| Class / Patent application number | Description | Number of patent applications / Date published |
|---|
| 376258000 | Position detection | 20 |
| 20080310576 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DETERMINING COOLANT LEVEL AND FLOW VELOCITY IN A NUCLEAR REACTOR - A boiling water reactor includes a reactor pressure vessel having a feedwater inlet for the introduction of recycled steam condensate and/or makeup coolant into the vessel, and a steam outlet for the discharge of produced steam for appropriate work. A fuel core is located within a lower area of the pressure vessel. The fuel core is surrounded by a core shroud spaced inward from the wall of the pressure vessel to provide an annular downcomer forming a coolant flow path between the vessel wall and the core shroud. A probe system that includes a combination of conductivity/resistivity probes and/or one or more time-domain reflectometer (TDR) probes is at least partially located within the downcomer. The probe system measures the coolant level and flow velocity within the downcomer. | 12-18-2008 |
| 20090185651 | CONTROL ROD POSITION DETECTOR AND CONTROL ROD DRIVE MECHANISM - A control rod position detector for detecting position of a control rod being linked to a control rod drive mechanism, comprising:
| 07-23-2009 |
| 20090252272 | Advanced Digital Control Rod Position Indication System with Rod Drop Monitoring for Nuclear Power Plants - An advanced digital rod position indication (ADRPI) system having rod drop monitoring capability. When a reactor trip occurs, the ADRPI system derives the rod drop time from the signals induced in the detector coils by the falling drive rods. The ADRPI system is linked to the reactor trip breaker to provide a reference point to allow accurate timing of the rod drop times. | 10-08-2009 |
| 20100284505 | Method and Apparatus for Annulus Spacer Detection and Repositioning in Nuclear Reactors - The present invention provides an apparatus for detecting and/or repositioning annulus spacers used to maintain the position of a pressure tube withm a calandria tube of a nuclear reactor. The method comprises the steps of: vibrationally isolating a section of the pressure tube; vibrating the wall of said pressure tube within said isolated section; detecting vibration of the wall at a minimum of two axial positions within said isolated sections; and detecting the reduction in vibration level of the wall at one or more of said axial positions in comparison to the remaining axial positions. The apparatus comprises a tool head to be inserted into the pressure tube, the tool head comprising a first end and a second and a clamping block m each of said ends. The clamping blocks are used to vibrationally isolate a section of the pressure tube located between said ends. The apparatus also comprises piezo-actuators operable to vibrate said pressure tube; and accelerometers used for measuring vibration of said pressure tube. | 11-11-2010 |
| 20110164717 | DEVICE FOR MEASURING AND CORRECTING A PARALLELISM ERROR IN A NUCLEAR FUEL ROD - A device for measuring and correcting a parallelism error of an upper plug end of a nuclear fuel rod comprising mechanisms for measuring a parallelism error and for correcting said error, and a mechanism for positioning said device on the fuel rod and cooperating with a rack on which the fuel rod is stored, said correction means being arranged opposite the measuring mechanism relative to the location of the fuel rod, in order to allow a measurement of the parallelism error during correction of said error. | 07-07-2011 |
| 20110216870 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PERMISSIVE CONTROL OF A MAST AND GRAPPLE - A method and apparatus for the permissive control of a mast and fuel grapple to be used in the movement of reactor fuel components, including fuel assemblies, single blade and double blade guides, to be used in a Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) nuclear reactor. The Permissive Control System reduces the chance of human error associated with the movement of reactor components by assisting in controlling the location (plant coordinate) of the mast for picking-up and dropping-off reactor components, the sequence of reactor component movements, the orientation (angular rotation) of the mast and fuel grapple, the raising and lowering of the grapple, and the opening and closing of the fuel grapple. | 09-08-2011 |
| 20120155596 | NUCLEAR CONTROL ROD POSITION INDICATION SYSTEM - A high temperature reed switch position indicator for a pressurized water reactor in which the drive rod housing is completely immersed in the reactor coolant. The reed switch sensor modules positioned along the control rod drive rod travel housing are constructed solely of metallic, ceramic and glass materials and are sealed within an outer housing to isolate the sensor assembly from the coolant. | 06-21-2012 |
