Method and device for removing a specimen from within the vessel of a nuclear reactor being decommissioned
US5268550A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 21, 1992 |
| Grant date | Dec 7, 1993 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 21, 2012 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY02E30/30
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A method and device for removal of a specimen (30), especially a parallelepipedal specimen, from within the internal wall of the vessel of a nuclear reactor which is at the end of its service and whose core has previously been dismantled, but which retains a high residual radioactivity. A rotating platform (10) carrying tools (23, 24) for cutting out by electrical discharge is inserted into the vessel (1), maintained under protective water (7). A first electrode produces a recess in a direction perpendicular to the internal wall (21) of the vessel, delimiting the external contour of the specimen, and a second electrode cuts the rear of the latter to a specified depth, before the withdrawal thereof from the wall. The specimen thus obtained is then extracted from the vessel.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.