Patents Assigned to Electricite de France
  • Patent number: 10692614
    Abstract: The invention relates to a sealing device (30) intended to be fixed against an edge of a tube and against a column.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 17, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 23, 2020
    Assignee: Electricite de France
    Inventor: Frédéric Gaulupeau
  • Publication number: 20200143949
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a centering pin for a nuclear plant core, in a reactor vessel characterised in that it has a hydrodynamic profile (120, 130) on at least one of the front or downstream faces of the pin (110), so as to reduce instability when coolant fluid is circulating around the pin (110).
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 6, 2018
    Publication date: May 7, 2020
    Applicant: Electricite de France
    Inventor: Richard Howard
  • Patent number: 10641133
    Abstract: A method for assisting with the management of a pumping device capable of supplying a circuit of a power production facility with water taken from a natural watercourse is disclosed here. In particular, at least some parameters relating to a watercourse and having an influence on the quantity of materials liable to clog filters are collected. A statistical model is developed that is at least based on historical data for said parameters relating to the watercourse for which clogging of the filters has been observed. Current parameters relating to at least the watercourse are collected and said statistical model is used in conjunction with said current parameters to assess the risk of an influx of clogging materials, and an alert signal for deactivating the pumping device at a selected time is generated on the basis of the assessed risk.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 21, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 5, 2020
    Assignee: ELECTRICITE DE FRANCE
    Inventors: Eric De Oliveira, Denis Vautrin, Nicolas Bousquet, Nicolas Paul, Kersane Zoubert-Ousseni
  • Publication number: 20200123768
    Abstract: The invention relates to a permanent concrete formwork for manufacturing a metal-concrete composite structure, comprising: two walls each comprising at least one metal plate, the walls being parallel, arranged opposite one another, and spaced apart from one another so as to define an inner space of the formwork; struts which connect the two walls and which attach the two walls to one another, the struts passing through the two walls and projecting from either side of the formwork; bars located on each of the walls and which project into the inner space of the formwork, wherein each metal plate is attached to the opposite metal plate by at least three struts, the first strut being located at a first end of the metal plate, the second strut being located at a second end opposite said first end, and the third strut being located in a central region located between the first end and the second end, and in that the struts comprise threaded ends, the struts being attached to the metal plate by bolting.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 21, 2017
    Publication date: April 23, 2020
    Applicant: Electricite de France
    Inventor: Julien Niepceron
  • Patent number: 10604642
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a solid thermally insulating material, essentially free of phyllosilicates, comprising (a) from 70 to 98% by volume of hydrophobic silica aerogel particles having an intrinsic density between 110 and 210 kg/m, (b) from 0.3 to 12% by volume of an organic binder formed by at least one organic polymer (b1) and at least one surfactant (b2), or by an amphiphilic organic polymer (b3), these volume fractions being determined by image analysis on thin sections of the solid material and being given relative to the total volume of the material, the aerogel particles having a particle size distribution that has at least two maxima, with a first maximum corresponding to an equivalent diameter (d) of less than 200 ?m, preferably between 25 ?m and 150 ?m, and a second maximum corresponding to an equivalent diameter (D) between 400 ?m and 10 mm, preferably between 500 ?m and 5 mm. It also relates to a thermally insulating product containing at least one layer of this material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 25, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 31, 2020
    Assignee: Electricite de France
    Inventors: Bernard Yrieix, Benoit Morel, Genevieve Foray, Agnes Bogner, Bertrand van de Moortele
  • Patent number: 10564078
    Abstract: A method allowing the cracking of a material to be controlled, and a device for the implementation of the method are disclosed. A target cracking path is defined in a given volume of material. Mechanical loads are applied to the material in order to control the propagation of a crack in the volume so that the crack propagates along the target path. In order to prevent an unstable propagation of the crack, a stabilization load especially designed for stabilizing the propagation of the crack is applied to the volume.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 18, 2020
    Assignee: ELECTRICITE DE FRANCE
    Inventors: Cyril Kazymyrenko, Andreea Carpiuc-Prisacari, Martin Poncelet, Clement Jailin, Francois Hild, Hugo Leclerc
  • Patent number: 10551352
    Abstract: The invention concerns a method for ultrasounds detection of defects in a material, including the following steps: emission of ultrasounds from an ultrasonic emitting transducer positioned against to the material at an emission position, acquisition, by an ultrasonic receiving transducer placed against the material at the reception position, of at least one time signal, for each measurement position, determination of a normalisation term from the values taken by the time signal during an initial portion of the measurement duration corresponding to the reception of ultrasonic waves propagated at the surface of the material; for each measurement position, normalisation of the time signal over the measurement duration using the normalisation term to obtain a normalised time signal, processing of normalised time signals for different measurement positions to detect defects in the material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 4, 2020