| 20120269311 | IN-REACTOR PIPING WORK DEVICE AND IN-REACTOR PIPING WORK METHOD - According to an embodiment, a horizontally moving stage is mounted on a cylindrical structure within a reactor pressure vessel, travels horizontally along the surface of the cylindrical structure by wheels, and is positioned above an in-reactor pipe by the operation of the horizontally moving stage. A hollow mast is carried by the horizontally moving stage, and is expandable and contractible in a vertical attitude. When the mast is in the vertical attitude, a probe is movable within the mast and performs work in the proximity to the inner surface of the in-reactor pipe. A cable passes through the mast to be connected to the probe. | 10-25-2012 |
| 20130148772 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS OF MONITORING CONTROL RODS OF A NUCLEAR POWER PLANT - A diagnostic system to monitor digital rod position indication (DRPI) signals of a DRPI system of a nuclear power plant, including a digital diagnostic unit connected between a DRPI display cabinet and a DRPI data cabinet of the DRPI system to monitor digital rod position signals of the DRPI data cabinet. The digital rod position signals include digital rod address signals and digital rod position data signals such that the digital diagnostic unit detects signal level variation and signal timing variation of the digital rod address signals and the digital rod position data signals to determine rod position errors of the DRPI system. | 06-13-2013 |
| 20130177123 | Control Rod Position Indication Systems and Methods for Nuclear Power Plants - Systems and methods of monitoring position information of a control rod in a nuclear reactor, including detecting an output signal induced by movement of a control rod with respect to at least one detection coil of the control rod, the output signal having identifiable characteristics representative of a plurality of positions of the control rod within the at least one detection coil, and processing the identifiable characteristics to derive the positions of the control rod within the at least one detection coil. | 07-11-2013 |
| 20130195237 | METHOD FOR CONTROLLING THE POSITIONS OF NUCLEAR FUEL ASSEMBLIES INSIDE A NUCLEAR REACTOR CORE, AND CORRESPONDING CONTROL ASSEMBLY - A method for controlling the positions of a plurality of nuclear fuel assemblies ( | 08-01-2013 |
| 20130266110 | TRAVELING REACTOR POWER MONITORING SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MONITORING DRIVING TORQUE - A traveling reactor power monitoring system includes a drive control unit configured to drive a motor and move a traveling probe in a guide tube by driving the motor, a torque sensor configured to measure a drive torque of the motor, and a drive torque monitoring unit that generates an alarm when the measured drive torque exceeds a predefined upper threshold, and that bypasses generating the alarm for a predefined bypass time, the predefined bypass time starting at a time of starting driving the motor. | 10-10-2013 |
| 20140140464 | WIRELESS TRANSMISSION OF NUCLEAR INSTRUMENTATION SIGNALS - A system for monitoring a condition of a nuclear reactor pressure vessel disposed in a radioactive environment includes an instrument structured to monitor a condition of the nuclear reactor pressure vessel; a powered wireless transmitting modem disposed in the radioactive environment, the wireless transmitting modem being electrically coupled to the instrument; a receiving modem disposed in the line of sight of the transmitting modem, the receiving modem being in wireless communication with the transmitting modem; and a signal processing unit electrically coupled to the receiving modem, the signal processing unit being structured to determine the condition of the nuclear reactor pressure vessel from the instrument. The transmitting modem is powered by a thermocouple disposed in or on the reactor pressure vessel. | 05-22-2014 |
| 20140321593 | HIGH RESOLUTION DIGITAL ROD POSITION INDICATION SYSTEM FOR NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS - A high resolution digital rod position indication (high resolution DRPI) system having improved resolution. The high resolution DRPI system monitors the rod control cluster and provides an indication of the rod position with precision to a single step. In addition, the high resolution DRPI system is capable of producing a rod position output compatible with existing rod control systems. The improved resolution of the high resolution DRPI system allows the actual position of the control rods to be continuously monitored and eliminates the need for or reduces the frequency of offline re-initialization of the step counters. | 10-30-2014 |
