Patent ID: 8701258
Filing Date: 2014-04-22
Classification: B23K,G21C,Y02E,Y10T

Abstract:
1. A method of repairing a weld connection in a jet pump diffuser using a weld repair device including a lower ring section and an upper ring section, the method comprising: forming pockets in an exterior surface of the diffuser on opposite sides of the weld to be repaired; fitting a plurality of grippers into a corresponding plurality of aligned gripper slots in the lower ring section and the upper ring section, wherein at least one of the gripper slots and the grippers defines cam surfaces shaped to drive the grippers radially inward as the lower and upper ring sections are drawn toward each other; placing the lower ring section and the upper ring section around a circumference of the diffuser on opposite sides of the weld, respectively, with lugs on the grippers engaging the pockets; and tightening connector bolts secured between the lower ring section and the upper ring section to draw the lower and upper ring sections toward each other, wherein the step of forming pockets is practiced by selecting pocket locations above and below the weld that result in no relative differential expansion between the weld repair device and the jet pump diffuser.