Westinghouse Electric Corporation

Edward J Rusnica

David E Boyle

Daniel Merkovsky

L Ike Ezekoye

Nicholas W Kish

Howard S Jenkins

Henry A Sepp, Jr

Martin J Zegar

Stephen J Sarver

A sleeve-like sealing unit, particularly a thimble guide extender is adapted to be installed on and coaxially with a thimble guide mounted on a lower core plate of a nuclear reaction vessel and projects toward and terminates at a distance from an underface of a bottom nozzle forming part of a fuel assembly and supported on a top face of the lower core plate. The extender has a lower fitting adapted to surround the thimble guide at a bottom length portion thereof adjacent the top face of the lower core plate; and an upper fitting being axially displaceable relative to the lower fitting and being adapted to surround the thimble guide at a top length portion thereof. The upper fitting has an axial passage and a terminal opening defined by an outer annular radial face adapted to be in a face-to-face engagement with the underside of the bottom nozzle. The extender further has an axially compressible, generally cylindrical resilient bellows arranged between the lower and upper fittings generally in axial alignment therewith and being sealingly secured thereto. In an installed state of the extender the belows is compressed and urges the annular radial face of the upper fitting into a sealing contact with underside of the bottom nozzle. A circumferential sealing arrangement is provided at the lower fitting and is adapted to sealingly surround the thimble guide in the installed state of the extender.

Thimble guide extender for a nuclear power plant

An inservice inspection of a surface area or welds of a nuclear reactor pressure vessel is carried out, without the need to remove the core barrel and lower internals therefrom, by providing access to the annular chamber between the core barrel and the pressure vessel wall through an aperture in the upper flange of the core barrel. An inspection means, such as an ultrasonic testing device is inserted into the annular chamber through the access and positioned proximate the weld to be inspected and inspection of the weld effected by the device.

Method for internal inspection of a pressurized water nuclear reactor

A pressure tight seal is formed between the confronting planar sealing surfaces on the flanges of a nuclear reactor pressure vessel and its hemispherical head, by a toroidal, crushable tubular seal member which is locked into a flat annular spacer member by a resilient annular member, such as a circular coil spring seated in a V-shaped recess in the inner surface of the flat annular member. The thickness of the flat annular member and the resiliency of the circular coil spring control the deformation of the tubular seal member as the sealing surfaces are drawn toward each other by flange bolts. The flat annular member is provided with axial bores which register with the flange bolts to provide positive positioning of the tubular seal member without the necessity of providing grooves in the confronting planar sealing surfaces.

Forming a seal between planar sealing surfaces

A modularly constructable support arrangement is provided for pressurizer safety and relief valves in a nuclear power plant. A common header is supported by four sets of columnar legs which are secured to pressurizer vessel side wall lugs. The safety and relief valves are securely disposed and connected through short pipe runs to discharge steam into the header.

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Greensburg, PA, United States of America

Edward J Rusnica