Kraftwerk Union Aktiengesellschaft

Siemens Aktiengesellschaft

Georg Gugel

Hans Kastl

Otto Muller

Rainer Bauer

Thomas Muller

Peter Krauss

Erich Haas

Gunter Lehner

Martin Haefner

Franz Huber

An apparatus for testing a vessel wall includes a rail and a carriage running on the rail. An inclining and swiveling telescoping arm has an end being pivotably connected to the carriage and a free end. The telescoping arm has curved members with U-shaped cross sections. A drive mechanism for extending and retracting the telescoping arm includes a pusher tube having tensile strength and resistance to compression for driving the members in common and a motor for driving the pusher tube. A test unit is carried by the free end of the telescoping arm and a data line is connected between the test unit and an evaluation unit.

Apparatus and method for testing a vessel wall

A test manipulator externally applicable to a pipe, preferably for ultrasonically testing welded seams, the manipulator having a divided race for surrounding a pipe which is to be tested, a guide segment guiding the race at the periphery thereof, a test system carrier drivable in peripheral direction around the pipe, a driving and positioning device for the test system carrier and at least one test head holder fastenable to the test system carrier includes clamping means for fastening the race directly to the pipe in centered relationship to an adjustment mark located on the pipe; a guide segment mounted so as to be movable along the periphery of the race; an outrigger unit flangeable, together with the test system carrier and the test head holder, to the guide segment; and a saddle fastenable to the pipe in centered relationship to the adjustment mark; alternatively, during testing of a so-called pipe connection seam, the guide segment being movable on the saddle in axial direction of the pipe, and the race, together with the test system carrier being rotatable on the guide segment in peripheral direction around the pipe.

Test manipulator externally applicable to a pipe

Probe for the nondestructive testing of cylindrical cavities, including a rotatable testing head, an outwardly cylindrical housing supporting the testing head, a motor disposed in the housing for driving the testing head, a shell body being surrounded by the housing and being in the form of a semi-cylindrical part with a relatively smaller diameter in vicinity of the motor, a tube sealing the shell body in vicinity of the motor, and means disposed on the shell body for securing the motor in a definite position.

Probe for the nondestructive testing of cylindrical cavities, especially

Manipulator for positioning a tube probe at tube mouths of heat-exchanger tubes by remote-control of the tube probe which is connected to a flexible supply line for inspecting and/or repairing the heat-exchanger tubes, the tube mouths being disposed in a tube sheet and extending over an approximately semicircular tube field defined by a chord, includes at least three clamping devices distributed over the length of a carrying body fixed to the tube sheet and being lockable independently of one another in respective tube mouths of the tube sheet, the clamping devices being formed as insertable and retractable expanding mandrels extending from the carrying body towards and spacing the carrying body from the tube sheet, a boom having a swivel head by which it is fastened to a rotary shaft of a swing drive seated on the bearing surface of a support facing towards the tube sheet, a mouthpiece disposed at a free end of the boom and spaced from the rotary shaft a distance greater than a perpendicular distance of the rotary shaft from the chord defining the approximately semicircular tube field, the mouthpiece being thereby pivotable with the boom into the space between the carrying body and the tube sheet for introducing the tube probe into the respective tube mouths located thereat.

Manipulator for remote-controlled inspection and, if necessary or

A nuclear power plant with a metallic, circulatory cooling loop formed with welding seams and including, as components thereof, a reactor pressure vessel, a heat consumer and a pump, as well as a coolant line connecting the components to one another, and thermal insulation provided on the cooling loop, the welding seams being testable by a track-traversing testing device, including a multiplicity of fixedly installed tracks having like profile and being associated, respectively, with welding seams on the components and the cooling line, at least part of the thermal insulation being in vicinity of the tracks and being formed as removable cassettes.

Nuclear power plant with cooling circuit

Apparatus for testing vessel walls having projections with a multiplicity of guide tracks extending among the projections for guiding a slide carrying a testing device, and carriage means for transposing the slide onto the individual guide tracks, the carriage means being movable on a transport track connecting the ends of the guide tracks, including a thrust hose rigid in tension and compression and guidable by the guide tracks, respectively, a drive for the thrust hose mounted on the carriage, the thrust hose connecting the slide to the drive, and a jib carried by the carriage and operatively associated with the drive, the jib being of such dimension as to accommodate the slide and the testing device and being movable for adjusting to the guide tracks.

Apparatus for testing the walls of vessels

Manipulator for inspecting and, if required, repairing the tubes of heat exchangers, especially for nuclear reactors, in which a tube bundle set in a tube sheet lead into a steam generator chamber and a manipulator is brought in through a lead-in nozzle. An inspection arm can be inserted and removed through the lead-in nozzle and the nozzle can be closed off tight by a blind flange. The inspection arm comprises a guide tube supported in the lead-in nozzle, and a swivel arm supported at the end of the guide tube so that it can rotate in a plane parallel to the tube sheet. The swivel arm carries at its outer end an extendable and retractable mouthpiece carrier with a mouthpiece which can be aligned onto the tube openings. The outer contour of the swivel arm and the mouthpiece carrier in the stretched-out transport position is not greater than the inner contour of the lead-in nozzle.

