Sliding lance guide flexible lance system

Abstract: A sliding lance guide flexible lance system (10) is attached to a hand hole (12) of a nuclear power plant steam generator by means of flange (14) of tilt module (16). A rail (18) extends from the tilt module (16) to a support stand (20) and is attached to the stand (20) by a pivot (22) so that the rail (18) is free to rotate with the tilt module (16). A tilt drive motor (24) is attached to the tilt module (16). A flexible lance (26) extends into the rail (18) for extension through a lance guide shoe (27). The lance guide shoe (27) deflects the lance from the rail (18) into the tube gap of the steam generator. The lance guide shoe (27) is slideably mounted in the rail (18), and is attached to a lance guide belt (30), which extends within and along the rail (18). Similarly, the flexible lance (26) extends within and along the rail (18). A lance guide belt sprocket drive (40) is mounted on support (33) to engage the lance guide belt (30). A similar flexible lance sprocket drive (42) is mounted on the support (33) to engage the flexible lance (26).

Description: This invention relates to a flexible lance system for accessing an assembly having a difficult to access geometry, the system comprising a flexible member having a distal end and being configured to be driven into the difficult to access geometry, a support rail, and a rigid guide extending lengthwise of the flexible member and being mounted to the support rail, the flexible member being movably mounted along the rigid guide. Such a system is described in WO-A-90 09850. In the system as disclosed in WO-A-90 09850, a flexible lance transporter having drive motors and positioning sensors mounted on the transporter is inserted through an access port known as a hand hole of a steam generator into a blow down lane, which runs down the center of a tube bundle in the steam generator. In order to accommodate the geometry of the transporter and a support rail for the transporter, it is necessary that the hand hole have a diameter which is about three times the height of the flexible lance driven through the flexible lance transporter. Thus, for a flexible lance having a height of 5.08 cm (two inches), a hand hole having a diameter of 15.24 cm (six inches) is required with the system of WO-A-90 09850. A substantial proportion of nuclear power plant steam generators have hand holes of sufficient diameter to accommodate the transporter and its support rail. The flexible lance system as described in WO-A-90 09850 has proved to be of substantial benefit in such steam generators having large enough hand holes to accommodate the transporter and its support rail. However, many such steam generators lack large enough hand holes for this purpose. It would be desirable to provide the benefit of a flexible lance system in steam generators lacking such large hand holes as well. Nuclear power generation equipment of the pressurized water reactor type consists of two major parts, the reactor and the steam generator. The steam generator includes a heat exchanger, which, in simple terms, consists of a bundle of thin wall tubes, which are tightly spaced and arranged in a matrix-like fashion. The spacing between the tubes is less than 1.27 cm (0.5 inches), and the tube height extends to tens of feet (1 foot = 30.48 cm) . Hot reactor coolant is pumped through the tubes, which in turn heats water under pressure above the boiling point to several hundred degrees, thus generating steam. In the operation of the steam generator, sludge deposits build up between the tubes. The steam generator needs to be cleaned periodically in order to remove these sludge deposits. According to the present invention a system of the kind defined hereinbefore at the beginning is characterised in that the rigid guide is mounted within the support rail and has an end positioned to turn the flexible member in a predetermined angle with respect to an extending direction of the flexible member as the flexible member passes from the rigid guide through the said end, a first drive means external of the assembly having the difficult to access geometry is provided for driving the flexible member through said rigid guide, and a second drive means external of the assembly having the difficult to access geometry is provided for driving the rigid guide along the support rail. A preferred embodiment of this invention provides the following: a flexible lance system for accessing such difficult to access geometrics as steam generators of nuclear power plants which is universally applicable to different steam generators and other difficult to access geometries; a flexible lance system usable with smaller access holes to the steam generators and other difficult to access geometries than previous flexible lance systems; a flexible lance system in which it is not necessary to insert drive motors or sensors for the system inside the steam generator or other difficult to access geometry; a flexible lance system in which the flexible lance is inserted into the steam generator within, rather than suspended from, a support rail. A preferred embodiment of the invention takes the form of a robotic system that is useful in nuclear power plants and other structures with a difficult to access geometry. The preferred system inserts a flexible lance into tube gaps of a steam generator, and similar difficult to access geometries, and is usable with difficult to access geometries having small access ports, known as hand holes in the case of steam generators for nuclear power plants. The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a sliding lance guide flexible lance system in accordance with the invention. Figure 2 is a perspective view of a portion of the sliding lance guide flexible lance system shown in Figure 1, with a partial cutaway to show interior detail. Figure 3 is a cross section view, taken along the line 3-3 in Figure 1. Figure 4 is an exploded perspective view of the sliding lance guide flexible lance system shown in Figure 1. Figure 5 is a cross section view, taken along the line 5-5 in Figure 4. Figure 6 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the portion of the sliding lance guide flexible lance system shown in Figure 2. Figure 7 is an exploded perspective view similar to that of Figure 4, but of another embodiment of the sliding lance guide flexible lance system. Figure 8 is a side view of the flexible lance shown in Figures 1-4 and 7. Figure 9 is a top view of the flexible lance of Figure 8. Figure 10 is a front view of the flexible lance of Figures 8-9. