Remote examination of reactor nozzle J-groove welds

• US 6,856,662 B2
• Filed: 05/13/2003
• Issued: 02/15/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 05/13/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Framatome ANP, Inc. (AES Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Framatome ANP, Inc. (AES Corporation)
• Inventors: Glass, Samuel W., Crisman, Elton
• Primary Examiner(s): Behrend, Harvey E.
• Application Number:
  US10/437,156
• Publication Number:
  US 20040228432A1
• Time in Patent Office: 644 Days
• Field of Search: 376/249, 376/247, 374/5
• US Class Current: 376/249
• CPC Class Codes: G21C 17/003 Remote inspection of vessels, e.g. pressure vessels
• CPC Class Codes: G21C 17/017 Inspection or maintenance of pipe-lines or tubes in nuclear installations
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 30/30 Nuclear fission reactors

Abstract

A combined laser and infra red sensing camera is located beneath the reactor head in the vicinity of the closure head tube welds by manipulating known robotic device handling the laser which is used to heat a line along the surface thereby generating a thermal wave that propagates over the one to two square inch test area where the increased thermal resistance of cracks and anomalies makes the surface temperature profile gradient greater at a crack or anomaly. An IR camera captures the test area image of interest as the thermal wave propagates across the target inspection area and the image is processed and enhanced to show cracks and other anomalies as a sharp drop in the thermal scan at the point of the crack using known Photo Thermal NDE technology to convert the scan into a pictorial representation of the scanned surface clearly showing any cracks therein. This process is repeated sequentially until the entire circumference of the weld is scanned.

Claims

1. A photothermal system for checking the integrity of J-groove welds in a nuclear reactor comprising:

a closure head of the reactor having a series of pipes extending there through into the reactor;

a circumferential weld around each of said series of pipes extending through said closure head;

a laser assembly located inside the reactor remotely from one of said circumferential welds for heating said weld;

an IR camera located inside the reactor remotely located from said one circumferential weld but able to view said weld; and

movable means for moving said IR camera along said heated weld to sense the infrared temperature profile of said heated weld.

2. A photothermal system as set forth in claim 1 including a visual display of said infrared profile showing a continuous flat surface for a continuously increasing IR profile.

3. A photothermal system as set forth in claim 2 wherein a crack in said heated weld shows up as a sharp step in said temperature profile and as a crack in said surface visual display.

4. A photothermal system as set forth in claim 3 wherein a limited area of said circumferential weld is subjected to heat from said laser assembly followed by an IR scan of said limited area to detect cracks therein.

5. A photothermal system as set forth in claim 4 wherein said limited area is approximately 2 inches.

6. A photothermal system as set forth in claim 5 wherein said visual display uses a time-averaging method.