Manipulator for inspection and possible repair of the tubes of heat

Manipulator assembly for testing the material of a pipe elbow from the inside thereof, the pipe elbow being secured to a pipe union extending from a pressure vessel openable for receiving therein a vertically extending manipulator mast having an arm carrying a manipulator, the manipulator being movable by the arm in vertical direction, rotatably about the axis of the mast and in direction of the longitudinal axis of the arm and transversely thereto, the manipulator includes a multimember vehicle drivable in direction of the pipe-union and pipe-elbow axis, the members of the vehicle being articulatingly connected to one another and having extensible and retractable support legs for supporting the respective vehicular members centered relative to the inner periphery of the pipe elbow, the support legs having roller members at the end thereof for transporting the vehicular members in axial direction of the pipe union and the pipe elbow, the vehicular member located at the head of the multimember vehicle being a test system carrier and being drivable with the vehicle in axial direction of the pipe union and the pipe elbow, the test system carrier having a test system fastened to at least one test arm and mounted so as to be rotatable along predetermined test tracks in circumferential direction of the pipe elbow, drivable radially inwardly and outwardly with the test arm and centerable on the respective center of the pipe elbow, the vehicular members and the test system carrier being mutually engaged by articulating couplings and longitudinally adjustable drive members so that, in an extended readiness position thereof wherein the manipulator is disposed in front of the pipe union, the vehicular members and the test system carrier are oriented in axial direction of the pipe union, are centered on the pipe union center and are rigidly coupled to one another, whereas in a travelling position thereof wherein at least the test system of the manipulator is located within the pipe elbow, the vehicular members and the test system carrier are loosely coupled to one another so that they adapt themselves to the curvature of the pipe elbow as they travel in axial direction thereof.

Elbow or bent tube manipulator, especially for ultrasonic testing in

Test system carrier for ultrasonic testing of pressure vessels, the carrier being supported at the end of a telescopic tube for executing stroke and rotary motions in or about the axis of a nozzle, the telescopic tube being adjustably mounted on the central mast of a central-mast manipulator so as to be adjustable in elevation and rotatable about the axis of the central mast as well as about its own axis includes, in combination, an inner-periphery test-head carrier displaceable along the axis of a nozzle and radially thereto for ultrasonically testing seams formed in the nozzle and seams between pipe connections and the nozzle as well as zones adjacent thereto; a tiltable lever, test head means carried by the lever, the lever being movable so as to bring the test head means into contact with surfaces at the end of the nozzle, the corner of the nozzle and the inner periphery of the nozzle and movable in test tracks within the entire respective peripheral angle nozzle thereof; the pivot axis of the lever being shiftable axially away from the telescoping tube, and the angular position of the lever with respect to the telescoping tube being variable for contacting the respective test tracks, the lever being controllably movable into an inward folded-up seat position so that the test system carrier with the inner-periphery test-head carrier is axially displaceable unobstructedly through the nozzle.

Test system carrier for ultrasonic testing of nozzle seams, pipe

A pressurized-water steam generator of the U-shaped tube bundle type, has its primary header provided with a horizontal pipe which extends through the header's wall and curves upwardly, rotation of the pipe permitting the upwardly curved inner end to register with any of the inlet ends of a distributor having outer or upper ends which register with the tubes of the tube bundle. The horizontal pipe can be moved longitudinally to move the distributor from one row of tubes to another, rotation of the pipe permitting registration with any of the tubes via the distributor. With this system a flexible tube inspection or repair tool carrier may be pushed through the horizontal pipe from the outside of the header and guided to any of the heat-exchanger tubes via the distributor, avoiding the need for a workman to enter the header to register the flexible carrier with the end of the tube to be inspected or repaired. The usual flexible carrier comprises a rubber rod or hose having an end for carrying an inspection or repair device, the carrier being capable of being pushed and pulled through the heat-exchanger tube and having adequate flexibility for its purpose.

Pressurized-water reactor steam generator heat-exchanger tube access

Certain types of heat-exchangers have tubes opening through a tube sheet to a manifold having an access opening offset from alignment with the tube ends. A tool for inserting a device, such as for inspection or repair, is provided for use in such instances. The tool is formed by a flexible guide tube insertable through the access opening and having an inner end provided with a connector for connection with the opening of the tube in which the device is to be inserted, and an outer end which remains outside of the chamber, the guide tube having adequate length for this arrangement. A flexible transport hose for internally transporting the device slides inside of the guide tube. This hose is long enough to slide through the guide tube, into the heat-exchanger tube, and through the latter to the extent required for the use of the device. The guide tube must be bent to reach the end of the heat-exchanger tube and the latter may be constructed with a bend, the hose carrying anti-friction elements at interspaced locations along its length to make it possible for the hose to negotiate such bends while sliding to the location where the use of the device is required.

Growing community of inventors

Kalchreuth, Germany

Georg Gugel