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:
Feb. 25, 2003
Filed:
Jun. 28, 2000
Richard G. McClelland, Richland, WA (US);
Michael D. Bowen, Kennewick, WA (US);
Framatome ANP Inc., Lynchburg, VA (US);
Abstract
The invention is directed to an apparatus and method for inspecting spring hold down bolts of an upper tie plate of a fuel rod assembly in a nuclear reactor and includes an inspection fixture adapted to be aligned with the upper tie plate of the nuclear reactor fuel rod assembly for placement into a position for rapid and easy insitu inspection of the hold down bolts of the upper tie plate. The fixture is provided with a plurality of ultrasonic transducers which are positioned on the fixture so that when the fixture is placed into the inspection position each transducer will be located proximate to one of the hold down bolts for conducting effective ultrasonic scanning of the bolt while the bolt is in place. A multi-channel ultrasonic flaw detector is connected to each of the transducers for indicating whether there are any flaws in each of the hold down bolts when the fixture is placed into the inspection position and the ultrasonic transducers are activated. A further feature of the invention is the use of spherically focused transducers for focusing the sound field at the predetermined distance from the head of the bolt in order to facilitate proper scanning of the bolt shank and thread relief, thereby greatly increasing inspection sensitivity.