JAMES ALBERT NEUNER
Engineers in Gibsonia, PA

4582672, Apr 15, 1986

Aug 11, 1982

6/407231

Charles R. Tuley - Penn Township, Westmoreland County PA
Douglas A. Bauman - Murrysville PA
Michal M. Feilchenfeld - Pittsburgh PA
Lesley Greenberg - Monroeville PA
James A. Neuner - Gibsonia PA

Westinghouse Electric Corp. - Pittsburgh PA

G21C 1700

376254

An inadvertent approach to criticality in a nuclear fueled electric power generating unit is detected and an alarm is generated through on-line monitoring of the neutron flux. The difficulties of accurately measuring the low levels of neutron flux in a subcritical reactor are overcome by the use of a microcomputer which continuously generates average flux count rate signals for incremental time periods from thousands of samples taken during each such period and which serially stores the average flux count rate signals for a preselected time interval. At the end of each incremental time period, the microcomputer compares the latest average flux count rate signal with the oldest, and preferably each of the intervening stored values, and if it exceeds any of them by at least a preselected multiplication factor, an alarm is generated. The interval and multiplication factor are chosen such that an alarm is generated early enough in the event to provide adequate time for an automatic system or the operator to take action which prevents the reactor from going critical yet minimizes the likelihood of a spurious response. As applied to a pressurized water reactor system, boron dilution events are detected in time that the chemical and volume control system can be isolated and the valves for the refueling water storage tank can be opened to inject highly borated water into the reactor coolant system to keep the reactor subcritical.

4194183, Mar 18, 1980

Nov 8, 1974

5/522190

James A. Neuner - Gibsonia PA
Charles W. Einolf - Export PA
Andras I. Szabo - Export PA

Westinghouse Electric Corp. - Pittsburgh PA

H03K 1302

340347AD

A method is described for electrically converting an analog signal into a digital representation in a manner that maximizes noise rejection. The digital representation is formed from a preselected number of discrete points corresponding to sampled approximations of the analog signal. In establishing the magnitudes of the respective points, digital samples of the analog signal are taken at a predetermined number of discrete coordinates along the analog signal on either side of the respective discrete points. The predetermined number of coordinates are averaged and employed as corresponding approximations for the respective discrete points in the digital representative reproduction of the analog signal. The effects of harmonics of power line frequencies associated with processing electrical equipment are minimized by sampling the discrete coordinates for a particular point over an integral number of cycles of the power line frequency. In addition, noise having a high frequency, low duty cycle can be minimized by sampling a relatively large number of discrete coordinates over a period substantially greater than the occurrence of the noise.

4308098, Dec 29, 1981

Sep 21, 1978

5/944497

James A. Neuner - Gibsonia PA
Charles W. Einolf - Export PA
Andras I. Szabo - Export PA

Westinghouse Electric Corp. - Pittsburgh PA

G21C 1700, H03K 1302

376254

A method is described for electrically converting an analog signal into a digital representation in a manner that maximizes noise rejection. The digital representation is formed from a preselected number of discrete points corresponding to sampled approximations of the analog signal. In establishing the magnitudes of the respective points, digital samples of the analog signal are taken at a predetermined number of discrete coordinates along the analog signal on either side of the respective discrete points. The predetermined number of coordinates are averaged and employed as corresponding approximations for the respective discrete points in the digital representative reproduction of the analog signal. The effects of harmonics of power line frequencies associated with processing electrical equipment are minimized by sampling the discrete coordinates for a particular point over an integral number of cycles of the power line frequency. In addition, noise having a high frequency, low duty cycle can be minimized by sampling a relatively large number of discrete coordinates over a period substantially greater than the occurrence of the noise.

4255234, Mar 10, 1981

Oct 12, 1978

5/950650

James A. Neuner - Gibsonia PA
Robert M. Oates - Murrysville PA

Westinghouse Electric Corp. - Pittsburgh PA

G21C 1700

176 19R

In a nuclear reactor flux mapping system consisting of two operationally independent electronic subsystems for controlling the positioning of separate groups of in-core detectors within core thimbles, a communications link is provided between the two subsystems to enable one subsystem and its associated group of detectors to assume the flux mapping responsibility of the other subsystem in the event of a subsystem malfunction.