Patents Assigned to AREVA
  • Publication number: 20100250622
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method of automatic generation of a system specification description (SSD) file from a diagram of an electrical installation, the diagram comprising conventional symbols representing the electrical elements of the said installation and attributes representing the specific electrical characteristics of each electrical element.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 22, 2008
    Publication date: September 30, 2010
    Applicant: Areva T & D Protection et Controle
    Inventor: Luc Hossenlop
  • Publication number: 20100246747
    Abstract: A grid including at least two meshed grid parts intended to be superposed in a longitudinal direction, each grid part extending in a transverse plane, and the grid parts being moveable one relative to the other in at least one transverse direction between an open configuration for the insertion of nuclear fuel rods in the longitudinal direction through the grid parts, and a closed configuration allowing each fuel rod inserted through the grid parts to be clamped transversely between the grid parts. According to one aspect of the invention, the grid includes elements for transversely immobilizing the grid parts in the closed configuration, the immobilizing elements being designed to engage as the superposed grid parts are moved closer together in the longitudinal direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 30, 2008
    Publication date: September 30, 2010
    Applicant: Areva NP
    Inventors: Noemie Gomez, Angelo Beati, Dominique Hertz, Thierry Muller
  • Patent number: 7802465
    Abstract: A collecting conduit for leakage monitoring and leakage location at an installation, includes a support pipe having openings. An outer surface of the support pipe is covered by a layer being permeable to a substance to be monitored, at least on a segment extending in longitudinal direction of the support pipe. An electrically conductive layer extends in longitudinal direction. The substance (L) can at least penetrate into the electrically conductive layer and the electrically conductive layer has an ohmic resistance dependent on the substance penetrating into it. An apparatus and a method for leakage monitoring and leakage location are also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 3, 2007
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2010
    Assignee: Areva NP GmbH
    Inventor: Wolfgang Issel
  • Patent number: 7804033
    Abstract: The present invention is mainly directed to a disconnector for an electrical substation for very high voltage in excess of 1100 kV, of the horizontal displacement type comprising a first moving part (2) and a second moving part (4), the said first moving part (2) and second moving part (4) each comprising at least two articulated arms (14, 16, 114, 116) which are arranged to make contact with each other through a free end. In the closed position, which is the closed position of the disconnector, the first arms (14, 114) and the second arms (16, 116) of each of the moving parts together define a non-flat angle (?) so that they form an arch, the two second arms (16, 116) being aligned with each other in a substantially horizontal position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2007
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2010
    Assignee: Areva T&D S.P.A.
    Inventors: Ferruccio Dianin, Stefano Dessanti, Sergio Serafin
  • Patent number: 7804930
    Abstract: The nuclear fuel assembly having nuclear fuel rods and a support skeleton having two nozzles, guide tubes interconnecting the nozzles, and spacer grids for holding the rods, the grids being secured to the guide tubes. The assembly further has at least one lattice reinforcing device for reinforcing the support skeleton. The reinforcing device is placed between two spacer grids and is secured to the guide tubes. The invention is applicable to fuel assemblies for pressurized water reactors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 2004
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2010
    Assignee: Areva NP
    Inventors: Angelo Beati, Thierry Muller, Jean-François Rondemerre
  • Patent number: 7795541
    Abstract: Supports for high or medium voltage electrical conductors (6, 7) at potentials different from the potential of an enclosure (1) are supported by disc-shaped parts (4, 5) made from thermoplastic polyester, for example terephthalate polyethylene. The discs (4 and 5) provide good insulation without largely disturbing the electrical field around the conductors due to their fairly low dielectric constant. They are also compatible with use under SF6 gas.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2005
    Date of Patent: September 14, 2010
    Assignee: Areva T&D AG
    Inventors: Hugo Hiltbrunner, Gerardo Palmieri, Karsten Pohlink, Christian Tschannen, Jean-Luc Bessede, Yannick Kieffel
  • Patent number: 7790997
