The NM200E Core Verification System is a revolutionary technology that enables nuclear plant operators to accurately measure the positions of all fuel assemblies in a PWR reactor at the end of an outage. Developed by Newton Labs in partnership with a major U.S. nuclear utility, the NM200E produces a precise global map of fuel assembly s-hole positions, including any degree of misalignment or top nozzle rotation and compares them with the ideal positions established by plant engineers. The accuracy of the NM200E is derived from sophisticated, Newton-developed software that compensate for the visually distorting thermal turbulence and use the core baffles as positional references. In addition to accuracy, the NM200E features a considerably rapid mapping time of two hours or less.

1. NM200E
Core Verification System
The revolutionary nuclear fuel mapping system
-1- 1/3/2012

2. Newton Labs
• Established in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1990 as an offshoot of the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.) and moved to Seattle in
1995
• Specializes in machine vision and robotics with an emphasis on automation
• Many of Newton’s projects are the first-of-their-kind in the world
• Newton engineers and staff design and manufacture all their own machine
vision and robotics software and virtually all of their own hardware,
including controllers, electronics, machine control and mechanics.
• The NM200E Core Verification System resulted from a 2008 partnership
with Exelon
2 1/3/2012

3. Overview
• An Industry Opportunity
o The Challenge: Accurately Mapping PWRs
• The Newton / Exelon Objective
o Design Objectives of the Newton Core Verification System
• The Newton Solution
o Newton Fuel Mapping Solution
o NM200E Core Verification System
o Details About the Components
• Deploying The Newton NM200E Solution
o Deployment Examples
o Mounting the Mapping Head
o Sequence of Operation
o Required Information
o Contact Information
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4. An Industry Opportunity
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5. The Challenge: Accurately Mapping PWR Rx Internals
• Visual inspection methods are imprecise and can allow misaligned fuel
assemblies to be overlooked or misjudged with results like the following:
o November 2009 – Oconee, USA, fuel damage
o September 2009 - Gravelines, France,, fuel assembly lifted while removing
upper internals
o September 2008 & May 2009 - Tricastin, France, lifted assemblies
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6. The Newton / Exelon Objective
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7. Design Objectives of the Newton Core Verification System
• Develop an automatic, machine vision mapping system for Westinghouse and
AREVA-type PWR Rx Internals to provide plant operators with precision
measurements, enabling them to detect and record misaligned fuel assemblies
which could become damaged or stuck, similar to what occurred at Oconee or
EDFs Gravelines /Tricastin plants.
• Map critical core dimensions to within +/- 0.050 thousandths of an inch (0.6 mm)
and provide measurements in near real-time to refueling bridge operators and
other need-to-know personnel.
• Within a two hour time period, be able to deploy, acquire data, and remove the
measuring device.
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8. Loss Time Potential
• Of the 265 PWRs worldwide, 10 events involving damaged or stuck fuel
assemblies have occurred, with four recorded recently
• Return On Investment (ROI) calculation:
o Event average - 20 days for recovery
o Industry total 200 days of critical path
o Over the next 10 year period Exelon would most likely anticipate:
• 200 CP days/265 PWR Units x 5 Exelon units
• 3.75 critical path days
• A machine vision mapping system for PWR Rx Cores will alert plant operators to
out of tolerance fuel assemblies reducing costly “surprises.”
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9. The Newton NM200E Solution
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10. The Newton Fuel Mapping Solution
• The NM200E Core Verification System uses a proven technology - machine vision
• It accurately measures and digitally records the actual positions of the fuel
assemblies and compares these with the ideal positions (which are supplied by
plant operators)
• The system provides the reactor services crew and reactor engineering with
detailed, accurate measurements to determine if there will be any issues with the
installation of the upper internals or reactor plenum
• The mapping head is deployable to within five feet
(1.5 meters) of the core, affixed to the gripper on
the refueling mast
• Target schedule: deploy, completely scan the
entire core and remove within a two hour period
10 1/3/2012

