Patent ID: 11898986
Assignee: WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC COMPANY LLC
Field: Measurement (Instruments)
Classification: CPC G | IPC G

Claim 0:
1. A method of employing at least one eddy current sensor and at least one digital computing device to non-destructively assess a tube of a steam generator of a nuclear power plant, the method comprising:
generating a database, wherein generating the database comprises:
collecting initial eddy current data for the tube;
storing, by the at least one digital computing device, the initial eddy current data in the database;
collecting first additional eddy current data for the tubes at a first time after the initial eddy current data is collected;
storing, by the at least one digital computing device, the first additional eddy current data in the database;
comparing a signal characteristic of the initial eddy current data with a corresponding signal characteristic of the first additional eddy current data; and
storing results of the comparison in the database;

determining a normal signal characteristic variance based on the stored results of the comparison;
collecting second additional eddy current data for the tube at a second time after the first additional eddy current data is collected, wherein collecting the initial eddy current data, the first additional eddy current data and the second additional eddy current data comprises using at least one robotically-controlled advancement mechanism to advance the at least one eddy current sensor through the tube;
determining an abnormal signal characteristic variance based on the normal signal characteristic variance and a signal characteristic variance of the second additional eddy current data; and
determining a physical region of interest of the tube for manual evaluation by an analyst based on a geometry of the region of interest of the tube, the initial eddy current data, the first additional eddy current data, and the collected second additional eddy current data, wherein the physical region of interest is a portion of the tube.