Abstract: An improved procedure for producing composite constructed nuclear fuel containers for service in water cooled nuclear fission reactors is disclosed. The improved production procedure maximizes the advantageous characteristics of the respective components of the composite unit. The procedure of the invention comprises heat treating the two components of a tube stock and liner stock separately prior to their assembly.

Abstract: A fuel bundle is disclosed in which interspersed part length fuel rods define between the end of the fuel rods and the upper tie plate void regions which are not otherwise occupied. Full length fuel rods adjacent to these regions are provided with an expanded upper plenum region which effectively increases the fuel rod diameter at the end of the upper two phase region of the fuel bundle. Under normal circumstances and a fuel bundle with only full length fuel rods, such an expansion of the upper regions of the fuel rods would cause unacceptable pressure drop. Where such expansion occurs adjacent the vacated volumes created by the part length fuel rods, unacceptable pressure drop does not occur. Consequently, and with the expanded plenum volume, a longer length of active fuel pellets can be accommodated within the full length fuel rods.

Abstract: A control rod drive assembly includes a translatable drive tube joined to a control rod by a coupling having complementary screw threads. A purge flow is channeled between the screw threads to flush away debris therebetween for preventing galling of the threads during operation.

Abstract: A reactor building assembly includes a pressure vessel within a containment vessel surrounded in turn by first and second enclosures defining respective first and second chambers. A method of operation includes channeling fresh air downwardly by gravity through the second chamber and then channeling the fresh air laterally through the first enclosure adjacent to the bottom thereof and into the first chamber. The air is then channeled upwardly by natural buoyancy through the first chamber for cooling the first chamber and mixing with stale air therein. The stale air is then discharged from the first chamber upwardly through the top of the first enclosure to the environs.

Abstract: The inspection head component of a manipulator employed in the inspection of the interior surface of a nuclear reactor vessel is aligned to an optimum orientation when positioned at a local surface to be inspected. This alignment is carried out by generating ranging information with respect to the local surface using ranging ultrasonic transducers positioned upon the inspection head. The propagation interval of the acoustic signal emitted by these ranging transducers is timed and quantified to develop orientation error signals. Such development is carried out in conjunction with known values for the local surface being inspected and in conjunction with a sequence of data collection at the position. The inspection head is pivotally mounted upon the manipulator so as to be movable about at least two axes by inspection head positioning assemblies which may be provided, for example, as stepper-motors and associated translational movement components.

Abstract: An apparatus and method to detect and avoid inaccuracies in an electronic energy meter due to reverse rotation of the eddy current disk in response to pull-back and creep of the disk, or tampering, including the detection of reverse rotation by checking each three successive states of light transmission between two light emitter/detector pairs in response to an optical castellated disk passing between the emitter/detector pairs, storing pulses generated by the reverse rotation and subtracting the stored pulses upon a subsequent reversal of rotation to the forward direction. Upon reverse rotation in excess of one revolution, the stored pulses are counted along with the counting of the additional reverse rotation pulses and an error signal is generated for subsequent display in response to a command signal.

Abstract: A disk sensing optics assembly is mounted directly on the register circuit board of an electronic energy meter. The molded optics assembly includes an central cavity adatped to receive a discontinuous rotating shutter, and pockets on either side dimensioned to hold and position pairs of light emitters and detectors on opposite sides of the shutter to detect speed and direction of rotation of the shutter. Apertures through the rear of the housing are adapted to position and secure the electrical leads from the light emitters and detectors within the housing and are soldered to the register printed circuit board. Positioning means integral with the housing and register circit board space, position, and secure the disk sensing optics and the assembly to the register circuit board with the electrical leads properly positioned for soldering to the circuit board.

Abstract: The present invention is an inspection instrument of the type which reacts to induced eddy currents in a workpiece to be inspected and includes a probe having at least a first probe coil. The instrument further includes a bridge circuit having the first probe coil connected in a first bridge arm. The bridge circuit also has input and output terminals. Connecting cable connects the instrument to a remote signal interpretation unit, and individual buffers connected between each of the output terminals and the cable isolate the capacitive of the cable from the bridge circuit.

Abstract: A flowgraph system controls and tracks computer programs and data sets for a computer-aided design (CAD) task. The programs in the CAD task and their respective data set requirement are visually displayed as a flowgraph with which the user interacts to select input data sets and initiate program executions. The flowgraph provides the user with an indication of data flow and the progress of the CAD task.

