Patents by Inventor Fujio Yoshikubo

Fujio Yoshikubo has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 9324463
    Abstract: Disclosed is a water jet peening method that includes the steps of: preparing a water jet peening apparatus having a supporting member, a first divider plate, a nozzle support body, and a second divider plate; inserting the water jet peening apparatus into a piping in which a structure or electronic device is mounted that is susceptible to damage by a jet of water discharged from a jet nozzle or by shock waves; disposing either the first divider plate or the second divider plate between the jet nozzle and the structure or electronic device; filling water into an internal area formed in the piping between the first divider plate and the second divider plate; and subjecting the inner surface of the piping to water jet peening by allowing the jet nozzle to discharge a jet of water into the water in the internal area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2016
    Assignee: Hitachi-GE Nuclear Energy, Ltd.
    Inventors: Takashi Soda, Akihiro Kanno, Nobuo Murakami, Fujio Yoshikubo
  • Patent number: 9193034
    Abstract: A top head of a reactor pressure vessel includes control rod drive mechanism (CRDM) penetration pipes arranged in a square grid-like pattern. The CRDM penetration pipes are joined with one another by a tube support member. The top head is placed on a tank and water is filled in an inner region of the tank and the top head. A travel apparatus moves a nozzle lifting and lowering apparatus to a predetermined location. A lifting and lowering mechanism of the nozzle lifting and lowering apparatus lifts a jet nozzle above the tube support member among the neighboring four CRDM penetration pipes. An ejection outlet of the jet nozzle is directed to a weld between one of the CRDM penetration pipes and the top head, and a water jet is ejected. A nozzle turning mechanism turns the jet nozzle, and WJP is executed sequentially to the four CRDM penetration pipes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2012
    Date of Patent: November 24, 2015
    Assignee: Hitachi-GE Nuclear Energy, Ltd.
    Inventors: Takahiro Aoki, Fujio Yoshikubo, Akihiro Kanno
  • Patent number: 9067303
    Abstract: A chamber having a water jet generation apparatus and a mesh installed inside is pushed against a surface of a peening object. A rotary vane of the water jet generation apparatus, disposed in a region in the chamber between the mesh and the chamber, is rotated to generate a water jet flowing toward the peening object in one region in the chamber, the one region is a region closer to the peening object than the mesh. A plurality of shots 4 put in the region 30A moves toward the peening object along with the water jet and collides with the surface of the peening object. After the collision, the shots move toward the mesh along with the water jet. Compression residual stress is given to the surface of the peening object with which the shots have collided. Thus, spreading of contaminants peeled off from a peening object can be prevented.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 2013
    Date of Patent: June 30, 2015
    Assignee: Hitachi-GE Nuclear Energy, Ltd.
    Inventors: Hisamitu Hatou, Noboru Saito, Ren Morinaka, Fujio Yoshikubo, Masashi Fukaya, Yuji Matsui, Ryuji Kimura
  • Publication number: 20150013413
    Abstract: A water jet peening apparatus (WJP apparatus) includes a seating member, rotating portion set to it, and first and second injection nozzles. A hoisting apparatus is attached to the rotating portion, and the first and second injection nozzles are attached to a nozzle arm. The WJP apparatus is gone down in a reactor vessel (RV) by crane operation, and the seating member is seated on a bottom mounted instrumentation nozzle welded to a bottom head of the RV. By the hoisting apparatus, the nozzle arm is gone down and the first and second injection nozzles are gone down. The first injection nozzle is inserted into the bottom mounted instrumentation nozzle and the second injection nozzle is set outside the bottom mounted instrumentation nozzle. High-pressure water is jetted from the first and second injection nozzles, and WJP is implemented for both of the inner and outer surfaces of the welding area of the bottom mounted instrumentation nozzle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 10, 2014
    Publication date: January 15, 2015
    Inventors: Ryuji KIMURA, Fujio YOSHIKUBO, Masami ANDO
  • Publication number: 20140233689
    Abstract: In a water jet peening apparatus, a high-pressure under-water pump is installed on an upper end of a casing and an injection nozzle drive mechanism equipped with an injection nozzle is attached to the casing. A high-pressure hose whose one end is connected to the high-pressure under-water pump is disposed in the casing and the other end of the high-pressure hose is connected to the injection nozzle. The casing is seated at an upper end of a control rod drive mechanism housing and the high-pressure under-water pump is driven. The high-pressure water pressurized by the high-pressure under-water pump is supplied to the injection nozzle through the high-pressure hose in the casing and is jetted toward the weld portion between the control rod drive mechanism housing and a stub tube. The time required for a water jet peening operation can be shortened.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 14, 2014
    Publication date: August 21, 2014
    Applicant: Hitachi-GE Nuclear Energy, Ltd.