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Turning now to the drawings, more particularly to Figures 1-4, there is shown a sliding lance guide flexible lance system 10 attached to a hand hole 12 of a nuclear power plant steam generator by means of flange 14 of tilt module 16. Details of the nuclear power plant steam generator useful for a further upderstanding of the invention are contained in WO 90 09850. A rail 18 extends from the tilt module 16 to a support stand 20 in the blowdown lane 21 (Figure 3) inside the steam generator. The rail 18 is attached to the stand 20 by a pivot 22 so that the rail 18 is free to rotate with the tilt module 16. A tilt drive motor 24 is attached to the tilt module 16. As is further shown in Figure 2, a flexible lance 26 of the type described in WO 90 09850 extends into the rail 18 for extension through a lance guide shoe 27 having a lance guide nose 28. The function of the lance guide shoe 27 is to deflect the lance off of the rail 18 and into the tube gap. The lance guide shoe 27 is slideably mounted in the rail 18, and is attached to a lance guide belt 30, which extends within and along the rail 18, through the tilt module 16, and into a lance guide belt accumulator 32 attached to support 33 (see also Figures 3-4). Similarly, the flexible lance 26 extends within and along the rail 18, through the tilt module 16, and into a flexible lance accumulator 34, also attached to the support 33. As is best shown in Figures 4 and 5, the support 33 is attached to the rail 18 by means of locking pin 35 through mating apertures 36 in interlocking projections 38. A lance guide belt sprocket drive 40 is mounted on the support 33 to engage sprocket holes 41 in the lance guide belt 30. A similar flexible lance sprocket drive 42 is mounted on the support 33 to engage hosebar supports 43 (Figure 2) by means of spaces 45 between the hosebar supports 43 of the flexible lance 26. A lance manifold 44 is attached to the flexible lance accumulator 34 and is connected to the flexible lance 26 to supply pressurized water and other pressurized fluids to the flexible lance 26. The flexible lance 26 has a nozzle block 46 (Figure 2) having a plurality of nozzles 48 for directing jets of the pressurized water against sludge deposits between tubes 50 (Figure 3) of the steam generator. The nozzle block 46 also incorporates a miniature VideoProbe camera 49 connected to a cable extending through the flexible lance 26 and an optical fiber cable also extending through the flexible lance 26 for providing light to the field of view of the Videoprobe camera for inspecting the condition of the tubes 50 and the tube gaps. The lance guide belt 30 is flexible, but stiff enough when captured in grooves 51 of the support rail 18 so that longitudinal force imparted to it is transmitted to the lance guide shoe 27, in order to move the lance guide shoe 27 forward and back on the rail 18. A suitable material for the lance guide belt 30 is 1/16 inch thick hard nylon plastic strap, available commercially under the trademark Delrin. The lance guide shoe 27 is also conveniently fabricated from the hard nylon plastic. The tilt module 16, the lance guide belt drive 40 and the flexible lance drive 42 are all self-contained with their own DC motors, position sensors and power cables. The lance guide belt drive 40 and the flexible lance drive 42 incorporate two identical DC motors and position sensors. Drive sprockets and motors for the belt and lance drives 40 and 42 are geared so that the flexible lance 26 and the lance guide shoe 27 can have identical linear velocities and displacement control. Identical linear speed of the flexible lance 26 and the lance guide shoe 27 makes position control easier. The tilt module 16 incorporates a ring gear 52 (Figure 4), through which the rail 18 is mounted. The rail is made up of sections for installation with tight space restrictions in front of the hand hole 12 (outside the steam generator). The rail sections slip and pin together in the same manner as shown in Figures 4 and 5 for attaching the rail 18 to the support 33. Figure 6 shows another form of a lance guide shoe 60 that can be substituted for the lance guide shoe 27 in the Figures 1-5 embodiment. The lance guide shoe 60 includes a barrel spray unit 62 having a plurality of nozzles 64 which are used to spray soft sludge deposits between the tubes 50 from the blowdown lane 21 (Figure 3). The barrel spray unit 62 is connected to a water line 65 which extends along the lance guide belt 30. In order to allow the lance guide shoe 60 to work in blow down lanes that vary in width, lance guide nose 66 comprises two pieces 68 and 70 that slide relative to each other, allowing the nose 66 distance to the tubes 50 to be adjusted. Movement of the nose 66 is accomplished by an air cylinder 72 connected between the barrel spray unit 62 and nose piece 68. Flexible lance guide member 74 receives the flexible lance 26 and is connected to the nose 66. The lance guide shoe 60 has apertures 76 for