    Assignee: Electricite de France
    Inventors: Nicolas Paul, Paul Kassis
  • Publication number: 20200018293
    Abstract: The invention relates to a device for detecting icing and de-icing of a wind turbine blade, characterized in that it comprises: a sensor, placed on the surface of a blade, and comprising a first so-called “receiving” antenna, a second so-called “emitting” antenna, and a frequency divider inserted between said first and second antennas; and an interrogator, configured to emit an electromagnetic wave towards the receiving antenna of said sensor, and to receive an electromagnetic wave from the emitting antenna of said sensor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 13, 2017
    Publication date: January 16, 2020
    Applicants: Electricite de France, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Ecole Normale Superieure De Cachan
    Inventors: Frédéric Taillade, Franck Daout, Francoise Schmitt
  • Patent number: 10533977
    Abstract: A method for detecting and characterizing defects in a heterogeneous material via ultrasound. The method includes the following steps: emitting ultrasound waves from an emitting ultrasound transducer placed against the material; acquiring, using a receiving ultrasound transducer in various positions relative to the material, a plurality of time signals, representing the amplitude of the sound propagated in the material as a function of time, for a position of the receiving ultrasound transducer; determining a time function representing a spatially averaged power of the time signals that correspond to different positions of the receiving transducer; and—normalizing the time signals by the time function so as to obtain normalized time signals. The defects in the material are detected from the normalized tune signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 27, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 14, 2020
    Assignee: Electricite de France
    Inventors: Nicolas Paul, Pierre-Louis Filiot
  • Publication number: 20200014209
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a local control system (6) configured to define a charge or discharge command made to a power storage device (5) on the basis of a charge or discharge instruction, sent by an overall control system (7), and the instantaneous power used by the power-using devices (4), such that the instantaneous power used by the power using devices (4) is always greater than the discharge power of the power storage device (5), so as to guarantee that the power stored by the power storage device (5) is not re-injected into the power distribution network (3).
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 21, 2016
    Publication date: January 9, 2020
    Applicant: Electricite de France
    Inventor: Benoit Chazottes
  • Patent number: 10522258
    Abstract: The sealing of a crack in a pool of a nuclear facility, using a robot. The sealing, concerns in particular, that of a crack in a wall of a pool of a nuclear facility. In particular, it implements a mobile robot carrying an adhesive tape dispenser. At least the following are provided: controlling a plurality of suction systems, the dispenser being mechanically integral with a first suction system, and controlling the movement of the first system relative to the other systems of said plurality of systems.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 30, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 31, 2019
    Assignee: ELECTRICITE DE FRANCE
    Inventors: Marc Kuntz, Mathieu Lamontagne
  • Patent number: 10521702
    Abstract: A method for estimating and forecasting an energy production indicator for a solar system. The method comprises, in particular, the steps of: a) receiving images of the sky taken from the ground, each image comprising an optical marker; b) extracting values of pixels and locating of image pixels from the received images; c) determining distances between the located pixels and the optical marker of the image; d) generating a vector of parameters from a pixel classification, according to the extracted values and the determined distances; e) comparing parameters of the generated vector with predetermined parameters, the predetermined parameters being respectively associated with energy production indicators; f) estimating the energy production indicator of the solar system from energy production indicators of the predetermined parameters compared to the generated vector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 31, 2019
    Assignee: ELECTRICITE DE FRANCE
    Inventors: Charlotte Gauchet, Nicolas Paul, Stephanie Dubost
  • Publication number: 20190353590
    Abstract: The invention relates to a portable device (1) for estimating at least one parameter characteristic of a polymer material, characterized in that the device comprises at least one infrared source (101), each infrared source (101) being capable of emitting towards the polymer material a spectral line, representing maximum emission energy, selected in one of the wavelengths 10 ?m, 9.5 ?m, 7.2 ?m, 6 ?m, 3.5 ?m, 2.7 ?m or in one of the wave numbers 1000 cm?1, 1050 cm?1, 1350 cm?1, 1700 cm?1, 2900 cm?1, 3700 cm?1, at least one infrared detector (102), capable of receiving infrared radiation (112), which is reflected by the polymer material (M) in response to the spectral line, a unit for determining the parameter characteristic of the polymer material (M) as a function of the energy present in said spectral line in the infrared radiation (112), having been reflected by the polymer material (M) and having been received by the infrared detector (102).