| 20150310946 | IMPROVED DETERMINATION OF POSITIONS OF FUEL ASSEMBLY ELEMENTS - A method for determining positions of fuel assembly elements arranged in a vessel, each fuel assembly comprising at least one element, at least one geometric constraint of the fuel assembly or the vessel being pre-defined, the method comprising the following steps: previously obtaining a first set of estimated positions of the elements; determining a criterion representative of the distances between the positions of the first set and parameters to be optimized, the parameters locating possible positions of the element, the possible positions respecting the pre-defined geometric constraint; and determining a second set of estimated positions optimized on the basis of said parameters for which the criterion is minimized as per a pre-determined norm. | 10-29-2015 |
| 20160012925 | System and method for nuclear fuel assembly deformation measurement | 01-14-2016 |
| 20160042819 | METHOD FOR ANNULUS SPACER DETECTION IN NUCLEAR REACTORS - The present invention provides an apparatus for detecting and/or repositioning annulus spacers used to maintain the position of a pressure tube within a calandria tube of a nuclear reactor. The method comprises the steps of: vibrationally isolating a section of the pressure tube; vibrating the wall of said pressure tube within said isolated section; detecting vibration of the wall at a minimum of two axial positions within said isolated sections; and detecting the reduction in vibration level of the wall at one or more of said axial positions in comparison to the remaining axial positions. The apparatus comprises a tool head to be inserted into the pressure tube, the tool head comprising a first end and a second and a clamping block m each of said ends. The clamping blocks are used to vibrationally isolate a section of the pressure tube located between said ends. The apparatus also comprises piezo-actuators operable to vibrate said pressure tube; and accelerometers used for measuring vibration of said pressure tube. | 02-11-2016 |
| 20160055925 | METHOD FOR ANNULUS SPACER DETECTION AND REPOSITIONING IN NUCLEAR REACTORS - The present invention provides an apparatus for detecting and/or repositioning annulus spacers used to maintain the position of a pressure tube within a calandria tube of a nuclear reactor. The method comprises the steps of: vibrationally isolating a section of the pressure tube; vibrating the wall of said pressure tube within said isolated section; detecting vibration of the wall at a minimum of two axial positions within said isolated sections; and detecting the reduction in vibration level of the wall at one or more of said axial positions in comparison to the remaining axial positions. The apparatus comprises a tool head to be inserted into the pressure tube, the tool head comprising a first end and a second and a clamping block m each of said ends. The clamping blocks are used to vibrationally isolate a section of the pressure tube located between said ends. The apparatus also comprises piezo-actuators operable to vibrate said pressure tube; and accelerometers used for measuring vibration of said pressure tube. | 02-25-2016 |
| 20160155522 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR INDICATING POSITION OF CONTROL ROD IN NUCLEAR REACTOR | 06-02-2016 |
| 20160379725 | METHOD FOR ANNULUS SPACER DETECTION IN NUCLEAR REACTORS - The present invention provides an apparatus for detecting and/or repositioning annulus spacers used to maintain the position of a pressure tube within a calandria tube of a nuclear reactor. The method comprises the steps of: vibrationally isolating a section of the pressure tube; vibrating the wall of said pressure tube within said isolated section; detecting vibration of the wall at a minimum of two axial positions within said isolated sections; and detecting the reduction in vibration level of the wall at one or more of said axial positions in comparison to the remaining axial positions. The apparatus comprises a tool head to be inserted into the pressure tube, the tool head comprising a first end and a second and a clamping block m each of said ends. The clamping blocks are used to vibrationally isolate a section of the pressure tube located between said ends. The apparatus also comprises piezo-actuators operable to vibrate said pressure tube; and accelerometers used for measuring vibration of said pressure tube. | 12-29-2016 |
