Patent ID: 9335296
Filing Date: 2016-05-10
CPC Classification: G01M,G01N

Claim Text:
1. A method of employing at least one robotically controlled eddy current sensor and at least one digital computing device to non-destructively assess a current condition of a number of tubes of a steam generator of a nuclear power plant, the method comprising: collecting at a first time with a digital computing device and using an eddy current sensor received in and robotically advanced through each of at least some of the number of tubes, a historic data set at a U-bend region for each of at least some of the number of tubes, including signals generated by geometric aspects of the U-bend region; collecting at a second time with a digital computing device and using an eddy current sensor received in and robotically advanced through each of at least some of the number of tubes, a current data set at a U-bend region for each of at least some of the number of tubes, including signals generated by U-bend structures; combining at least a portion of the historic data set into a corresponding at least portion of the current data set with a digital computing device, comprising; generating the duplicate copy separate from the historic data set and the current data set representative of a change in condition of a tube of the number of tubes between the first time and the second time.