The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 23, 1991
Filed:
Jan. 25, 1989
Hassan J Ahmed, Irmo, SC (US);
Westinghouse Electric Corp., Pittsburgh, PA (US);
Abstract
An inspection apparatus and method for testing nuclear fuel rods for helium leaks includes the basic operative steps of constantly leaking helium at a predetermined known value into a test chamber containing a fuel rod to be tested, and sampling the atmosphere within the chamber and measuring the helium in the atmosphere. A measured helium value below a preset minimum helium value indicates a malfunction in the inspection apparatus, whereas a measured helium value above a preset maximum helium value indicates the existence of a helium leak from the fuel rods. On the other hand, a measured helium value between the minimum and maximum helium values indicates the absence of a helium leak from the fuel rod.