Westinghouse Electric Corporation

George A Savage

Warren R Junker

Raymond P Castner

Paul J Boone

Wenche W Cheng

Robert D Senger

Robert P Vestovich

Bruce J Taszarek

Michael D Hecht

Mustan Attaar

Raymond G Kelly, Jr

Ronald H Ingraham

Michael H Canton

David A Bone

Bruce R Cox

Tara D Mapson

Kurt K Lichtenfiels

Stanley F Niziol

Anthony Grieco

An improved robotic arm system for servicing the tubesheet located within the channel head of a nuclear steam generator is provided. The system includes a robotic arm whose shoulder and elbow joints are rotatable only in the plane parallel to the tubesheet in order to eliminate the imposition of cantileverly-induced torques on the electric motors driving these joints, as well as to minimize the possibility of mechanical interference between the arm and the walls of the channel head. Each of the motorized joint assemblies of the arm includes resolvers connected not only to the output of the drive train that moves the joint, but also to the drive shaft of the electric motor that drives the drive train, wherein the feedback signal generated by the resolver connected to the drive shaft of the electric motor is the primary signal used to modulate the amount of electric power conducted to the motor of the joint. Such a configuration advantageously results in smoother robotic arm movement. Finally, the control circuit assembly of the robotic arm system includes a control processing unit (CPU) which is capable of simultaneously driving not only the joint assemblies of the robotic arm, but also any computer-operated mechanisms associated with a variety of end effectors which the arm is capable of delivering. The CPU, power supply and other components of the control circuit assembly are installable in the containment area surrounding the steam generator in order to eliminate the number of cable penetrations through the containment walls that are necessary to operate the system.

Robotic system for servicing the heat exchanger tubes of a nuclear steam

A digital computer performs a complete eddy current analysis of the tubes of a steam generator from data input to generation of a final report. The computer extracts signatures generated by various structural features and tube defects from the data, breaks down composite signatures into their component parts and classifies each such signature by applying thereto a cascading set of experience based rules. Signatures classified as structural features are examined closely for the presence of colocated tube defects. A post processor correlates the location of the indication identified from the time based eddy current data with the known physical location of the structural features so that the position of the defects can be presented in terms of distances from fixed structures.

Machine implemented analysis eddy current data

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Rostraver Twp., Westmoreland County, PA, United States of America

George A Savage