connection of the lance guide shoe to the lance guide belt 30. Figure 7 shows a sliding lance guide system 80 including the lance guide shoe 60. Typically, the flexible lance is about 18 feet long and must be accumulated outside the hand hole 12 with restrictive space limitations. The accumulator 34 shown in Figure 4 for the flexible lance 26 is one way to store portions of the flexible lance 26 not inside the steam generator. Such storage can also be provided, if there is sufficient space, outside and above the steam generator hand hole 12. The alternative lance storage arrangement 82 for the flexible lance 26 includes reel 83 positioned straight back from support 84 and extends upward from the system 80. Overhead, the take-up system 82 consists of pulley 85, weight 87 and a support framework (not shown) which provides constant tension of the lance 26 so that it does not become entangled. The same type of take-up system (not shown) is provided for the soft sludge hose 65. The take-up arrangement 82 is used when there are no overhead restrictions above the hand hole 12. If such overhead restrictions prevent use of the take-up 82, the flexible lance accumulator 34 can be used. Flexible lance drive 86 has three sprocket wheels 88 for driving the flexible lance 26 through the lance guide shoe 60 and retracting it from the lance guide shoe 60. The lance drive belt 30 and the soft sludge hose 65 typically are about one-half the length of the flexible lance 26 and are easily accommodated in the lance drive belt accumulator 32 if an overhead take-up is not employed for the soft sludge hose 65. Other than as shown and described, the construction and operation of the Figures 6-7 embodiment of the invention is the same as that of the Figures 1-5 embodiment. Further details of the flexible lance 26 are shown in Figures 8-10. High pressure hoses 134, nitrogen purge line 136 and VideoProbe fiber optics cable 132 are supported by the plurality of separate spacerless hosebar structures 43. The hosebar structures 43 are integrally formed from a flexible plastic material, such as a hard nylon (available under the trademark Delrin) in a single piece. The hosebar structures 43 include upper and lower, faceted, longitudinally extending separate, faceted shapes 148 defining strips 140 and 142 enclosing flexible safety cables 144 and 146, which provide structural strength to the flexible lance 26. Each repeating faceted shape 148 of the strips 140 or 142 is connected to an opposing faceted shape 148 on the other strip 142 or 140 by a vertical bar 150. The vertical bars 150 have passages 152 through which the hoses 134, cable 132 and line 136 pass. The vertical bars 150 define slots 154 beside the strips 140 and 142, which interact with sprocket wheels for driving the flexible lance 26 through the lance guide 27. End hosebar structure 43 is attached to the nozzle block 46 on the front of the flexible lance 26. The nozzle block 46 has a plurality of removable, precision machined, high pressure orifices 48 connected to the high pressure water hoses 134 to provide water jets 160 for removing the sludge deposits. The middle water jets 160 converge for maximum sludge removal effect. A nitrogen nozzle 162 is directed at lens 164 of VideoProbe camera system 49. The fiber optics cable 132 of the VideoProbe camera system 49 provides illumination from a remote light source for making an area adjacent to the nozzle block 46 inside the tube bundle visible. In use of the systems 10 and 80, rail 18 is sectioned and installed as sections, each of a length dependent on the space available in front of the hand hole 12 outside the steam generator. The tilt module 16 is attached to the hand hole flange after the rail 18 has been installed. Lance and belt drive module 90 or 92, containing the support 33 or 84, flexible lance drive 42 or 86, the lance guide belt drive 40, and the accumulators 30 and 34 or take-up 82 for the flexible lance 26, the lance guide belt 30 and the soft sludge hose 65, is attached to the rail 18. The lance guide shoe 27 or 60 resides with the lance and belt drive module 90 or 92, as shown in figure 7 for the lance guide shoe 60, ready to move down the rail 18 once the module 90 or 92 is attached to the rail 18. Once all manifold lines, video lines, power and control cables are attached, the system 10 or 80 is ready to function. The lance guide shoe 27 or 60 lines the flexible lance 26 up with the tube gap, and while the lance guide shoe 27 or 60 is held stationary, the flexible lance 26 is pushed into the tube gap. After the flexible lance 26 is pulled back into the lance guide shoe 27 or 60, the lance guide shoe 27 or 60 moves on to the next tube gap. It should now be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that a novel flexible lance system for accessing assemblies having a difficult to access geometries capable of achieving the stated objects of the invention has been provided. The flexible lance system for accessing such difficult to access geometries as steam generators of nuclear power plants is universally applicable to different steam generators and other difficult to access geometries. The flexible lance system is usable with smaller access holes to the steam generators and other difficult to access geometries than previous flexible lance systems. In this flexible lance system it is not necessary to insert drive motors or sensors for the system inside the steam generator or other difficult to access geometry. With this flexible lance system the flexible lance is inserted into the steam generator within, rather than suspended from, a support rail. The systems 10 and 80 can be used with a flexible lance incorporating a foreign object search and retrieval apparatus as described in our co-pending European patent application no. 92 303 994.5.