    Inventors: Noboru SAITO, Hisamitsu HATOU, Koichi KUROSAWA, Fujio YOSHIKUBO, Ren MORINAKA, Ryuji KIMURA
  • Patent number: 8776565
    Abstract: An evaluation method of residual stress in water jet peening includes a step of creating an analytical model including meshes according to a water jet peening (WJP) object, the shape of a nozzle, and an injection distance, a step of inputting WJP execution conditions, a step of calculating the internal pressure pBi of a cavitation bubble and a bubble number density ngi through jet flow analysis for a jet flow jetting from the nozzle, a step of calculating cavitation energy according to the internal pressure pBi of a cavitation bubble and a bubble number density ngi (S4), a step of calculating the burst energy of cavitation bubbles from the cavitation energy C, and a step of calculating the compressive residual stress of the WJP object from the collapse pressure of cavitation bubbles. Accordingly, the residual stress of the WJP object can be evaluated precisely in a shorter time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 15, 2014
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Hisamitu Hatou, Noboru Saitou, Kouichi Kurosawa, Fujio Yoshikubo, Yuji Matsui, Masashi Fukaya
  • Publication number: 20140000330
    Abstract: A chamber having a water jet generation apparatus and a mesh installed inside is pushed against a surface of a peening object. A rotary vane of the water jet generation apparatus, disposed in a region in the chamber between the mesh and the chamber, is rotated to generate a water jet flowing toward the peening object in one region in the chamber, the one region is a region closer to the peening object than the mesh. A plurality of shots 4 put in the region 30A moves toward the peening object along with the water jet and collides with the surface of the peening object. After the collision, the shots move toward the mesh along with the water jet. Compression residual stress is given to the surface of the peening object with which the shots have collided. Thus, spreading of contaminants peeled off from a peening object can be prevented.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 25, 2013
    Publication date: January 2, 2014
    Inventors: Hisamitu HATOU, Noboru SAITO, Ren MORINAKA, Fujio YOSHIKUBO, Masashi FUKAYA, Yuji MATSUI, Ryuji KIMURA
  • Patent number: 8387427
    Abstract: A high-pressure water jet is injected from a nozzle scanned and a shock wave generated due to the collapse of bubbles included in the water jet is impacted on a WJP execution object. Tensile residual stress close to the surface of the WJP execution object is improved to compressive residual stress. The shock wave is detected by a pressure sensor and a shock wave generation frequency is obtained. Whether the obtained shock wave generation frequency is larger than a set value or not is decided. When the shock wave generation frequency is larger than the set value, a high-pressure pump is stopped and the injection of the water jet from the nozzle is stopped. When the shock wave generation frequency is equal to or smaller than the set value, the operation condition of the high-pressure pump is changed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2013
    Assignee: Hitachi-GE Nuclear Energy, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yuji Matsui, Masahiro Tooma, Atsushi Baba, Kouichi Kurosawa, Fujio Yoshikubo
  • Publication number: 20110232348
    Abstract: An evaluation method of residual stress in water jet peening includes a step of creating an analytical model including meshes according to a water jet peening (WJP) object, the shape of a nozzle, and an injection distance, a step of inputting WJP execution conditions, a step of calculating the internal pressure pBi of a cavitation bubble and a bubble number density ngi through jet flow analysis for a jet flow jetting from the nozzle, a step of calculating cavitation energy according to the internal pressure pBi of a cavitation bubble and a bubble number density ngi (S4), a step of calculating the burst energy of cavitation bubbles from the cavitation energy C, and a step of calculating the compressive residual stress of the WJP object from the collapse pressure of cavitation bubbles. Accordingly, the residual stress of the WJP object can be evaluated precisely in a shorter time.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 28, 2011
    Publication date: September 29, 2011
    Inventors: Hisamitu HATOU, Noboru Saitou, Kouichi Kurosawa, Fujio Yoshikubo, Yuji Matsui, Masashi Fukaya
  • Publication number: 20110005288
