APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR IN SITU EVALUATION OF CAPACITIVE TYPE PRESSURE TRANSDUCERS IN A NUCLEAR POWER PLANT

An apparatus and method to facilitate the in situ detection of small leaks in fluid-filled, capacitive type pressure transducers by remotely and non-intrusively inducing a brief time varying transient signal, and then analyzing the frequency response of the transducer to such excitation in order to detect the presence and effects of a fluid leak. The adverse effect of this induced transient signal on the process control circuitry is insignificant, while providing for an accurate and sensitive method for detecting the extent of fluid loss in the transducer when evaluated according to the present invention. As a consequence of such transducer evaluation techniques, frequency responsive characteristics of such devices may be recorded and self-correlated over long periods of time. Such self-correlation provides an accurate, transducer-specific historical profile which may be used as a means for detecting malfunction anomalies in the output of the pressure sensing transducer device and predicting when the device will fail due to loss of internal dielectric fluid.