Abstract: A method and system for nondestructively measuring surface compression layer depth including obtaining profile data of a peened workpiece surface and determining a total plastic upset depth for a selected dent, the plastic upset depth being approximately equal to the dent diameter. The peening operations may then be adjusted, if needed, so that subsequent peening more closely conforms to predetermined, desired peening results.

Abstract: A coupler apparatus for supporting an output end of an optical fiber is described. In one embodiment, the coupler apparatus includes a first lens for collimating as a first collimated beam a portion of a high power laser beam emitted from the output end of the fiber. The beam, as it is transmitted through the coupler, is expanded and shaped into a materials processing beam portion which is focused onto a workpiece surface.

Abstract: An input/output port for a lasing medium to minimize wavefront distortion of a coherent light beam is described. The input/output port includes an end surface integral the medium and a first port surface integral the end surface. The first port surface is substantially perpendicular to a plane normal to the longitudinal axis extending through the medium so that each ray of a beam of coherent electromagnetic radiation lying in a plane of a thickness of the beam may impinge on the port surface at a substantially equal angle with respect to reference planes normal to the port surface at the points of impingement.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for controlling injection of a high power beam into an optical fiber including generating a signal representative of a focus spot on an injection end of the optical fiber and adjusting the optical fiber injection end location dependent upon the representative focus spot signal. In one embodiment, the present system includes a vision system for generating the representative focus spot signal and a high speed vision processor coupled to the vision system. An x-y-z stage controller is coupled to the vision processor and receives image signals from the vision system. The controller is coupled to a fiber holder, and the controller generates control signals which control operation of the fiber holder. The fiber holder includes x-y-z axis stages and means for engaging the optical fiber.

Abstract: Each bearing of an aligned line-shaft has vibration responses which differ from the vibration responses of a misaligned system in which at least one of the bearings is statically displa=ced. Computed static displacement values for each bearing are derived from the equation of motion of the system employing mass, stiffness and damping coefficients of the system. The static displacement value of each bearing is computed from the vibration responses of all of the bearings. Accelerometers sense the vibration response of each bearing. A computer computes the magnitude of misalignment of each bearing from the sensed responses. The computed results provide an indication of the magnitude of static displacement of each bearing of the system causing the sensed vibration response.

Abstract: A semiconductor power rectifier attains low forward voltage drop, low reverse leakage current and improved switching speed by utilizing Schottky contact regions in a p-i-n rectifier along with other means for reducing the required forward bias voltage. In a preferred embodiment, the other means for reducing the required forward bias voltage includes a respective trench between each respective pair of successively spaced current interruption means.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for crystal growth control in a Czochralski crystal pulling process are provided wherein a plurality of thermocouples and individually controllable heating elements are embedded in an upper control section of a raised platform in a crucible containing a melt from which the crystal is pulled. The upper control section is disposed in the melt at a height below the bulk level of the melt in the crucible and underneath the crystal being pulled so as to retain the thermocouples in a position to monitor the temperature distribution of the melt below a solidification front of the crystal, and to retain the individually controllable heating elements in a position whereby the heating elements may be selectively controlled to attain a predetermined temperature distribution in the melt in a region underneath the solidification front.

Abstract: A variable depth triangulation ranging system is reconfigurable in real time in the sense that any two of the three performance measures, standoff distance, depth of field, and range resolution at a point within the depth of field, are selected by the user and the system geometrically reconfigures itself to provide the requested performance. The system is composed of a light beam emitting component such as a laser, a linear photodetector, and an imaging lens component. Any of these components has a fixed location and the other two are movable and positioned so that the Scheimpflug condition to guarantee blur-free imaging of reflected target returns is satisfied; the laser beam, a plane axis through the imaging lens component, and an image line through the photodetector all intersect at a common point. A scanner assembly is added to scan the laser beam along a line and over an area.

Abstract: A holder for use with a plurality of optical fibers that illuminate a workpiece has a central bore through which the fibers extend. Screws and springs are used to adjust the orientation of the fibers with respect to each other in order to achieve different illumination patterns on the workpiece. Instead of the screws, motor driven micrometer shafts and wedges can be used. A method of processing a workpiece comprises adjusting the orientation of a plurality of optical fibers to obtain a selected illumination pattern on the workpiece, and illuminating the workpiece with high power laser beams eminating from the fibers.

Abstract: A method and system, which minimize contact bounce during closure of a piezoelectric bender switch, control the switch closure to occur when the movable contact is traveling at a low velocity, when the phase of oscillation of the movable contact tends to press the contacts together after closure, and when the magnitude of the closing force developed in the first piezoelectric layer is only a fraction of its maximum value.