Claims: A flexible lance system for accessing an assembly having a difficult to access geometry, the system comprising a flexible member (26) having a distal end and being configured to be driven into the difficult to access geometry, a support rail (18), and a rigid guide (27) extending lengthwise of the flexible member (26) and being mounted to the support rail (18), the flexible member (26) being movably mounted along the rigid guide (27), characterised in that the rigid guide (27) is mounted within the support rail (18) and has an end (28) positioned to turn the flexible member (26) in a predetermined angle with respect to an extending direction of the flexible member (26) as the flexible member (26) passes from the rigid guide (27) through the said end (28), a first drive means (42) external of the assembly having the difficult to access geometry is provided for driving the flexible member (26) through said rigid guide (27), and a second drive means (30,40) external of the assembly having the difficult to access geometry is provided for driving the rigid guide (27) along the support rail (28). A system according to claim 1, characterised in that the rigid guide (27) is slidably mounted in the support rail (18). A system according to claim 2, characterised in that the second drive means comprises a flexible belt (30) connected to the rigid guide (27) and having sufficient stiffness when captured in the support rail (18) so that longitudinal force imparted to the flexible belt (30) is transmitted to the rigid guide (27). A system according to claim 3, characterised in that the first drive means comprises a first drive motor and a first sprocket drive (42) positioned along the flexible member (26). A system according to claim 4, characterised by a first accumulator (34) for the flexible member (26) adjacent to the first drive means (42). A system according to claim 5, characterised in that the second drive means comprises a second drive motor and a second sprocket drive (40) positioned along the flexible belt (30). A system according to claim 6, characterised by a second accumulator (32) for the flexible belt (30) adjacent to the second drive means (40). A system according to claim 6, characterised in that the first and second drive motors and the first and second sprocket drives (42,40) are configured so that the flexible member (26) and the flexible belt (30) can have the same linear velocities and position controls. A system according to claim 6, characterised by a rotatable member (52), the support rail (18) being fixedly attached to the rotatable member (52), and a third drive means (24) external of the assembly having the difficult to access geometry connected to rotate the rotatable member (52). A system according to claim 9, characterised by a means (14) for attaching the rotatable member (52) at an access opening (12) for the assembly having a difficult to access geometry. A system according to claim 9, characterised by a support stand (20), the support rail (18) being pivotally connected to the support stand (20) remote from the rotatable member (52). A system according to claim 1, characterised in that the flexible member (26) comprises separate segments (43) strung on at least one flexible cable (144) which runs the length of the flexible member (26). A system according to claim 1, characterised by a nozzle block (46) at the distal end of the flexible member (26), the nozzle block (46) having a first plurality of nozzles (48) for directing pressurized water at a desired location within the assembly having a difficult to access geometry, and a first pressurized water line (134) extending longitudinally along the flexible member (26). A system according to claim 13, characterised by a spray unit (62) attached to the rigid guide and having a second plurality of nozzles (64) for directing water at a second desired location within the assembly having a difficult to access geometry, and a second pressurized water line (65) connected to the spray unit (62). A system according to claim 1, characterised in that the support rail (18) comprises a plurality of linked together sections. A system according to claim 1, characterised in that the rigid guide includes a laterally extending nose (28) through which the flexible member (26) extends. A system according to claim 16, characterised in that an extending direction of the nose is adjustable. A system according to claim 1, characterised by an optical cable (132) extending lengthwise along and within the flexible member (26) for illuminating a portion of the difficult to access geometry, a video cable (132), and a video camera (49) connected to the video cable (132) at the distal end of the flexible member (26) for forming an image of a scene visible from the distal end of the flexible member (26) for transmission by the video cable (132).

Inventors: BELKUS PAUL R, JENS STEPHEN C, LEE ROBERT A S, SAWAF BERNARD, VIOLA PAUL F, BELKUS, PAUL R., JENS, STEPHEN C., LEE, ROBERT A.S., SAWAF, BERNARD, VIOLA, PAUL F.
Applicants: ELECTRIC POWER RES INST, ELECTRIC POWER RESEARCH INSTITUTE, INC.
Application year: 1992
Main classification: F22B37
IPC codes: G21C19, F28G15, G21D1, F22B37