PETER MICHAEL PATTERSON, II
Pilots at Hazel St, Livermore, CA

4826650, May 2, 1989

May 13, 1987

7/049243

David L. Richardson - Los Gatos CA
Jack P. Clark - San Jose CA
Peter M. Patterson - Livermore CA
Richard W. Perry - San Jose CA

General Electric Company - San Jose CA

G21C 1700

376249

In a boiling water reactor, an apparatus and process for ultrasound inspection of the top guide is disclosed. The top guide constitutes a lattice of stainless steel bars overlying the core plate and being assembled at confronting grooves with the lattice mounted at the side edges to the reactor pressure vessel. This lattice braces the upper ends of the vertically supported fuel assemblies in their requisite orientation and spaced apart relation to enable among other things the required spatial interval to be maintained for control rod moderation of the reaction. Because of the proximity of the top guide to the fuel assemblies, the individual bars making up the lattice need to be checked for cracking, especially that cracking produced by irradiation assisted stress crack corrosion. With a defined cell in the lattice emptied of its contained and adjoining fuel assemblies, there is disclosed an ultrasound test for cracking. A sound transducer on a first special frame sweeps horizontally across the top of a bar interrogating the bar with vertical ultrasound waves for detecting horizontal cracks.

6298727, Oct 9, 2001

Oct 18, 2000

9/692827

Marvin F. Fleming - Los Altos CA
Peter M. Patterson - Livermore CA

Sierra Matrix, Inc. - Fremont CA

G01N 2914

73644

An acoustic inspection device having a transducer housing opening to a face of the device to be disposed opposite a workpiece to be inspected. That face of the device having selectively located multi-piece flexible material of a selected length extending outward therefrom disposed to interface with the surface of the workpiece. A first portion of the flexible material is supplied to create, and surround, a region close to the opening of the transducer housing with a plurality of couplant supply ports around the transducer opening to form a chamber into which couplant is continuously supplied to couple the transducer to the surface of the workpiece. A second portion of the flexible material being spaced outward from, and surrounding, the first of the flexible material to create another chamber having vacuum ports in the face of the device opening into that chamber to recover couplant that leaks through the first portion of the flexible material from the couplant chamber. The flexible material is also provided to automatically locally adjust to the uneven surface of the workpiece while maintaining contact to that surface. To permit the use of the device in any orientation from horizontal, through various angles, to fully inverted, the couplant is provided independent of gravity feed with the vacuum being sufficient to recover the leaked couplant in any orientation of the device.

4966746, Oct 30, 1990

Jan 3, 1989

7/293158

David L. Richardson - Los Gatos CA
Jack P. Clark - San Jose CA
Balasubramanian S. Kowdley - San Jose CA
Peter M. Patterson - Livermore CA
Richard W. Perry - San Jose CA
Thurman D. Smith - San Jose CA

General Electric Company - San Jose CA

G21C 1700

376249

In operation, the device is lowered with paired lines attached to both housing lugs but suspended under tension only from one line to one lug so that the streamline housing is vertically disposed. With the housing vertically disposed during lowering, obstacles can be avoided such as the guide rod for the steam separator and dryer as well as the feedwater and core spray spargers. When lowered to the vicinity of the ledge and cover plate to be inspected, the slack line is fished around any obstacle and thereafter placed under tension. The streamline housing is then lowered using both lines in a horizontal position so as to expose downwardly the pedestal and rubber foot. Lowering is completed with remote camera assistance. Sample sweeps with the ultrasound transducer of spaced apart sections of the cover plate weld are used for precise centering of the pedestal and rubber base with respect to the center of the cover plate. Repeatedly logging a longitudinal excursion of the ultrasound detector with indexed rotation of the housing permits scanning entirely around the weld of the cover plate.

5009105, Apr 23, 1991

Feb 7, 1990

7/476086

David L. Richardson - Los Gatos CA
Jack P. Clark - San Jose CA
Balasubramanian S. Kowdley - San Jose CA
Peter M. Patterson - Livermore CA
Richard W. Perry - San Jose CA
Thurman D. Smith - San Jose CA

General Electric Company - San Jose CA

G01N 2904

73621

An apparatus and process for the remote inspection for stress corrosion cracking of welded shut boiling water reactor shroud access cover plates is disclosed. The apparatus consists of a streamline housing having a top side with lugs for the attachment of lowering lines on either end of the housing. Medially of the streamline housing and projecting downwardly from the bottom of the streamline housing, there is provided a central rotating pedestal with a rubber base. The rotating pedestal and rubber base enable the entire housing to rest on and rotate relative to the pedestal and rubber base. A first motor interior of the housing rotates the housing at a bevel gear rigidly mounted to the central pedestal. A second motor rotates a threaded shaft driving a ball screw with an attached mount for an ultrasound transducer. The mount and transducer responsive to rotation of the ball screw traverse along the elongate dimension of the housing over an opening through the bottom of the housing.

4548785, Oct 22, 1985

Dec 14, 1982

6/449651

David L. Richardson - Los Gatos CA
Peter M. Patterson - Livermore CA
Jack P. Clark - San Jose CA
Scott R. Stanton - San Jose CA
Richard W. Perry - San Jose CA

General Electric Company - San Jose CA

G21C 1700

376249

Apparatus for remotely controlled examination of the control rod drive penetration stub tubes in the wall of a nuclear reactor pressure vessel including a rotatable carriage on which is mounted a reciprocable shaft to which is attached an inspection instrument for scanning the stub tubes.