Patent Application
20200316746
Cutting removes material from a bore edge, such as through electrical discharge machining, creating a precise and even hole 15 in manway 11. Because the affected area and cover may be large, hole 15 may need to be almost two feet in diameter d. Hole 15 may also be 1-3 inches deep, given the thickness of manway 11. The inner surface of hole 15 may thus be relatively large and may include a ledge or other variations to accommodate a repair or cover. For example, the inner surface of hole 15 may include bore 13 and spotface surface 14.
Example embodiments include assembly systems for remotely treating surfaces with desired polishing and/or compression. Example embodiment systems include bridges to secure about the surface for treating. A rotatable spindle may extend downward from and be drivable from the bridge and include a polisher that moves, such as by spinning, in contact with the surface to be treated. The polisher further includes a biasing element that pushes it against the surface to impart compressive stresses, potentially up to several dozens pounds of force. The polisher may include a round filament brush. The spindle can rotate about another axis to move the polisher around a partial or entire perimeter of the surface to be treated. All of example embodiment systems may be remotely operated, and the various motions and biasing may be provided, simultaneously, by one or more drives in the bridge or polisher. The polisher may further be moveable vertically by such drives. For example, a pneumatic slide, hydraulic motor, and/or stepper motor may be used to remotely provide biasing and various rotations, respectively. Example embodiments are useable with spotfaces deep in nuclear reactors to remove a recast layer that may be formed following electrical discharge machining of the spotface and through bore, where manual or direct operator interface is not possible.
Example embodiments will become more apparent by describing, in detail, the attached drawings, wherein like elements are represented by like reference numerals, which are given by way of illustration only and thus do not limit the terms which they depict.
Because this is a patent document, general, broad rules of construction should be applied when reading it. Everything described and shown in this document is an example of subject matter falling within the scope of the claims, appended below. Any specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are merely for purposes of describing how to make and use examples. Several different embodiments and methods not specifically disclosed herein may fall within the claim scope; as such, the claims may be embodied in many alternate forms and should not be construed as limited to only examples set forth herein.
It will be understood that, although the ordinal terms “first,” “second,” etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited to any order by these terms. These terms are used only to distinguish one element from another; where there are “second” or higher ordinals, there merely must be that many number of elements, without necessarily any difference or other relationship. For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and, similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of example embodiments or methods. As used herein, the terms “and,” “or,” and “and/or” include all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items unless it is clearly indicated that only a single item, subgroup of items, or all items are present. The use of “etc.” is defined as “et cetera” and indicates the inclusion of all other elements belonging to the same group of the preceding items, in any “and/or” combination(s).
It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being “connected,” “coupled,” “mated,” “attached,” “fixed,” etc. to another element, it can be directly connected to the other element, or intervening elements may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly connected,” “directly coupled,” etc. to another element, there are no intervening elements present. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between” versus “directly between,” “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent,” etc.). Similarly, a term such as “communicatively connected” includes all variations of information exchange and routing between two electronic devices, including intermediary devices, networks, etc., connected wirelessly or not.
As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and the are intended to include both the singular and plural forms, unless the language explicitly indicates otherwise. Indefinite articles like “a” and “an” introduce or refer to any modified term, both previously-introduced and not, while definite articles like “the” refer to a same previously-introduced term; as such, it is understood that “a” or “an” modify items that are permitted to be previously-introduced or new, while definite articles modify an item that is the same as immediately previously presented. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” and/or “including,” when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, characteristics, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not themselves preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, characteristics, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.
The structures and operations discussed below may occur out of the order described and/or noted in the figures. For example, two operations and/or figures shown in succession may in fact be executed concurrently or may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality/acts involved. Similarly, individual operations within example methods described below may be executed repetitively, individually or sequentially, to provide looping or other series of operations aside from single operations described below. It should be presumed that any embodiment or method having features and functionality described below, in any workable combination, falls within the scope of example embodiments.
As used herein, “axial” and “vertical” directions are the same up or down directions oriented along the major axis of a nuclear reactor, often in a direction oriented with gravity. “Transverse” and “horizontal” directions are perpendicular to the “axial” and are side-to-side directions oriented in a single plane at a particular axial height.
