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AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorsJack T. Matsumoto, Benedict Kazirskis, Vernon W. Pence, James F. Kasik
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A remotely operated drilling tool is configured to produce holes in a core shroud support plate inside of a nuclear reactor vessel. The tool includes a support base that is securely mounted directly above the location where the hole will be formed. In a first operation, a drilling tool is secured to the support base and drills a hole through about 90% of the shroud support plate. The drilling tool includes chip capturing structure to prevent chip created by the machining process from contaminating the water in the reactor vessel. After about 90% of the hole is drilled with the drilling tool, an EDM tool is secured to the support base to machine the remainder of the hole using an EDM process. The EDM tool includes structure for machining the remainder of the hole, removing the slug from the hole, and performing a spotface on the underside of the shroud support plate. The underwater drilling tool is capable of producing high quality holes faster and more efficiently than the current EDM process, while maintaining control of all foreign material, minimizing the deleterious effects on the material being drilled, and reducing the risk associated with poor tool reliability and breakage.
A method of machining a portion of a core shroud support plate in a nuclear reactor vessel using an electrical discharge machining (EDM) tool, the EDM tool including a support frame, a carriage assembly movably coupled to said support frame, and a spindle assembly rotatably coupled to said carriage assembly, the method comprising:
A method of drilling holes in a core shroud support plate of a nuclear reactor vessel using a support base, a drilling tool and an electrical discharge machining (EDM) tool, the nuclear reactor vessel including a core shroud and a vessel wall;
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.