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 17, 2017
    Publication date: November 21, 2019
    Applicants: Electricite de France, Universite Pierre Et Marie Curie (Paris 6)
    Inventors: Alejandro Ribes Cortes, Mohamed Ben Chouikha
  • Publication number: 20190338423
    Abstract: A sol-gel method for producing an anti-corrosion coating consisting of at least one layer of an oxide on a metal substrate. A non-aqueous solution of a precursor of the oxide is prepared and deposited on one surface at least of the metal substrate in order to cover said surface at least partially with a film comprising the precursor of the oxide. Hydrolysis-condensation of the precursor of the oxide is carried out by exposing the film to a humid atmosphere in order to form an oxide network in the film. Then, a treatment for stabilizing the film on the surface of the substrate is carried out, followed by a heat treatment of the surface of the metal substrate in order to crystallize the network of oxide and form the anti-corrosion coating.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 20, 2017
    Publication date: November 7, 2019
    Applicants: ELECTRICITE DE FRANCE, UNIVERSITE PIERRE ET MARIE CURIE (PARIS 6), CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE- CNRS-, COLLEGE DE FRANCE
    Inventors: Adele Astorg, Xavier Crozes, Lionel Nicole, Clement Sanchez
  • Publication number: 20190341159
    Abstract: The invention relates to a sealing device (30) intended to be fixed against an edge of a tube and against a column.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 17, 2016
    Publication date: November 7, 2019
    Applicant: Electricite de France
    Inventor: Frédéric GAULUPEAU
  • Patent number: 10451268
    Abstract: A method for evaluating the clogging of the passages of a tube support plate of a tube heat exchanger, in which an eddy current probe is passed through a tube of the exchanger and a measurement signal is measured with the probe to evaluate the clogging at the downstream edge of a tube support plate. A lower (upper, respectively) edge signal corresponding to the probe passing the downstream (upstream, respectively) edge of the tube support plate is determined from the measurement signal. The impulse response of the probe is estimated. The lower edge signal is deconvolved (530) by the impulse response estimation. The clogging is evaluated (533) by analyzing (532) the lower edge signal thus deconvolved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 22, 2019
    Assignee: ELECTRICITE DE FRANCE
    Inventor: Nicolas Paul
  • Publication number: 20190318837
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method for characterising one or more faults in a system grouping together a plurality of internal physical quantities and delimited by a plurality of boundary physical quantities, the system being modelled by a healthy model establishing relationships linking said internal physical quantities with one another and with the boundary physical quantities in the absence of a fault, a fault being defined as an alteration in the relationships linking said internal physical quantities with one another and with the boundary physical quantities with respect to the healthy model, wherein a fault is characterised by counting a number of iterations having involved said fault in a series of iterations involving a fault matrix.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 14, 2017
    Publication date: October 17, 2019
    Applicants: Electricite de France, Metroscope
    Inventors: Aurélien Schwartz, David Pineau
  • Patent number: 10436879
    Abstract: A method and system for detecting a floating layer on a surveillance area of the sea surface, a site of interest being placed in or around the surveillance area. The method comprises the following steps: a) satellite measurement of a radar feedback return, the radar signal being emitted by a satellite toward the sea surface of the surveillance area; b) recognition of at least one swell profile of the sea surface in accordance with the satellite measurements; c) identification of the fluid properties corresponding to the recognized swell profiles; and d) emission of a warning when the fluid properties identified for one of the recognized profiles correspond to a sea surface that includes undesirable elements for the site of interest.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 12, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 8, 2019
    Assignee: ELECTRICITE DE FRANCE
    Inventors: Arnaud Lenes, Jean-Benoit Ritz
  • Patent number: 10393453
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method for detecting deficiencies in a cooling tower (2) of a thermal facility (1) in operation in a given environment, comprising the implementation of the steps of: (a) measurement, by a plurality of sensors (13), of a set of values of physical parameters relating to the cooling tower (2), at least one of which being an endogenous parameter specific to the operation of the cooling tower (2) and at least one exogenous parameter specific to said environment; (b) calculation, by data processing means (11), of at least one expected optimum value of said endogenous parameter as a function of said values of the physical parameters and a model; (c) determination, by the data processing means (11), of at least one potentially deficient function of the cooling tower (2) as a function of the disparity between the measured value and the expected optimum value of said endogenous parameter and/or the variation of said disparity; (d) testing, by the data processing means (11), of each functi
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 27, 2019
    Assignee: ELECTRICITE DE FRANCE
    Inventors: Christophe Duquennoy, Claude Wolf, Véronique Charrel
  • Publication number: 20190252085
    Abstract: The invention relates to a belt for measuring physical quantities of an object, comprising at least one measurement sensor, a strip and a device for clamping the strip around the object. According to the invention, the belt comprises a pressing device for pressing the measurement sensor in a first orientation toward the object, comprising a casing attached to the strip, an intermediate part and a constraining member to have the intermediate part assume a first low position in which it presses toward the sensor in the first orientation, a lifting member, for holding the intermediate part in a second lifting position above the first low position against the constraining member, the lifting member being actuable from the outside of the casing to have the intermediate part pass from the second lifting position to the first low position in which it presses toward the sensor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 15, 2016
    Publication date: August 15, 2019
    Applicant: Electricite de France
    Inventors: Marc Petit, Sylvain Blairon