Westinghouse Electric Corporation

Siemens Westinghouse Power Corporation

Siemens Energy, Inc.

Westinghouse Electric Company LLC

Richard A Basel

Paolo R Zafred

Roswell J Ruka

James E Gillett

Robert Draper

Gong Zhang

Jeffrey T Dederer

Raymond A George

Prabhakar Singh

Larry A Shockling

Kevin P Litzinger

Louis K Lau

Vinod B Doshi

James M Toms

Annette B Antenucci

Stephen D Smith

Gregory A Meyer

Jeremy R Koether

Robert L Cather

David C DiBasilio

Gregory A Banyay

Randall A Holmes

John E King

A system configured to monitor the structural health of reactor vessel internals of a nuclear reactor is disclosed herein. The system includes a memory configured to store historical information associated with past performance of the nuclear reactor, and an anomaly detection subsystem including a control circuit configured to receive a signal from a sensor. The anomaly detection subsystem is configured to determine, via the control circuit, a characteristic of a vibrational response of the reactor vessel internals based, at least in part, on the signal; access, via the control circuit, the historical information stored in the memory; compare, via the control circuit, the determined characteristic to the historical information stored in the memory; and determine, via the control circuit, a condition of the reactor vessel internals based, at least in part, on the comparison of the determined characteristic and the historical information.

System for continually monitoring the condition of nuclear reactor internals

A solid oxide fuel cell generator is provided for electrochemically reacting a fuel gas with a flowing oxidant gas at an elevated temperature to produce power. The generator includes a generator section receiving a fuel gas and a plurality of elongated fuel cells extending through the generator section and having opposing open fuel cell ends for directing an oxidant gas between opposing plena in the generator. A sealant defines a seal on the fuel cells adjacent at least one of the fuel cell ends. The sealant is a modified lanthanum borate aluminosilicate glass composition having a minimal amount of boron oxide and silica, and in which the sealant maintains substantially constant physical characteristics throughout multiple thermal cycles.

Solid oxide fuel cell generator including a glass sealant

A fuel cell for a fuel cell generator including a housing including a gas flow path for receiving a fuel from a fuel source and directing the fuel across the fuel cell. The fuel cell includes an elongate member including opposing first and second ends and defining an interior cathode portion and an exterior anode portion. The interior cathode portion includes an electrode in contact with an oxidant flow path. The exterior anode portion includes an electrode in contact with the fuel in the gas flow path. The anode portion includes a catalyst material for effecting fuel reformation along the fuel cell between the opposing ends. A fuel reformation control layer is applied over the catalyst material for reducing a rate of fuel reformation on the fuel cell. The control layer effects a variable reformation rate along the length of the fuel cell.

Fuel cell generator with fuel electrodes that control on-cell fuel reformation

A fuel cell generator apparatus contains at least one fuel cell subassembly module in a module housing, where the housing is surrounded by a pressure vessel such that there is an air accumulator space, where the apparatus is associated with an air compressor of a turbine/generator/air compressor system, where pressurized air from the compressor passes into the space and occupies the space and then flows to the fuel cells in the subassembly module, where the air accumulation space provides an accumulator to control any unreacted fuel gas that might flow from the module.

Pressurized solid oxide fuel cell integral air accumular containment

A solid oxide fuel cell generator ( ) contains stacks ( ) of hollow, tubular axially elongated fuel cells ( ) which can operate to generate electricity; a single oxidant inlet plenum ( ) including a bottom enclosing member, having hole therethrough which acts as an oxidant feed tube positioning board ( ); a fuel inlet plenum ( ); an oxidant/fuel exhaust chamber ( ); power leads ( ) electrically connected to the fuel cells transverse to the axis ( &prime;) of the fuel calls; and a plurality of oxidant feed tubes ( ); all surrounded by insulation ( ); where there are at least two fuel cell stacks arranged in a row next to each other, the oxidant feed tube positioning board at the bottom of the oxidant inlet plenum is a laminate of layers of porous alumino-silicate ceramic fibers bonded with a ceramic alumina binder and dense woven ceramic ( ) impregnated with ceramic adhesive ( ), and wherein the insulation constitutes, primarily, bulk ceramic fibers.

