General Electric Company

James E Holden

Kevin L Ledford

Gary S Martin

Richard D Wittmeier

Richard E Kingston

Mark C Clark

Justin L Banks

Michael J Sullivan

Robert B Elkins

Thomas G Dunlap

Dennis D Kessen

Julieta Perez

Thomas F Carter

Locksley V Hampton

John G Pistolis

James F McLeod

George Anthony Kunder

Ararat Pogosian

A method and system of applying a corrosion inhibitor to the interior component parts of a turbine to provide corrosion protection to the components is disclosed. A blower connected to the turbine introduces air into the turbine's interior. A fog of corrosion inhibitor is added to the air and introduced into the turbine through at least one inlet vent in the turbine for introducing the air from the blower into the turbine's interior, and introducing the corrosion inhibitor into the inlet vent while the blower is operating so that the corrosion inhibitor is caused to be drawn into and through the interior of the turbine to coat the interior component parts of the turbine. The step of introducing the corrosion inhibitor into the inlet vent is performed until the corrosion inhibitor appears at the outlet vent at the opposite end of the turbine from where the inlet vent is located or until the corrosion inhibitor coats all exposed surfaces of the components inside turbine. All openings in turbine are subsequently sealed to contain the corrosion inhibitor inside the turbine.

Process for corrosion protection of turbine internal components

A pipe flange cover for temporarily covering a pipe opening and a pipe flange at an end of a pipe, the cover having a front face and a rear face, the rear face having a center portion surrounded by a peripheral portion of the rear face, the peripheral portion formed with a plurality of axially projecting spring lugs; the center portion adapted to engage a front side of the pipe flange and to seal the pipe opening, the spring lugs adapted for insertion into bolt holes on the pipe flange. The center portion is axially offset from the peripheral portion, and connected thereto by an integral bellows.

Reusable pipe flange cover

The control rod includes an upper absorber section and a lower velocity limiter comprised of a socket, a vane, a transition piece and a set of fins. To adjust the weight of the control rod, lighter and heavier sets of fins, as well as lighter and heavier transition pieces are provided. By suitable selection of the lighter and heavier sets of fins and the lighter and heavier transition pieces, the weight of the velocity limiter can be selectively adjusted in accordance with the weights of differently designed sections to obtain a predetermined control rod weight. Additionally, the heavier transition piece may have material removed therefrom to decrease its weight to provide an infinite adjustment of weight within a predetermined range of weights for the velocity limiter.

Apparatus and method for adjusting the weight of a velocity limiter for a control rod of a nuclear reactor

A molded, flexible pipe flange cover for temporarily covering a pipe flange and a pipe opening includes a substantially round center portion having a peripheral skirt portion depending from the center portion, the center portion adapted to engage a front side of the pipe flange and to seal the pipe opening. The peripheral skirt portion is formed to include a plurality of circumferentially spaced tabs, wherein free ends of the flexible tabs are formed with respective through passages adapted to receive a drawstring for pulling the tabs together on a back side of the pipe flange.

Reusable pipe flange covers

A control rod includes four panels in cruciform section each containing a plurality of absorber tubes. The absorber tubes are mounted between upper and lower mounting structures having generally T-shaped slots opening toward one another. The absorber tubes have generally T-shaped end plugs for reception in the slots. The slots and end plugs are configured to permit limited axial movement of each absorber tube relative to the control rod and to adjacent tubes. The absorber tubes are maintained in tension during all nuclear operations including during a scram.

Control rod for a nuclear reactor having mounting structures for

A control rod assembly for a nuclear reactor, wherein a plurality of absorber tubes are arranged and welded in a side-by-side array, the improvement wherein each absorber tube is formed with an elongated slot extending substantially the entire length of the absorber tube on one side of the tube, and with an elongated tab extending substantially the entire length of the absorber tube on a diametrically opposed side of the tube such that, for adjacent absorber tubes, a joint is formed wherein the tab of one tube is located within the slot of the other.

Self-aligning absorber tube for a control rod in a nuclear reactor

A control rod for a nuclear reactor incorporates a plurality of neutron absorber tubes containing neutron absorbing materials. The absorber tubes are substantially rectangular inside and outside, each tube containing at least one axial stack of substantially round neutron absorbing material segments or capsules.

Rectangular absorber tube for a control rod in a nuclear reactor

A generally cruciform-shaped control rod for a nuclear reactor is formed by vertical stiffeners laterally spaced one from the other and interconnected by horizontal stiffeners at their ends defining discrete compartments in each wing of the cruciform-shaped control rod. Sheathing overlies the stiffeners to seal each of the compartments from its surrounding environment. Neutron-absorbing material, such as boron carbide and/or hafnium tubes, are disposed in each compartment. Each wing is secured to a generally cruciform central tie rod formed of planar plates superposed one over the other alternately at right angles with the outer edges of the plates welded to the inner edges of the wings, affording structural support to the control rod. The innermost vertically extending stiffeners have apertures communicating between adjacent compartments whereby helium gas generated by the boron-neutron reaction in the boron capsules leaks from the boron capsules into each compartment thereby equalizing the pressure across each wing of the control rod.

Control rod for a nuclear reactor

A neutron-absorber control rod tube includes end plugs welded at opposite ends to the tube with each end plug having a bore opening into the interior of the tube. A hafnium rod is disposed inside the absorber tube and has reduced diameter end portions providing an interference fit with the bores of the end plugs. The end faces of the hafnium rod terminate short of the inner end faces of the bores of the end plugs defining gas pockets therebetween. The interference fits between the bores of the end plugs and hafnium rod, respectively, afford substantial frictional resistance to relative movement of the end plugs and absorber rod, while the gas pockets provide a viscous dampening effect upon relative movement of the end plugs and absorber rod, in response to acceleration or deceleration loads on the structure in an axial direction of the absorber tube and the absorber rod.

Growing community of inventors

Wilmington, NC, United States of America

James E Holden