    Abstract: A switch unit comprising a circuit breaker and a disconnector disposed in one plane and fixed to a metal casing. Common drive means comprise: a single insulating drive bar adapted to move in a straight line in the same plane as the plane of straight line movement of the movable contacts of the circuit breaker and disconnector; and at least one mechanical assembly mounted in the metal casing, at least part of the mechanical assembly being driven by the single insulating drive rod while permitting non-simultaneous straight-line movement of the two movable contacts.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 2008
    Date of Patent: September 7, 2010
    Assignee: Areva T&D SA
    Inventors: Alain Girodet, Christian Lindner, Igor Deprez, Olivier Le Grand
  • Patent number: 7789966
    Abstract: A method and device for cleaning pipes of a heat exchanger includes placing a throttle-free jet nozzle against an end of a pipe. The throttle-free jet nozzle has an outlet opening of a same size or slightly smaller than an inner cross-sectional area of the pipe. A stream of air containing an abrasive is blown through the pipe for cleaning the pipe.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2006
    Date of Patent: September 7, 2010
    Assignee: Areva NP GmbH
    Inventors: Georg Krämer, Konrad Meier-Hynek
  • Publication number: 20100220418
    Abstract: An alternator disconnector circuit-breaker of the invention presents a resistance (30) in series with the circuit-breaker switch (20?); the resistance (30) is of fixed ohmic value that is about 104 times greater than the value of the resistance of the main circuit of the circuit-breaker. By means of this configuration, it is possible to use a vacuum chamber as the circuit-breaker switch (20?), and to dimension the main switch (10), which, de facto, breaks the current even for very high short-circuit currents, under more advantageous conditions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 15, 2007
    Publication date: September 2, 2010
    Applicant: AREVA T & D SA
    Inventors: Jean-Marc Willieme, Francois Biquez, Denis Frigiere
  • Publication number: 20100220417
    Abstract: An alternator disconnector circuit-breaker of the invention presents a compact structure. The axes of opening/closure of the change-over first switch (12, 14), of the circuit-breaker second switch (22, 24), and of the disconnector switch (32, 34) are such that an angle of 90° is present between two of them. Actuator means (40) associated with synchronization means (52, 54, 56, 58) make it possible to ensure that each switch is operated in a time-shifted manner by common control means.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 15, 2007
    Publication date: September 2, 2010
    Applicant: AREVA T & D SA
    Inventors: Jean-Marc Willieme, Francois Biquez, Denis Frigiere
  • Patent number: 7780921
    Abstract: An apparatus for the removal of uranium from a body of material is provided. The apparatus has at least one ultrasonic extractor, having a bottom and a top. The at least one ultrasonic extractor is configured to accept solids at the bottom and acid at the top, and has a mixing screw and at least one source of ultrasonic energy. The mixing screw is configured to transport the solids in a direction countercurrent to the acid in the at least one ultrasonic extractor; and the source of ultrasonic energy is configured to impart ultrasonic energy into the solids and the acid, as the solids and the acid traverse the at least one ultrasonic extractor countercurrently.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2010
    Assignee: Areva NP Inc.
    Inventor: Richard Thaddeus Kimura
  • Patent number: 7779615
    Abstract: Device to load a sintering boat with nuclear fuel pellets, comprising a loading chute (2) delimiting a travel pathway (4) for the pellets, the loading chute comprising an upper end (8) intended to receive pellets and a lower end (12) intended to lie close to a sintering boat, said loading chute (2) comprising gates (18, 20, 22) forming an obstacle in the pathway of the pellets so as to fractionate said pathway, said gates (18, 20, 22) able to be actuated alternately, and the lower end (12) of the loading chute being movable so that it can be drawn close to and away from a bottom part of the sintering boat. A further subject-matter of the present invention is a method to load a sintering boat with nuclear fuel pellets, using a device according to the present invention.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 20, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2010
    Assignee: Areva NC
    Inventors: Jean-Luc Pandraud, Herve Sanchis
  • Patent number: 7779526
    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: Grant
    Filed: May 12, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2010
    Assignee: AREVA NP GmbH
    Inventors: Karl-Heinz Storb, Arno Balthasar, Jan Zach, Walter Knoblach, Hans-Joachim Wittmann
  • Publication number: 20100208858
    Abstract: A method for selecting a loading map for a nuclear reactor core including the following steps: a) providing production data relating to the nuclear fuel assemblies, b) providing neutron data which are representative of the operation of the core, c) calculating the three-dimensional distribution of the local power in the core, d) calculating the extreme value reached by at least one thermomechanical parameter within the nuclear fuel assemblies, and e) selecting, in accordance with the extreme values calculated, a loading map from the loading maps envisaged. A system, computer program and storage medium for selecting a loading map for a nuclear reactor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 11, 2010