The Inventors have recognized that electrical discharge machining, as well as other material removal work, may leave a recast layer or a cold worked layer in the material being machined. This layer presents undesirable traits for interfacing with a cover or other repair, including material roughness and weakness. For machining in remote areas and/or underwater, such as in deep nuclear reactor repairs, it is infeasible to remove this layer with direct or hand tooling. The Inventors have further recognized that shot peening and/or laser treatment remotely may insufficiently remove the recast layer and not impart compression to strengthen and even the material. Lasers and shot peening may also be difficult to achieve in deep remote locations, especially in timely combination. Example embodiments described below uniquely enable solutions to these and other problems discovered by the Inventors.
The present invention is systems for remotely treating surfaces and methods of using the same in nuclear reactor spotfaces. In contrast to the present invention, the few example embodiments and example methods discussed below illustrate just a subset of the variety of different configurations that can be used as and/or in connection with the present invention.
Example embodiment bridge assembly 100 includes one or more drives to power various components, such as spindle 120 rotatable about a working surface. For example, bridge assembly 100 may include stepper motor 110 that rotates spindle 120 about bridge 101. Stepper motor 110 may connect to spindle assembly 120 via transmission 115, which may be a chain that meshes with a gear on spindle 120 in any desired ratio, such as a 2:1 ratio of rotation between stepper motor 110 and spindle 120. Similarly, a direct drive or any other type of powering may be used to rotate spindle assembly about a work surface. Spindle 120 may be rotationally seated in a middle of bridge 101 to permit full rotation of spindle 120 about a central vertical axis of bridge 101.
Motor 110, as well as other drives and devices in example embodiments, may be connected to controls, operators, data, and/or power through an umbilical connection 105. Alternatively, local power sources and wireless communications can be used to power and control example embodiments. Spindle 120 may connect to and power and/or control polishing assembly 200 and/or bore polisher 300 through connections 102 and 102. For example, connection 103 may carry a pneumatic line, electrical line, and/or data connection to power bore polisher 300, and connection 102 may carry hydraulic power, electricity, data, etc. to polishing assembly 200. Through all these connections and power arrangements, example embodiment bridge assembly 100 may be positioned in remote areas, such as far into pipes or deep in flooded reactors, and operate with desired characteristics.
Spindle 120 connects to desired toolings to work on surfaces under bridge assembly 100. For example, as shown in
Polishing surface 201 may be round, up to about 5.5 inches in diameter, for example, and driven angularly by hydraulic motor 205, which may have a separate or local power supply. Hydraulic motor 205 may be a positive displacement motor that can maintain a constant speed in polishing surface 201 even under heavier polishing pressures. For example, polishing surface 201 maybe driven at about 50 ft/s or more, or about 2000 rpm. Polishing surface 201 may use any abrasive of polishing material to achieve a desired surface finish, including, for example, an approximate 80 grit silicon carbide filament surface with about 30-40% grit load by weight. Polishing assembly 200 may position polishing surface 201 at approximately 10 degrees to spotface surface 14 (
Polishing surface 201 may be rotated about its internal axis by hydraulic motor 205 or another drive in assemblies 100 and/or 200 with desired pressure and movement of the same. For example, spindle 120 may be rotated about its central axis by stepper motor 110 to, in turn, orbit or revolve polishing assembly 200 across a perimeter of spotface 15. In this way, polishing surface 201 may move along a continuous and entire spotface surface 14 and bore surface 13, removing a recast layer and compressing the same. Simultaneously, pneumatic slide 210 may expand to push polishing surface 201 from polishing support 211, providing desired polishing force or pressure.
In
Hydraulic motor 205 and stepper motor 110 are of sufficient force to continue driving polishing surface 201, which may be rotating at thousands of rotations per minute, at these positions and pressures without being torqued out of position. All drives, including, for example, hydraulic motor 205, stepper motor 110, pneumatic slides 210, etc. may be locally or remotely powered through appropriate connections, and can further be controlled through, and relay data through, umbilical connection 105 (
Example embodiment assemblies 100 and 200 may be fabricated of materials that are compatible with an operating nuclear reactor environment, including materials that maintain their physical characteristics when exposed to high-temperature fluids and radiation. For example, metals such as stainless steels and iron alloys, nickel alloys, zirconium alloys, etc. are useable in assembly components. Similarly, direct connections between distinct parts and all other direct contact points may be lubricated and fabricated of alternating or otherwise compatible materials to prevent seizing, fouling, or metal-on-metal reactions.
Example embodiments and methods thus being described, it will be appreciated by one skilled in the art that example embodiments may be varied and substituted through routine experimentation while still falling within the scope of the following claims. For example, any number of different surfaces can be polished by example embodiment assemblies, simply through proper dimensioning and positioning. Such variations are not to be regarded as departure from the scope of these claims.