Low-cost atmospheric SOFC power generation system

An apparatus and method are disclosed for eliminating the chemical energy of fuel remaining in a pressurized fuel cell generator ( ) when the electrical power output of the fuel cell generator is terminated during transient operation, such as a shutdown; where, two electrically resistive elements (two of ) at least one of which is connected in parallel, in association with contactors ( ), a multi-point settable sensor relay ( ) and a circuit breaker ( ), are automatically connected across the fuel cell generator terminals ( ) at two or more contact points, in order to draw current, thereby depleting the fuel inventory in the generator.

Fuel dissipater for pressurized fuel cell generators

A fuel cell generator apparatus and method of its operation involves: passing pressurized oxidant gas, (O) and pressurized fuel gas, (F), into fuel cell modules, (10 and 12), containing fuel cells, where the modules are each enclosed by a module housing (18), surrounded by an axially elongated pressure vessel (64), where there is a purge gas volume, (62), between the module housing and pressure vessel; passing pressurized purge gas, (P), through the purge gas volume, (62), to dilute any unreacted fuel gas from the modules; and passing exhaust gas, (82), and circulated purge gas and any unreacted fuel gas out of the pressure vessel; where the fuel cell generator apparatus is transpatable when the pressure vessel (64) is horizontally disposed, providing a low center of gravity.

Purge gas protected transportable pressurized fuel cell modules and

A hydrocarbon reforming catalyst material comprising a catalyst support impregnated with catalyst is provided for reforming hydrocarbon fuel gases in an electrochemical generator. Elongated electrochemical cells convert the fuel to electrical power in the presence of an oxidant, after which the spent fuel is recirculated and combined with a fresh hydrocarbon feed fuel forming the reformable gas mixture which is fed to a reforming chamber containing a reforming catalyst material, where the reforming catalyst material includes discrete passageways integrally formed along the length of the catalyst support in the direction of reformable gas flow. The spent fuel and/or combusted exhaust gases discharged from the generator chamber transfer heat to the catalyst support, which in turn transfers heat to the reformable gas and to the catalyst, preferably via a number of discrete passageways disposed adjacent one another in the reforming catalyst support. The passageways can be slots extending inwardly from an outer surface of the support body, which slots are partly defined by an exterior confining wall. According to a preferred embodiment, the catalyst support is non-rigid, porous, fibrous alumina, wherein the fibers are substantially unsintered and compressible, and the reforming catalyst support is impregnated, at least in the discrete passageways with Ni and MgO, and has a number of internal slot passageways for reformable gas, the slot passageways being partly closed by a containing outer wall.

Hydrocarbon reforming catalyst material and configuration of the same

A gas sensor measures O.sub.2 content of a reformable monitored gas containing hydrocarbons H.sub.2 O and/or CO.sub.2, preferably in association with an electrochemical power generation system. The gas sensor has a housing communicating with the monitored gas environment and carries the monitored gas through an integral catalytic hydrocarbon reforming chamber containing a reforming catalyst, and over a solid electrolyte electrochemical cell used for sensing purposes. The electrochemical cell includes a solid electrolyte between a sensor electrode that is exposed to the monitored gas, and a reference electrode that is isolated in the housing from the monitored gas and is exposed to a reference gas environment. A heating element is also provided in heat transfer communication with the gas sensor. A circuit that can include controls operable to adjust operations via valves or the like is connected between the sensor electrode and the reference electrode to process the electrical signal developed by the electrochemical cell. The electrical signal varies as a measure of the equilibrium oxygen partial pressure of the monitored gas. Signal noise is effectively reduced by maintaining a constant temperature in the area of the electrochemical cell and providing a monitored gas at chemical equilibria when contacting the electrochemical cell. The output gas from the electrochemical cell of the sensor is fed back into the conduits of the power generating system.

Oxygen sensor for monitoring gas mixtures containing hydrocarbons

Growing community of inventors

Pittsburgh, PA, United States of America

Richard A Basel