11. The Newton Fuel Mapping Solution
• Real time core positional measurement of s-holes for a go/no-go criteria of Rx
internals / fuel interface
• The NM200E mapping headdesign takes into consideration the challenging
environment of the reactor core; materials and components have been selected
with radiation tolerance in mind
• Clear and very usable, high resolution images (1296 x 966 pixels)
are delivered at the optimum height of five feet (1.5 meters)
above the fuel assemblies
• The mapping head has an LED illumination source of 4,800 lumens
and is not affected by the presence or absence of core lighting
• Newton-developed sophisticated software is used to mitigate
thermal effects which is essential for accurate mapping and dimensioning
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12. The Newton Fuel Mapping Solution
• The fuel assemblies map on user’s interface (U.I.) is easy to understand.
Positional accuracy of the s-holes and baffle wall is within a +/- 0.050” (0.6 mm)
tolerance for all areas measured
• Westinghouse and AREVA plants have detailed specifications on how far the fuel
assemblies can deviate from their design parameters before any issues or
problems occur with the interaction between the fuel assemblies and the upper
internals, or the reactor plenum.
• The Newton NM200E system is pre-loaded with these specifications and
automatically alerts operators if there are any interference problems.
• The field of view (FOV), or effective area of coverage, from any one position is
4x3 bundles (plus required overlap). This equates to approximately 38 unique
moves of the bridge to complete the mapping process.
• After the core map is recorded, the U.I. displays a simple green, yellow or red
status for each assembly, in addition to their precise global coordinates.
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13. Newton NM200E Core Verification System
• The NM200E mapping head encloses a high-resolution video camera and a high-
intensity LED ring array
• The console unit contains the mapping head control unit, a rack-mounted PC, flat
panel screen and wireless keyboard with trackball
• The communications cable is a standard length of 150 ft. (45.72 m); lengths up to
300 ft. (91 m) may be special ordered
• Newton Labs core mapping software
• Components are housed in two,
high-impact airline-transportable
luggage cases
13 1/3/2012

14. NM200E Mapping Head
Specifications
Height 4.5 in. (114 mm)
Width 4.60 in. (1183 mm)
Length 8.64 in. (219 mm)
Weight (in air) 9 lbs. (4 kg)
Weight (in water) 2 lbs. (1 kg) (plus cable weight)
Construction Machined from 6061T6 aluminum
billet
Video camera High Resolution Monochrome
Power input Powered by control console
LED ring array 4.800 lumens
Fittings & retainers 300 series stainless steel
Windows Fused silica or optical glass
Mounting Four grouped 1/4-20 UNC threaded
attachments mounting holes on four sides of case
(Metric threads available)
Depth rating 150 ft. (46 m)
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15. NM200E Control Console
Specifications
Height 14.75 in. (375 mm)
Width 26.75 in. (679 mm)
Length 27.50 in. (699 mm)
Weight 84.5 lbs. (38 kg)
Construction Metal electronics rack suspended on
eight shock absorbers within a
molded, high-impact, airline-
transportable case
Output ports Ethernet, USB, DVI, VGA & HDMI
Operating 40 to 110 F (5 to 43 C)
temperature
Power input voltage 100 to 240 VAC 50 to 60 cycle
Data storage Internal solid state & USB stick
Output format XML, CSV, PNG & PDF
Operating system Ubuntu Linux 11.04
Cable LLDPE polyurethane jacket, gel filled
- 150 ft. (46 m) 23.6 lbs. (11 kg)
(other lengths available)
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16. Deploying the Newton NM200E Solution
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17. Deployment Examples
NM200E deployed at NM200E deployed NM200E deployed at
Byron Nuclear earlier at Braidwood the EDF Belleville
Generating Station, Generating Station, station near Sancerre,
near Byron, Illinois in near Braidwood, Illinois France in late
April 2011 November 2010
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18. Required Information Prior to Deployment
• The fuel nozzle layout plan, detailing placement of old and new fuel bundles
• As-built fuel assembly drawing, containing nozzle width, s-hole diameter and location
of s-holes within the nozzle
• Ideal gaps between baffle and nozzle, and nozzle to nozzle
• Baffle wall thickness
• Baffle height above s-hole plane
• Camera mounting information
• The Newton software will use these inputs to generate an ideal core map at run-time
18 1/3/2012

