Patent Number: 046506390
Section: claims

1. In a pressurized water nuclear reactor having vertical flat partitions extending substantially the height of a reactor core and surrounding said core, said partitions being joined at right angles in pairs so as to constitute a partitioning whose horzontal cross-section is substantially a polygon contiguously surrounding said core which has a corresponding shaped horizontal cross-section, apparatus for eliminating leakage spaces between said partition joins while said joins are under water, said water extending upwards to a predetermined height above said partitions, said apparatus being constituted by a tooling movable in the vertical direction on a mast (100) submerged in said water, said mast being fixed to a horizontally movable carriage located above said predetermined water level, said tooling comprising; (a) a case (25) whose front face intended to approach the join between the partitions (1a, 1b) includes an opening (29) for the passage of tools from inside the case (25) to the join region of the partitions (1a, 1b) and at least one stop (27, 30) for positioning the case (25) with respect to the partitions (1) and for putting the case (25) in contact with one of the partitions;  (b) a drum (36) rotatable inside the case (25) about an axis perpendicular to its front face, bearing tools for boring, (54, 65), screw-threading (72), cleaning (73), and screwing (74) and a punch (75) for expanding the screw, rotation of the drum (36) and positioning of the tools in the service position opposite the opening (29) of the case being obtained by means of driving means (40, 43) borne by the case (25) and by means of a means for locking the drum against rotation;  (c) an actuator (45) for driving the tools in the axial direction of the drum (36) solid with the case (25), whose rod is connected to a driving member (47) coming to engage with the tools in their service position;  (d) an hydraulic motor (63) solid with the case (25) to rotate the tools, via gears (60, 61, 62, 70) mounted on the drum (36); and  (e) a magazine (31) containing expansion screws (80) whose outlet part opens into a loader (32) provided with an actuator (33) for introducing the screws (80) inside the case (25) by pushing, into a tube (86) solid with the drum, inside which the screwing means (74) moves. 2. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized by the fact that the drum (36) bears six tools (54, 65, 72, 73, 74, 75) disposed at 60.degree. with respect to the rotation of this drum (36), these tools being successively a first drill (54) allowing boring of the partitions (1), a second drill (65) allowing widening of the hole inside one (1a) of the two partitions, a tool (72) for screw-threading the hole inside the second partition (1b), a tube (73) for cleaning the hole supplied with pressurized water for recovering swarf inside the case (25), a screwdriver (74) with an end profiled to engage with the screw (80) and a punch (75) for displacing the rod (84) inside the screw (80).