Replacement and repair of nozzles for pressure vessels

The combination of a nozzle assembly and a pressure vessel of a nuclear power facility having a bore, comprising:

• a full nozzle extending from the interior of said vessel, through said bore and exiting said bore to the exterior of said vessel;
• a mechanical coupling of said full nozzle to said vessel operative to provide for a mechanical attachment of said full nozzle to said vessel said mechanical coupling not including a weld between said full nozzle and said vessel;
• and
• a mechanical, non-welded seal of said full nozzle to said vessel.

The combination of a nozzle assembly and an ASME pressure vessel having a bore, comprising:

• a sleeve opening to the interior of said vessel and extending part way into said bore, said sleeve being shrink fit to mechanically attach it to said vessel and mechanically seal it in the bore;
• a nozzle extending from at least adjacent said sleeve in said bore, through said bore and exiting said bore to the exterior of said vessel;
• a mechanical coupling of said nozzle to said vessel operative to provide a mechanical attachment of said nozzle to said vessel, said mechanical coupling not including a weld between said nozzle and said vessel;
• and
• a mechanical seal of said nozzle to said vessel.

The combination of a nozzle assembly and an ASME pressure vessel having a bore, comprising:

• a nozzle stub which opens to the interior of said vessel and extends therefrom part way into said bore, said nozzle stub being welded to said vessel where said bore opens to the interior of said vessel;
• a partial nozzle extending from the vicinity of said nozzle stub in said bore, through said bore and exiting said bore to the exterior of said vessel;
• a mechanical coupling of said partial nozzle to said vessel operative to provide a mechanical attachment of said partial nozzle to said vessel, said mechanical coupling not including a weld between said partial nozzle and said vessel and comprising bolts threaded to said vessel, a flange and a coupling of said bolts to said flange and a coupling of said flange to said partial nozzle;
• and
• a mechanical seal of said partial nozzle to said vessel.

The combination of an initial installation, replacement or repair nozzle assembly and an ASME pressure vessel having a bore, comprising:

• a nozzle extending from and exiting said bore to the exterior of said vessel, said nozzle being attached to said vessel;
• a mechanical seal in said bore between said nozzle and said vessel;
• and
• structure forming a leak path along which any liquid in said bore which leaks past said mechanical seal in said bore can flow to the exterior of said vessel, said structure forming at least one passage having a circumferential width of substantially less than 360 degrees through which leaking liquid can be channeled.

The combination of a nozzle assembly and a pressure vessel of a nuclear power facility having a bore, comprising:

• a nozzle extending from and exiting said bore to the exterior of said vessel;
• a mechanical coupling of said nozzle to said vessel operative to provide for a mechanical attachment of said nozzle to said vessel, said mechanical coupling not including a weld between said nozzle and said vessel;
• and
• an anti-rotation device coupled to at least one part of said nozzle and to said vessel without a weld to said vessel to resist rotation of said at least one part in said bore.

The combination of a nozzle and an ASME pressure vessel having a bore, said nozzle being welded to said vessel and passing through said bore, said bore having a diameter slightly larger than a diameter of said nozzle adjacent the interior of said vessel and a diameter substantially larger than a diameter of said nozzle adjacent the exterior of said vessel, said nozzle being welded to said vessel at the opening of said bore to the vessel interior;

• said combination comprising:
• a sleeve extending into said bore surrounding a substantial portion of said nozzle in said bore where the diameter thereof is substantially larger than the diameter of said nozzle;
• a mechanical coupling of said sleeve to said vessel and said mechanical coupling not including a weld;
• a mechanical seal of said sleeve to said vessel within said bore surrounding said nozzle.

A method of mechanically attaching and mechanically sealing a nozzle welded to a pressure vessel of a nuclear power facility which extends into a bore of the vessel and exteriorly of the vessel, comprising:

• enlarging the diameter of the bore to be substantially larger than that of the nozzle for a portion thereof adjacent the exterior of the vessel;
• mechanically attaching a sleeve to the vessel which extends into the bore surrounding a substantial portion of the nozzle in the enlarged bore;
• and
• mechanically sealing the sleeve within the bore surrounding the existing nozzle.

A method of partially replacing an existing nozzle in a pressure vessel of a nuclear power facility which is welded to the vessel where the bore opens to the interior of the vessel, comprising:

• removing a portion of the existing nozzle adjacent the exterior of the vessel and leaving a nozzle stub welded to the vessel where the bore opens to the interior of the vessel and extending part way into the bore;
• mechanically attaching a partial nozzle to the vessel extending from adjacent said nozzle stub in the bore, through the bore and exiting the bore to the exterior of the vessel;
• and
• mechanically sealing the partial nozzle to the vessel solely within the bore.

The combination of an initial installation, replacement or repair nozzle assembly and an ASME pressure vessel having a bore, comprising:

• a nozzle stub which opens to the interior of said vessel and extends therefrom part way into said bore, said nozzle stub being welded to said vessel where said bore opens to the interior of said vessel, and a partial nozzle extending from adjacent said nozzle stub in said bore, through said bore and exiting said bore to the exterior of said vessel, said partial nozzle being attached to said vessel;
• a mechanical seal in said bore between said partial nozzle and said vessel;
• and
• structure forming a leak path along which any liquid in said bore which leaks past said mechanical seal in said bore can flow to the exterior of said vessel.

The combination of a nozzle assembly and an ASME pressure vessel having a bore, comprising:

• a nozzle which opens to the interior of said vessel and extends therefrom in said bore, through said bore and exits said bore to the exterior of said vessel;
• a mechanical coupling of said nozzle to said vessel operative to provide for a mechanical attachment of said nozzle to said vessel, said mechanical coupling not including a weld between said nozzle and said vessel, said mechanical coupling comprising bolts threaded to said vessel and a flange, and including a coupling of said bolts to said flange and a coupling of said flange to said nozzle;
• and
• a mechanical, non-welded seal of said nozzle to said vessel.

The combination of an initial installation, replacement or repair nozzle assembly and an ASME pressure vessel having a bore and adapted to contain a corrosive liquid therein without corroding the interior of said vessel, comprising:

• a nozzle extending from and exiting said bore to the exterior of said vessel, said nozzle being attached to said vessel;
• a mechanical seal in said bore between said nozzle and said vessel;
• and
• structure forming a leak path along which any liquid in said bore which leaks past said mechanical seal in said bore can flow to the exterior of said vessel, said structure forming said leak path which comes into contact with any liquid flowing in said leak path being resistant to corrosion by the corrosive liquid which said vessel is adapted to contain.