19. Mounting the Mapping Head
• The following method assures a stable image and precision
measurement:
o In a topside work area, bolt the mapping head into the false fuel
nozzle carrier unit
o Lower this assembly with a pole or hooked line to a holding area on
the floor of the refuel cavity during non-critical path time
o Once re-fueling has been completed, pick up the mapping assembly
with the mast gripper and proceed to the Rx
o Map the core
o Upon completion of the mapping, return the mapping assembly to the
holding area on the refuel cavity floor
o With a pole or hooked line, lift the assembly from the floor and
remove the mapping head from the carrier off critical path
19 1/3/2012

20. NM200E Mapping Head, Carrier and Mast Gripper
False nozzle mapping head Mapping head within the An alternate version
carrier (Note s-holes on upper corners) carrier on a pull-pad in of the carrier with the
the cavity mapping head on the
fueling mast gripper
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21. Sequence of Operation
• The NM200E mapping head is rigidly mounted to the mast gripper, and lowered to
five feet (1.5 m) above the fuel assemblies.
• The bridge operator generally commands the bridge to a predefined location (for
example, N3) above the core, but the starting point could effectively be anywhere
• The software predefines the movement path to ensure adequate overlapping
FOV's across the core
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22. Sequence of Operation
• The live video feed from the mapping head is displayed with a graphical alignment
overlay generated from the fuel layout map. This reconfirms that the system is alive,
ready and producing the anticipated images (clear, level, square, etc.) and that the
system is ready to begin mapping
22 1/3/2012

23. Sequence of Operation - Operator Screen View
NM200E software overlays a graphic of identified The Core Map
s-hole locations atop the real-time image. displays the current
mapping location
and the in or out-of-
tolerance status of
each fuel assembly,
compared to the
ideal.
(The fuel assemblies in
this scan area are all
within tolerance)
The Results Tab
lists the deltas of
all located s-holes
in U.S. inches or
metric
23 1/3/2012

24. Sequence of Operation - Operator Screen View
• When the Results Map is selected, it displays a graphical core representation
identifying the location of found s-holes (red circles) in relation to their ideal
locations (light-blue circles)
Based on input
from plant
engineers, the
Core Map shows
new fuel as light
gray squares and
old fuel as dark
gray squares
24 1/3/2012

25. Sequence of Operation
• The NM200E takes a series of 10 images at the first location that are processed
using multiple techniques to accurately generate baffle and s-hole positions for all
fuel assemblies in the field of view.
• The elements are highlighted on screen as follows:
o Found baffle segments as a green line (indicating the center of the baffle)
o S-hole regions-of-interest as turquoise boxes
o Found s-holes as pink circles
25 1/3/2012

26. Sequence of Operation
• A global estimate of each s-hole location (in mm/inches) is generated, using the
detected baffle position as a fixed reference point.
• The software identifies non-standard gaps and indicates fuel assemblies that are
rotated or shifted. This screen shows that all possible s-holes at this location have
been charted.
• The core map updates automatically, saving all images and data to multi-storage
units, the mapping head is moved to the next location and the procedure repeats.
26 1/3/2012

27. Sequence of Operation
• The software combines and correlates the s-hole locations identified in all
previous FOVs with the current FOV to account for changes in mapping head
rotation and alignment, producing refined s-hole location estimates.
• Upon reach a baffle opposite the starting point, the mapping head is shifted
laterally, maintaining some FOV overlap. The process is repeated in the reverse
direction, continuing through the core in a zig-zag pattern until all fuel assemblies
have been seen by the system.
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28. Sequence of Operation
• The core map display on the operator's screen visually indicates the final results
of each mapped fuel assembly in one of three colors:
o Green - for within tolerance
o Yellow - for within tolerance, but greater than the specified gap
o Red - for out-of-tolerance
28 1/3/2012

29. Contact Information
Newton Labs
441 SW 41st Street
Renton, WA 98057 USA
Tel: 425-251-9600
Fax: 425-251-8900
www.newtonlabs.com
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30. Thank You
30 1/3/2012