025 have been presented, especially the future FEM module. Do you think these new capabilities will be useful for you? Which other improvements would you expect in the future?
All new tools, procedures and algorithms that will lead to more accurate simulation results are very useful. We are looking forward to testing CIVA 2025, especially the mentioned FEM module. As for future improvements, we would very much welcome the possibility to export simulation results to ultrasound data format (e.g. UVdata). This would be particularly beneficial for the creation of so-called virtual test pieces, which are beginning to be used in the Czech Republic for training of personnel.
Have you heard about the "Reliability in NDE" training offered by EXTENDE, that introduces tools and methodologies related to sensitivity analysis and POD studies in the frame of reliability and technical justification works, and do you think it would be interesting for you to explore this topic further?
Yes, I have heard of this, and I find it very interesting. NDT qualification is a long-standing process used at Czech nuclear power plants to verify the NDT system (inspection procedure, equipment and personnel) and simulations are an integral part of the technical justification. Therefore, we definitely want to develop in this area and the possibility of this training and further use of CIVA for NDT qualifications will be beneficial for us and we will take advantage of this opportunity in the future. We have done several EXTENDE trainings in the past and they are of a very high standard.