US4232224A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Nuclear reactor primary coolant loop flowmeter with phase shift tracking compensation
Assignee: Westinghouse Electric Corp
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Filing: 1978-09-28
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Granted: 1980-11-04
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Expires: 1998-09-28
Abstract
Abstract An improved nuclear reactor primary loop flowmeter having two spaced N-16 detectors (12 and 14) positioned along the primary loop piping for monitoring the N-16 activity within the coolant at the respective detector locations. The outputs of the two detectors are cross-correlated to determine the transit time of corresponding N-16 perturbations viewed at the two detector locations. The improvement comprises means for switching (34 and 36) the respective detector output electronic processing channels (18 and 20) between detectors (12 and 14) and measuring the maximum cross-correlation function (30 and 32) with the detector output channels in their original and switched positions to determine the true coolant transit time between detector locations and any phase shift induced by the detector output channels.
Inventors
- 👤 Kingsley F. Graham
- 👤 Raj Gopal
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-26 01:33
CPC Classifications
G; G01; G01F; G01F1/00; G01F1/704; G01F1/708; G01F1/712; G01P; G01P5/00; G01P5/18; G01P5/20; G21; G21C; G21C17/00; G21C17/02; G21C17/032; Y; Y02; Y02E; Y02E30/00; Y02E30/30
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 10
Claim 1
Independent Claim
240 words
An improved nuclear reactor primary coolant loop flowmeter having a first detector positioned substantially adjacent to the coolant loop at a first location, which is responsive to the gamma radiation emanating from the Nitrogen-16 activity within the reactor coolant at the first location to provide a representative electrical output, a first detector channel for conditioning and communicating the first detector's output, a second detector positioned substantially adjacent to the coolant loop at a second location downstream of the first location, which is responsive to the gamma radiation emanating from the Nitrogen-16 activity within the reactor coolant at the second location to provide a representative electrical output, a second detector channel for conditioning and communicating the second detector's output, and means having inputs from the first and second detector channels' outputs for cross-correlating the first and second detectors' outputs and delaying the first output with respect to the second until the cross-correlation function approaches a maximum so as to determine the delay time between corresponding points in the first and second outputs, wherein the improvement comprises means for switching the first detector output to the second detector channel and the second detector output to the first detector channel and means for adding the delay times monitored between corresponding points in the first and second outputs by the cross-correlating means with the first and second detectors connected in both switching positions to provide an output proportional to the primary coolant flow rate.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
240 words
An improved nuclear reactor primary coolant loop flowmeter having a first detector positioned substantially adjacent to the coolant loop at a first location, which is responsive to the gamma radiation emanating from the Nitrogen-16 activity within the reactor coolant at the first location to provide a representative electrical output, a first detector channel for conditioning and communicating the first detector's output, a second detector positioned substantially adjacent to the coolant loop at a second location downstream of the first location, which is responsive to the gamma radiation emanating from the Nitrogen-16 activity within the reactor coolant at the second location to provide a representative electrical output, a second detector channel for conditioning and communicating the second detector's output, and means having inputs from the first and second detector channels' outputs for cross-correlating the first and second detectors' outputs and delaying the first output with respect to the second until the cross-correlation function approaches a maximum so as to determine the delay time between corresponding points in the first and second outputs, wherein the improvement comprises means for switching the first detector output to the second detector channel and the second detector output to the first detector channel and means for adding the delay times monitored between corresponding points in the first and second outputs by the cross-correlating means with the first and second detectors connected in both switching positions to provide an output proportional to the primary coolant flow rate.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
44 words
The improved nuclear reactor primary coolant flowmeter of claim 1 including means for dividing the output of the adding means which is proportional to the primary coolant flow rate, by two to provide the primary coolant transit time between the first and second locations.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
41 words
The improved nuclear reactor primary coolant flowmeter of claim 1 wherein the switching means maintains the first and second detectors' outputs connected to the corresponding inputs of the cross-correlating means irrespective of the detector to channel connection of the switching means.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
62 words
The improved nuclear reactor primary coolant flowmeter of claim 1 including means for subtracting the delay times monitored between corresponding points in the first and second outputs by the cross-correlating means with the first and second detectors connected in both switching positions to provide an output proportional to the phase shift error between the outputs of the first and second detector channels.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
23 words
The improved nuclear reactor primary coolant flowmeter of claim 4 including means for identifying when the phase shift error exceeds a preselected value.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
249 words
An improved nuclear reactor primary coolant loop flowmeter having a first detector positioned substantially adjacent to the coolant loop at a first location, which is responsive to the gamma radiation emanating from the Nitrogen-16 activity within the reactor coolant at the first location to provide a representative electrical output, a first detector channel for conditioning and communicating the first detector's output, a second detector positioned substantially adjacent to the coolant loop at a second location downstream of the first location, which is responsive to the gamma radiation emanating from the Nitrogen-16 activity within the reactor coolant at the second location to provide a representative electrical output, a second detector channel for conditioning and communicating the second detector's output, and means having inputs from the first and second detector channels' outputs for cross-correlating the first and second detectors' outputs and delaying the first output with respect to the second until the cross-correlation function approaches a maximum so as to determine the delay time between corresponding points in the first and second outputs, wherein the improvement comprises means for switching the first detector output to the second detector channel and the second detector output to the first detector channel and means for subtracting the delay times monitored between corresponding points in the first and second outputs by the cross-correlating means with the first and second detectors connected in both switching positions to provide an output proportional to the phase shift error between the outputs of the first and second detector channels.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
249 words
An improved nuclear reactor primary coolant loop flowmeter having a first detector positioned substantially adjacent to the coolant loop at a first location, which is responsive to the gamma radiation emanating from the Nitrogen-16 activity within the reactor coolant at the first location to provide a representative electrical output, a first detector channel for conditioning and communicating the first detector's output, a second detector positioned substantially adjacent to the coolant loop at a second location downstream of the first location, which is responsive to the gamma radiation emanating from the Nitrogen-16 activity within the reactor coolant at the second location to provide a representative electrical output, a second detector channel for conditioning and communicating the second detector's output, and means having inputs from the first and second detector channels' outputs for cross-correlating the first and second detectors' outputs and delaying the first output with respect to the second until the cross-correlation function approaches a maximum so as to determine the delay time between corresponding points in the first and second outputs, wherein the improvement comprises means for switching the first detector output to the second detector channel and the second detector output to the first detector channel and means for subtracting the delay times monitored between corresponding points in the first and second outputs by the cross-correlating means with the first and second detectors connected in both switching positions to provide an output proportional to the phase shift error between the outputs of the first and second detector channels.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
41 words
The improved nuclear reactor primary coolant flowmeter of claim 6 wherein the switching means maintains the first and second detectors' outputs connected to the corresponding inputs of the cross-correlating means irrespective of the detector to channel connection of the switching means.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
23 words
The improved nuclear reactor primary coolant flowmeter of claim 7 including means for identifying when the phase shift error exceeds a preselected value.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USRE28686E
Cited
US3818231A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1983-11-04 | 1984-05-05 | 1984-11-04 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1987-11-04 | 1988-05-05 | 1988-11-04 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1991-11-04 | 1992-05-05 | 1992-11-04 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |