Westinghouse Electric Corporation

Robert F Barry

George P Sabol

John F Wilson

Theodore W Nylund

Susan C Delzell

Sun-Keun Hwang

Mark G Watts

Wilson, John F

Samuel Kang

The invention projects a known geometry light source onto the surface of an object. A camera with a known distance and angular orientation with respect to the light source is used to capture the light source image on the object. The normal to the surface of the object is determined from the known size of the projected image, the angles of the intersecting lines in the projected image and the corresponding values in the received image. If a hole is to be located, the image projected is a cross and the center of the hole is determined by finding the end points of image line segments which correspond to hole edges. The center and surface normal define the location and orientation of the hole. The surface normal and the center of the hole are transformed into a robot coordinate system and a robot can be commanded to insert a bolt into the hole based on the values. The system can be used to map and measure a surface contour by determining normals and intersection points along the contour, calculating the distances between intersection points and summing these distances. Relative angles between surfaces can be determined from the normals. An object can be identified by comparing the relative angles between the surfaces of the object to relative angles for known reference objects. A Gaussian image can be produced by taking normals over the surface of the object and plotting these in a spherical coordinate system and used for object identification.

Object locating system

An elongated nuclear fuel cladding tube is provided with at least two annular concentric layers which are bonded to each other. The inner layer is composed of a zirconium base alloy. The outer layer is composed of a titanium base material exhibiting excellent corrosion resistance in elevated temperature and pressure aqueous environments.

Composite nuclear fuel cladding tubing and other core internal

Seamless tubing is formed from welded precursors of zirconium or titanium material by heating successive axial segments of welded tubing completely through the wall of the tubing to convert the material to the beta phase and then rapidly quenching the segments, with the heating and quenching effected so as to prevent the growth of beta grains within the material.

Process for forming seamless tubing of zirconium or titanium alloys from

A debris trap is mounted within a bottom nozzle of a fuel assembly so as to capture and retain debris carried by coolant flowing from the lower core plate openings of the nuclear reactor to the fuel assembly. The trap includes a structure disposed below the adapter plate of the bottom nozzle and between the corner legs of the nozzle. The structure is composed of a plurality of straps aligned with one another in a crisscross arrangement and defining a plurality of interconnected wall portions which form a multiplicity of small cells each having open opposite ends and a central channel for coolant flow through the trap. A plurality of spring-like fingers are punched out of the wall portions and bent to extend into the cell channels toward the downstream end of the trap structure to provide means to capture and retain pieces of debris carried through the channels by flowing coolant. Outwardly projecting tabs are provided on the upstream end of the trap structure for holding large pieces of debris to prevent lateral circulation thereof along, and repeated impact thereof against the structure. Also, leaf springs are attached to opposite sides of the structure and engagable with a pair of the corner legs of the bottom nozzle for releasably locking the trap structure in place in the bottom nozzle.

Debris trap for a pressurized water nuclear reactor

A system for effecting transport over a surface among a plurality of terminals, including at least one transport vehicle movable over the surface, light barriers dividing the surface into a plurality of contiguous elemental zones and sensing the passage of a vehicle across a boundary between two contiguous zones, light signal generators for emitting light signals identifying each zone occupied by a vehicle and identifying the location of each terminal, logic circuitry connected between the barriers and said light signal generators for controlling the light signals identifying each zone in response to passage of a vehicle across a boundary, a photoelectric receiver carried by the vehicle for sensing light signals produced by the light signal generators and producing electrical signals representative of the light signals, and a vehicle movement control circuit carried by the vehicle and connected to receive the electrical signals from the photoelectric receiver for controlling the movement of the vehicle in dependence on the light signals.

Navigation system for unmanned vehicles

An installation composed of a plurality of machines disposed adjacent a common work space delimited by a boundary surface, each machine being associated with a respective portion of the boundary surface and having a work-performing member movable into and out of the work space through the associated boundary surface portion, and an optical monitoring system composed of a plurality of optical monitoring assemblies each associated with a respective machine. Each assembly includes: a light barrier structure including a plurality of light sensors each disposed in a light beam path to form a light barrier coextensive with the boundary surface portion associated with the associated machine, and each light sensor producing an electrical signal indicative of reception of light; an electrical signal processing device connected to receive the electrical signals from all light sensors for producing an intrusion signal when any one of the light sensors is not receiving light; a warning device connected to the electrical signal processing device for emitting a light signal in response to production of an intrusion signal; a light receiving device optically linked with the warning device of every other assembly for producing a warning signal in response to emission of the signal by the warning device of any other assembly; and a control device connected between the light receiving device and the associated machine for causing the work-performing member of the associated machine to remain outside the work space when a warning signal is being produced by the light receiving device.

System for optical monitoring of machine positions

The fissile inventory required in operating a negative power coefficient nuclear reactor in an electric power generating system is reduced by cycling the load imposed on the system when 100% power can no longer be maintained at equilibrium due to xenon poisoning in order to induce an oscillation in the xenon concentration which is in antiphase wtih the power requirements so that 100% power can be maintained at least during part of the day. The load can be progressively reduced by a preset amount each night or a xenon suppression controller which forecasts the xenon reactivity at the time selected for a return to full power as a function reactor history, current reactor flux and an arbitrary load schedule can be used to determine the maximum reduced power level that will permit operation at full power at the selected time.

Xenon suppression in a nuclear fueled electric power generation system

A nuclear fuel assembly includes and upper yoke, a base, an elongated, outer flow channel disposed substantially along the entire length of the fuel assembly and an elongated, internal, central water cross, formed by four, elongated metal angles, that divides the nuclear fuel assembly into four, separate, elongated fuel sections and that provides a centrally disposed path for the flow of subcooled neutron moderator along the length of the fuel assembly. A separate fuel bundle is located in each of the four fuel sections and includes an upper tie plate, a lower tie plate and a plurality of elongated fuel rods disposed therebetween. Preferably, each upper tie plate is formed from a plurality of interconnected thin metal bars and includes an elongated, axially extending pin that is received by the upper yoke of the fuel assembly for restraining lateral motion of the fuel bundle while permitting axial movement of the fuel bundle with respect to the outer flow channel. The outer flow channel is fixedly secured at its opposite longitudinal ends to the upper yoke and to the base to permit the fuel assembly to be lifted and handled in a vertical position without placing lifting loads or stresses on the fuel rods. The yoke, removably attached at the upper end of the fuel assembly to four structural ribs secured to the inner walls of the outer flow channel, includes, as integrally formed components, a lifting bail or handle, laterally extending bumpers, a mounting post for a spring assembly, four elongated apertures for receiving with a slip fit the axially extending pins mounted on the upper tie plates and slots for receiving the structural ribs secured to the outer flow channel. Locking pins securely attach the yoke to the structural ribs enabling the fuel assembly to be lifted as an entity.

Nuclear fuel assembly

A reactor core having tandem arranged fuel regions for use in a water moderated nuclear reactor. An upper core region is fueled with enriched uranium oxide; while, a lower core region is fueled with a plutonium oxide. An intermediate core region contains natural uranium oxide.

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Monroeville, PA, United States of America

Robert F Barry