General Electric Company

Willem Vanderputten

David L Richardson

Mary M Lemanowicz

John G De Briere

An ultrasonic transducer apparatus and method for examining nuclear reactor jet pump beams for cracking. Examination is conducted in situ. An operator lowers a carriage portion of the apparatus into the reactor vessel with a pole. Ultrasonic signals are transmitted through suitable wiring from an external source to the transducer apparatus, which may employ a pitch-catch or pulse-echo mode of ultrasonic examination to test the beams. The carriage holds oppositely disposed pairs of ultrasonic transducers and positions them suitably near the beam to be examined in a proper orientation thereto. The mode of examination is selected by a switching mechanism. The apparatus includes a signal generator, receiver, and visual display.

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San Jose, CA, United States of America

Willem Vanderputten