Patents Assigned to Areva NP GmbH
  • Publication number: 20090250083
    Abstract: A method of decontaminating an oxide layer-comprising surface of a component or a system of a nuclear facility. An acidic water film is produced on the surface, the film of water is brought into contact with a gaseous acid anhydride, and the oxide layer is treated with gaseous ozone as oxidizing agent.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 15, 2008
    Publication date: October 8, 2009
    Applicant: AREVA NP GMBH
    Inventors: Horst-Otto Bertholdt, Terezinha Claudete Maciel, Franz Strohmer
  • Publication number: 20090235723
    Abstract: A sensor line for monitoring for and locating leaks in an installation, in which chlorine escapes to the area surrounding the installation if there is a leak. The sensor line contains a carrier pipe. The wall of the carrier pipe has openings which are closed by at least one layer which is permeable for chlorine and contains a halogen-containing siloxane rubber.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 16, 2009
    Publication date: September 24, 2009
    Applicant: AREVA NP GMBH
    Inventors: Patrick Fleischer, Walter Knoblach, Jan Zach
  • Patent number: 7591285
    Abstract: A pipeline configuration for the transport of a liquid, especially petroleum, contains a pipeline laid above ground, beneath which is disposed a sensor line for detection of a leak, extending along the pipeline in its longitudinal direction. The sensor line is disposed in a catchment container, fixed to the pipeline and likewise extending along it, at its lowest point. The catchment container has side edges running in the longitudinal direction and have a spacing from the outer surface of the pipeline. Inside the catchment container a device is disposed to reduce an air flow moving between the catchment container and the outer surface of the pipeline transversely to its longitudinal direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 8, 2007
    Date of Patent: September 22, 2009
    Assignee: Areva NP GmbH
    Inventor: Hans-Joachim Wittmann
  • Publication number: 20090225924
    Abstract: The geometric dimensions and shape of a device for removing solid particles from the cooling medium that is circulated in the primary circuit of a nuclear reactor, in particular a boiling water nuclear reactor, are such that the device can be inserted in lieu of a fuel element or fuel assembly into an empty fuel element or assembly position of the reactor core of the nuclear reactor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 16, 2009
    Publication date: September 10, 2009
    Applicant: AREVA NP GMBH
    Inventors: Hartmut Lelickens, Reazul Huq, Werner Meier, Jochen Heinecke
  • Publication number: 20090225925
    Abstract: To permit the particularly safe, easy handling of fuel elements, the fuel element loading machine with a lifting apparatus has a guide mast and a fuel element gripper which can be extended telescopically from the guide mast. A video camera is for this purpose arranged on the lifting apparatus, is connected on the data side to a control station and has its viewing direction pointed downwards.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 26, 2009
    Publication date: September 10, 2009
    Applicant: Areva NP GmbH
    Inventors: Jurgen Eisner, Holger Weimer, Edgar Bott
  • Publication number: 20090225927
    Abstract: A method and a system for catalytic recombination of hydrogen, which is carried in a gas flow, with oxygen, has the gas flow passed through a reaction zone with a number of catalytic converter elements, with steam being added to the gas flow before it enters the reaction zone. The method and system ensure a particularly high operational reliability of the recombination device, even in varying operating conditions or with varying operating methods, in particular with regard to a hydrogen feed, which is provided as required, in the steam/feed water circuit of the installation. For this purpose, the feed rate of the steam to be added is adjusted in dependence on a measured value which is characteristic of a current actual temperature in the reaction zone.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 9, 2009
    Publication date: September 10, 2009
    Applicant: AREVA NP GMBH
    Inventors: Bernd Eckardt, Robert Feuerbach
  • Publication number: 20090217504
    Abstract: A method for producing a collecting line, and a collecting line produced according to the method is provided for detecting and locating an agent discharging into the environment of the collecting line in case of leakage. Such a collecting line has a carrier pipe, the wall of which is equipped with openings that are sealed by an elastic material that is permeable for the agent. Accordingly, a hose made of the permeable elastic material, the inside diameter of which is smaller than the outside diameter of the carrier pipe, is elastically expanded by creating a pressure difference between the interior and the exterior of the hose. The carrier pipe is inserted into the radially expanded hose, and the radially expanded hose is attached to the outside surface of the carrier pipe by reducing the pressure difference.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 12, 2009
    Publication date: September 3, 2009
    Applicant: AREVA NP GMBH
    Inventors: Karl-Heinz Storb, Arno Balthasar, Jan Zach, Walter Knoblach, Hans-Joachim Wittmann
  • Patent number: 7573315
