Garter Spring Detection via Diameter Data Shape Fitting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for detecting garter springs in nuclear reactor pressure tubes are inefficient, as they fail to accurately process diameter data to identify all support structures without extensive processing, leading to missed detections.
Innovation Solution
A method involving fitting diameter data to shapes, determining residual errors, and associating these errors with axial positions to locate garter springs, utilizing a processor and computer-readable medium to enhance detection accuracy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional diameter data collection methods are used, then data can be obtained without complex processing, but detection accuracy is insufficient and garter springs are missed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by performing shape fitting to diameter data before final analysis. The method fits an ellipse or circle to the diameter measurements at each axial position, creating a baseline geometric model. This preliminary processing step establishes expected diameter values and orientations, which are then used to identify deviations caused by garter springs. By preparing this reference model in advance, the detection process can efficiently compare actual measurements against the fitted shape to locate support structures.
2Reliability
If extensive data processing is performed to improve detection accuracy, then more garter springs can be detected, but processing time and computational resources increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the extraction principle by isolating and analyzing specific geometric features from the diameter data. Instead of processing all raw diameter measurements equally, the method extracts key parameters from the shape fitting process—such as ellipse orientation, major and minor axes, and residual deviations. By focusing computational effort on these extracted features rather than the complete raw dataset, the system achieves reliable garter spring detection while reducing overall processing time and computational resource requirements.
3Measurement precision
If simple data analysis is used, then processing is faster, but noise prevents accurate identification of garter springs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by transforming the diameter data into different geometric parameters through shape fitting. The raw diameter measurements are converted into ellipse parameters including orientation angle, major axis length, minor axis length, and center position. This parameter transformation effectively separates signal from noise because the geometric parameters capture the systematic variations caused by garter springs while filtering out random measurement noise. The fitted shape parameters provide a cleaner representation that enhances detection capability without requiring complex filtering algorithms.
Data Source
AI summary
While typically-collected diameter data contains information for detecting some garter springs, many garter springs may not be detected without processing the diameter data. Responsively, a method for processing the diameter data to detect the garter springs has been developed. In particular, the processing involves fitting of the diameter data to a shape, determining residual errors and using the residual errors to locate garter springs.