    Abstract: A high-pressure water jet is injected from a nozzle scanned and a shock wave generated due to the collapse of bubbles included in the water jet is impacted on a WJP execution object. Tensile residual stress close to the surface of the WJP execution object is improved to compressive residual stress. The shock wave is detected by a pressure sensor and a shock wave generation frequency is obtained. Whether the obtained shock wave generation frequency is larger than a set value or not is decided. When the shock wave generation frequency is larger than the set value, a high-pressure pump is stopped and the injection of the water jet from the nozzle is stopped. When the shock wave generation frequency is equal to or smaller than the set value, the operation condition of the high-pressure pump is changed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 2, 2010
    Publication date: January 13, 2011
    Applicant: Hitachi-GE Nuclear Energy, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yuji MATSUI, Masahiro Tooma, Atsushi Baba, Kouichi Kurosawa, Fujio Yoshikubo
  • Patent number: 6240155
    Abstract: A method of performing maintenance on a structural member inside a reactor pressure vessel includes lowering an annular guide rail having a second lug until the guide rail rests on an upper flange of a core shroud provided inside the reactor pressure vessel, detachably mounting the second lug of the guide rail to a first lug mounted on the core shroud, positioning a discharging nozzle at a position at which compressive remaining stress is added to a surface of the core shroud by moving the discharging nozzle in a radial direction and an axial direction of the core shroud by a discharging nozzle moving apparatus mounted on a turnable revolving on the guide rail and discharging water to add compressive remaining stress to a surface of the core shroud from the discharging nozzle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 4, 1999
    Date of Patent: May 29, 2001
    Assignees: Hitachi, Ltd., Babcock-Hitachi Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Koichi Kurosawa, Eisaku Hayashi, Sadato Shimizu, Minoru Ootaka, Fujio Yoshikubo, Ren Morinaka, Masayuki Nishino, Noboru Chiba, Kunio Enomoto, Kazunori Sato
  • Patent number: 6058153
    Abstract: A preventive maintenance apparatus for structural members inside a nuclear reactor pressure vessel includes a ring-shaped guide rail having a plurality of lugs which is placed on an upper flange of a core shroud provided inside a reactor pressure vessel. At least some of lugs separately engage with a plurality of guide rods provided on an inner surface of the reactor pressure vessel. A turntable is rotated on the guide rail. A first discharging nozzle moving apparatus placed on the turntable moves a first discharging nozzle for adding compressive remaining stress to an outer surface of the core shroud in a radial direction of the core shroud and in an axial direction of the core shroud. A second discharging nozzle moving apparatus placed on the turntable moves a second discharging nozzle for adding compressive remaining stress to an inner surface of the core shroud in a radial direction of the core shroud and in an axial direction of the core shroud.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 1998
    Date of Patent: May 2, 2000
    Assignees: Hitachi, Ltd., Babcock-Hitachi Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Koichi Kurosawa, Eisaku Hayashi, Sadato Shimizu, Minoru Ootaka, Fujio Yoshikubo, Ren Morinaka, Masayuki Nishino, Noboru Chiba, Kunio Enomoto, Kazunori Sato
  • Patent number: 5749384
    Abstract: An apparatus preventive maintenance having a driving mechanism capable of driving a jet nozzle 24 to cause it to travel upward-and-downward, to rotate and to swing is settled on the top of a housing in the bottom portion of a reactor pressure vessel and on a hole for a fuel support piece, water pumped by a high pressure pump is spouted from a jet nozzle, and cavitation bubbles generated during the spouting are supplied to the positions to be treated for preventive maintenance, such as housings in the bottom portion of the reactor pressure vessel. Therewith, the residual tensile stress in the position to be treated is improved in a releasing direction by the energy generated by the collapsing of the cavitation bubbles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 1995
    Date of Patent: May 12, 1998
    Assignees: Hitachi, Ltd., Babcock-Hitachi Kabushiki Kaisha, Hitachi Nuclear Engineering Co., Ltd., Hitachi Kiso Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Eisaku Hayashi, Koichi Kurosawa, Fujio Yoshikubo, Hideyasu Furukawa, Ren Morinaka, Kunio Enomoto, Masahiro Otaka, Noboru Chiba, Kazunori Sato