    Publication date: August 19, 2010
    Applicant: AREVA NP
    Inventor: Andre Poyaud Gilles
  • Patent number: 7778378
    Abstract: Fuel rods of fuel assemblies of a boiling water reactor are tested for leaks. A plurality of fuel assemblies are each arranged adjacent to one another in a cell of the upper core grid of the boiling water reactor. A hood is placed above a plurality of cells A water sample is taken from each of the cells, and the water samples from a plurality of cells forming a group are combined and tested for the presence of radioactive fission products A plurality of groups are analyzed simultaneously in a number, which number corresponds to the number of groups, of measurement channels. Where a result of a group is positive, the cells of the group are tested separately by the measurement channels. Those fuel assemblies of a cell that is found positive are tested individually outside the hood.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 2007
    Date of Patent: August 17, 2010
    Assignee: Areva NP GmbH
    Inventors: Markus Pülmanns, Richard Stark
  • Patent number: 7777149
    Abstract: In order to reduce the breaking energy of a high-voltage or medium-voltage circuit-breaker, the interrupting chamber (10) contains two contacts (12, 14) mounted to move in opposite directions, actuated via a single device (20, 30). The two contacts (12, 14) are driven in opposite directions by a cylindrical cam (22) having slots (26, 28) that co-operate with fixed rods (32, 42), each of which is connected to a respective one of the contacts (12, 14): the profiles of the slots (26, 28) make it possible to manage the speed and the amplitude of the movement of the second contact (14) relative to the main contact (12) without requiring any complex design.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 2007
    Date of Patent: August 17, 2010
    Assignee: Areva T&D SA
    Inventors: Jean-Luc Bourgeois, Joël Ozil, Christophe Creusot
  • Patent number: 7775818
    Abstract: A bus bar connection which electrically interconnects switchboard sections by at least one electrical connection element, the bus bar connection including bellows which can be mounted between the switchboard sections, can be filled with insulting gas, and surround the electrical coupling element of the bus bar connection in a gas-tight manner.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 16, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 17, 2010
    Assignee: Areva T&D SA
    Inventors: Peter Listl, Thierry Starck
  • Patent number: 7770435
    Abstract: A collector line for leakage monitoring and leakage location at a plant includes a carrier tube having a wall with openings formed therein, which are sealed with silicone rubber. This makes it possible to use the collector line during low ambient temperatures. A device and a method for leakage monitoring and leakage location and a pipeline having a collector line, are also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2007
    Date of Patent: August 10, 2010
    Assignee: Areva NP GmbH
    Inventors: Wolfgang Issel, Peter Jax
  • Publication number: 20100194357
    Abstract: A system and method of controlling a TCSC disposed on a high voltage line of an electrical transmission network. The system comprises: (a) a voltage measuring module; (b) a current measuring module; (c) a regulator, working in accordance with a non-linear control law to receive on its input the output signals from the two modules for measuring voltage and current, and a reference voltage corresponding to the fundamental of the voltage which is to obtained across the TCSC; (d) a module for extracting the control angle in accordance with an extraction algorithm; and (e) a module for controlling the thyristors (T1, T2) of the TCSC, and for receiving a zero current reference delivered by a phase-locked loop which gives the position of the current.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 22, 2008
    Publication date: August 5, 2010
    Applicant: AREVA T&D SAS
    Inventors: Abdelkrim Benchaib, Serge Poullain, Yannick Weiler
  • Publication number: 20100192368
    Abstract: A device is provided for repairing a damaged location in an underwater region of a wall of a vessel or pool, in particular in the region of a wall of a pool of a nuclear reactor plant. The device includes a guiding system, which can be attached along a side wall at a distance therefrom and can be fixed thereto, for guiding a carriage which can be made to move in a longitudinal direction of the guiding system. Arranged on the carriage is a displaceably mounted holder for a repair support, which can be placed with an adhesive surface against the wall region containing the damaged location. With such a device, wall regions that are at a great depth and can only be accessed through narrow gaps can be repaired quickly and reliably.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 15, 2010
    Publication date: August 5, 2010
    Applicant: AREVA NP GMBH
    Inventors: Georg Krãmer, Konrad Meier-Hynek