    Abstract: A control device contains a plurality of controllers, a common signal output, and a change-over unit. The controllers are coupled on an output side to the common signal output through the change-over unit. A plurality of differentiating elements are disposed upstream of the change-over unit and in each case connected with one of the controllers. An integrating element follows the change-over unit. An output of a controller is first differentiated, sent through the change-over unit, and then integrated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 2007
    Date of Patent: August 11, 2009
    Assignee: Areva NP GmbH
    Inventor: Victor Morokhovskyi
  • Patent number: 7555093
    Abstract: A spacer for a fuel assembly of a boiling water reactor has a frame formed of outer webs and inner webs disposed crosswise relative each other. Gills are disposed on the exterior of the outer webs. The exterior of the outer webs of the spacer is provided with a plurality of projections in the form of bulges in the wall. The bulges project outwardly by a greater distance than the gills.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 24, 2003
    Date of Patent: June 30, 2009
    Assignee: Areva NP GmbH
    Inventor: Michael Liebler-Ranzus
  • Patent number: 7553422
    Abstract: A method of purifying water in a nuclear installation includes an ion exchange mechanism in which the water is purified with an ion exchanger. Before being guided over the ion exchanger, the water is brought into contact with a catalyst in order to decompose hydrogen peroxide that is present in the water.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2007
    Date of Patent: June 30, 2009
    Assignee: Areva NP GmbH
    Inventors: Uve Reitzner, Volker Schneider, Waldemar Tischler
  • Patent number: 7542860
    Abstract: A method and device detect a position of a pulsed mechanical effect on a plant component. An operating noise in the plant component is continuously recorded by sensors which are arranged on the plant component and converted by the above into a measured signal. The measured signals of the sensors undergo a transformation in a first time window. A first evaluation function is derived from a plurality of first transformations determined in this manner, the evaluation functions display an appearance of the pulsed mechanical effect. Accordingly, when detecting an effect following the second shorter time window having the same algorithms, second transformed and respectively, second evaluation functions are derived, from which, respectively, one time point is determined. Wherein the sound signal produced by the effect impacts upon the sensor. From there, running time differences produced between the sensors can be exactly reconstructed on the position of the effect.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 18, 2008
    Date of Patent: June 2, 2009
    Assignee: Areva NP GmbH
    Inventors: Bela Bechtold, Peter Jax, Vojtech Ocelik, Jan Zach
  • Publication number: 20090122945
    Abstract: A fuel assembly for a pressurized water nuclear reactor contains a multiplicity of fuel rods which are guided in a plurality of axially spaced spacers which in each case form a square grid, composed of grid webs, with a multiplicity of cells arranged in rows and columns. In each case one control rod guide tube is guided through a number of these cells. At least one spacer is configured to be mechanically stronger in a first partial region than in a second partial region. In this second partial region, the spacer is provided with at least one resisting element which protrudes into a flow sub-channel formed between the fuel rods and increases the flow resistance. The resisting element counteracts a reduction associated with the mechanically weaker configuration, in the flow resistance in the second partial region and in this manner effects a homogenization of the hydraulic behavior of a spacer which is mechanically inhomogeneous on account of the varying mechanical configuration.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 15, 2008
    Publication date: May 14, 2009
    Applicant: AREVA NP GMBH
    Inventors: Jurgen Stabel, Udo Borsdorf
  • Patent number: 7532699
    Abstract: A nuclear facility contains a flood tank, which is provided for holding a cooling liquid, a condensation chamber, and an overflow device, which leads from the flood tank to the condensation chamber and which serves to discharge excess cooling liquid. The overflow device is provided for separating gas components out from the excess cooling liquid. In certain operating states, the cooling liquid of the condensation chamber and of the flood tank is circulated in a common cooling circuit and is fed, while being largely free of gas, once more into the condensation chamber via the overflow device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 17, 2005
    Date of Patent: May 12, 2009
    Assignee: Areva NP GmbH
    Inventor: Johann Meseth
  • Publication number: 20090092218
    Abstract: A steam dryer through which steam flows vertically, in particular for a nuclear reactor, contains a plurality of water tanks for removing water which has been separated from the steam. The water tanks are disposed below dryer elements through which the steam flows. The water tanks of the steam dryer have in each case in the flow direction a cross section which is favorable in terms of flow.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 7, 2008
    Publication date: April 9, 2009
    Applicant: AREVA NP GMBH
    Inventor: Andreas Lemm
  • Publication number: 20090067565
