Reactor internals and core support monitoring system
First Claim
1. A method for diagnosing conditions of reactor internals and core support structures in a nuclear reactor, comprising the steps of:
- (a) detecting vibration of reactor internals;
(b) receiving signals representing system data including at least two among pressurizer pressure, reactor coolant pump motor current, reactor coolant system pressure, reactor coolant system temperature and reactor coolant system flow rate; and
(c) automatically evaluating the vibration of the reactor internals detected in step (a) based upon all of the signals received in step (b) to diagnose the condition of the reactor internals and core support structures.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A nuclear reactor monitoring system includes incore and excore neutron detectors for producing neutron noise signals and system data including at least one of reactor coolant pump motor current, temperature and pressure of the reactor coolant system and pressurizer pressure and means for diagnosing conditions of the reactor internals and core support structures by comparing analyzed instrumentation signatures. The signatures may be derived from scale model test data, plant test data, analytical model results and trending analysis results. Analyses performed by the system include time and frequency domain analyses of the neutron noise signals and the system data. The analyzed data are compared with rules in a rules base of an expert system to generate a diagnosis of the condition of the reactor internals and core support structures and action recomendations for maintenance of the nuclear reactor.
20 Citations
12 Claims
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1. A method for diagnosing conditions of reactor internals and core support structures in a nuclear reactor, comprising the steps of:
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(a) detecting vibration of reactor internals; (b) receiving signals representing system data including at least two among pressurizer pressure, reactor coolant pump motor current, reactor coolant system pressure, reactor coolant system temperature and reactor coolant system flow rate; and (c) automatically evaluating the vibration of the reactor internals detected in step (a) based upon all of the signals received in step (b) to diagnose the condition of the reactor internals and core support structures. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A system for diagnosing conditions of reactor internals and core support structures in a nuclear reactor, comprising:
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monitoring means for detecting vibration of reactor internals and for obtaining system data by detecting at least two of pressurizer pressure, reactor coolant pump motor current, reactor coolant system pressure, reactor coolant system temperature and reactor coolant system flow rate; and diagnosis means for automatically evaluating the vibration of the reactor internals based upon the system data to diagnose the condition of the reactor internals, and the core support structures. - View Dependent Claims (6)
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7. A system for diagnosing conditions of reactor internals and core support structures in a pressurized water nuclear reactor having a reactor vessel and a reactor coolant system with a temperature and pressure maintained by a reactor coolant pump motor, said system comprising:
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neutron detectors for outputting a first signal indicative of neutron activity emanating from the core of the nuclear reactor; a current detector for outputting a second signal indicative of current drawn by the reactor coolant pump motor; a temperature detector for outputting a third signal indicative of the temperature of the reactor coolant system; pressure detectors for outputting fourth and fifth signals indicative of pressurizer pressure and the pressure of the reactor coolant system; signal communication and isolation means for transmitting the first, second, third, fourth and fifth signals; and a reactor vessel diagnostic unit, connected to said signal communication and isolation means, for analyzing the neutron activity, the temperature, pressure and flow rate of the reactor coolant system, the pressure of the pressurizer and the current of the reactor coolant pump motor and for diagnosing the condition of the reactor internals and core support structures by comparing the results from the analysis with predetermined system data. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10)
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11. A method for diagnosing conditions of reactor internals and core support structures in a nuclear reactor having components, comprising the steps of:
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(a) receiving sensor data indicating operational states at least two of the components of the nuclear reactor, the sensor data including excore and incore neutron detector noise signals; and (b) analyzing the sensor data in comparison with scale model test data, full scale plant test data, analytical model results and trending analysis results to diagnose the conditions of the reactor internals and the core support structures. - View Dependent Claims (12)
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Specification