    Abstract: A nuclear engineering plant has a containment, whose interior chamber is subdivided by a wall into a systems chamber and an operating chamber which is accessible during normal operation. The containment ensures a particularly high operational reliability, in particular also in incident situations, in which hydrogen is released in the systems chamber. For this purpose, a number of overflow openings are provided in the partition wall, the respective overflow opening is closed by a closure element of a closure apparatus which opens automatically when a trigger condition associated with the respective overflow opening is reached. Closure apparatuses are provided which open both as a function of pressure and independently of pressure. The closure apparatus furthermore has a closure element containing a bursting film or a bursting diaphragm. The closure apparatus is configured such that it frees the overflow opening automatically when a predetermined environment-side trigger temperature is reached.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 5, 2008
    Publication date: March 12, 2009
    Applicant: Areva NP GmbH
    Inventors: Bernd Eckardt, Norbert Losch
  • Patent number: 7495197
    Abstract: In a method for heat treating a fuel assembly channel made of zircaloy, the channel is continuously moved relative to a heat-treatment device and, longitudinal sections of it are heated to the beta phase range in an inductive heating zone. The longitudinal section of the channel heated in this manner is than cooled in a cooling zone to a temperature within an alpha phase range. The heat treatment is effected by at least two heating devices, which are spaced apart from one another, operate independently of each other, and each contain at least one induction coil and together form a heating zone. The channel section is first heated using a first heating device and then heat-treated using a second heating device which has less power and in that cooling is effected using a stream of inert gas applied to the outer surface of the channel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2006
    Date of Patent: February 24, 2009
    Assignee: Areva NP GmbH
    Inventors: Maximilian Körzendörfer, Andreas Möckel, Bernd Block, Hans-Joachim Lippert
  • Publication number: 20090048791
    Abstract: A method and a device for detecting a pulse-type mechanical effect at a system component, include continuously recording an operating noise in the system component with a sensor disposed at the system component and converting the operating noise with the sensor into a measured signal subjected to a mathematical transformation. A sliding mean is calculated by determining quantiles from determined transformations and an evaluation function, which displays an application of the pulse-type mechanical effect on the system component, is derived from the sliding mean.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 4, 2008
    Publication date: February 19, 2009
    Applicant: AREVA NP GMBH
    Inventors: Bela Bechtold, Peter Jax, Vojtech Ocelik, Jan Zach
  • Patent number: 7455818
    Abstract: A method treats a flow gas that is guided via a catalytic adsorber module to oxidize contaminants carried in the flow gas. The method reliably purifies the flow gas using equipment that is held to a comparatively low level of complexity. To this end, the flow gas is guided in a first purification step via a first catalytic adsorber module to oxidize contaminants carried along therewith, during which molecular or atomic oxygen is added to the flow gas, and the flow gas mixed with the added oxygen is guided in a second purification step via an oxidation catalyst. The flow gas flowing away from the oxidation catalyst is guided in a third purification step via a second catalytic adsorber module to reduce excessive oxygen.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 4, 2005
    Date of Patent: November 25, 2008
    Assignee: Areva NP GmbH
    Inventor: Axel Hill
  • Publication number: 20080285701
    Abstract: A feeding system for an absorber liquid containing a neutron poison, in particular for a quick shut-down of a nuclear reactor, has a storage container for the absorber liquid and is configured for high operational reliability with simple construction. In particular, a chemical decomposition of the absorber liquid or corrosion of the container wall of the storage container is to be excluded. For this purpose, the storage container is connected to a pressure container via an overflow line, wherein the pressure container is filled with a motive fluid.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 29, 2008
    Publication date: November 20, 2008
    Applicant: AREVA NP GMBH
    Inventor: Johann Meseth
  • Publication number: 20080288187
    Abstract: A method and device detect a position of a pulsed mechanical effect on a plant component. An operating noise in the plant component is continuously recorded by sensors which are arranged on the plant component and converted by the above into a measured signal. The measured signals of the sensors undergo a transformation in a first time window. A first evaluation function is derived from a plurality of first transformations determined in this manner, the evaluation functions display an appearance of the pulsed mechanical effect. Accordingly, when detecting an effect following the second shorter time window having the same algorithms, second transformed and respectively, second evaluation functions are derived, from which, respectively, one time point is determined. Wherein the sound signal produced by the effect impacts upon the sensor. From there, running time differences produced between the sensors can be exactly reconstructed on the position of the effect.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 18, 2008
    Publication date: November 20, 2008
    Applicant: AREVA NP GMBH
    Inventors: Bela Bechtold, Peter Jax, Vojtech Ocelik, Jan Zach