1-10. (canceled)
11. A method for producing a zirconium alloy semi-finished product containing by weight at least 97% zirconium, intended for the production of at least one elongated product, comprising:
casting the zirconium alloy to produce an ingot with a diameter between 400 mm and 700 mm and a length between 2 m and 3 m; and
two-stage forging the ingot to produce the semi-finished product intended to be formed to obtain the elongated product, wherein a first forging stage of the ingot is performed at a temperature at which the zirconium alloy is in a state comprising the crystalline \u03b1 and \u03b2 phases of the zirconium alloy.
12. The method according to claim 11, wherein at the temperature of the first forging stage, the ingot contains a volume proportion of zirconium alloy in the a phase between 10% and 90%, a remainder of the zirconium alloy of the ingot being in the \u03b2 phase.
13. The method according to claim 11, wherein the first forging stage is performed at a temperature between 850\xb0 C. and 950\xb0 C.
14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the first forging stage is performed at a temperature of approximately 900\xb0 C.
15. The method according to claim 11, wherein the first forging stage is performed at a temperature between 600\xb0 C. and 950\xb0 C.
16. The method according to claim 11, further comprising:
performing a second forging stage at a temperature at which the zirconium alloy of an intermediate product obtained by the first forging stage of the ingot is in the a phase.
17. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein a second forging stage is performed at a temperature at which the zirconium alloy of an intermediate product obtained at an end of the first forging stage of the ingot is in a state comprising crystalline \u03b1 and \u03b2 phases of the zirconium alloy.
18. The method according to claim 11, wherein the zirconium alloy contains at least 3% by weight in total of additive elements comprising at least one of tin, iron, chromium, nickel, oxygen, niobium, vanadium and silicon, a remainder of the alloy being constituted by zirconium with an exception of the inevitable impurities.
19. The method according to claim 11 further comprising:
producing a semi-finished product intended for production of a tubular product for manufacture of a fuel assembly element for one of a fuel assembly for a water-cooled nuclear reactor and a fuel assembly element for a CANDU reactor.
20. The method according to claim 11 further comprising:
producing a bar intended for production of a small diameter plug bar for manufacture of plugs closing ends of jacket tubes of fuel assembly rods for nuclear reactors.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A power drive unit (PDU) for an air cargo loading system in which a controller is connected to a plurality of such PDUs via a wired network and is instructed via wireless remote handset to activate one or more of said PDUs in response to a coded light signal, the PDU comprising:
a light source configured to emit light;
at least one light detector configured to receive light; and
a PDU processor coupled to said at least one light detector and programmed to:
determine whether a Unit Load Device (ULD) is overhead, based at least in part on reflected light received by said at least one light detector after illuminating an underside of the ULD by said light source;
determine whether a coded light signal received by said at least one light detector comprises a command signal to be provided to the controller; and
output an appropriate first command information signal, if the coded light signal is determined to be a command signal.
2. The power drive unit (PDU) according to claim 1, wherein:
the PDU processor is further programmed to output the command information signal only if at least two consecutive, identical, command signals are received at a light detector.
3. The power drive unit (PDU) according to claim 1, comprising a single light detector coupled to said PDU processor, said PDU processor receiving output of said single light detector in response to said reflected light, and also receiving output of said single light detector in response to said coded light signal.
4. The power drive unit (PDU) according to claim 1, comprising two light detectors coupled to said PDU processor, said PDU processor receiving output from a first light detector in response to said reflected light, and receiving output from second light detector in response to said coded light signal.
5. The power drive unit (PDU) according to claim 4, wherein:
a wavelength of light to which the first light detector responds differs from a wavelength of light to which the second light detector responds.
6. A method of issuing control signals from a controller associated with an air cargo loading system installed in an air cargo compartment of an aircraft to at least one power drive unit (PDU), the air cargo loading system including a plurality of PDUs connected via a wired network to said controller, each of the PDUs comprising a light detector coupled to a PDU processor and configured to receive and process an incoming light signal, each of the PDUs also being configured to detect whether a unit load device (ULD) is overhead, the method comprising:
activating a first button on a first wireless remote control handset to thereby create a first light signal;
receiving the first light signal at a light detector of one of said plurality of PDUs;
at said one PDU which receives the first light signal:
determining whether the received first light signal comprises a command signal to be relayed to the controller; and
providing an appropriate first command information signal to the controller, if the received, first light signal is determined to be a command signal to be relayed to the controller; and
at the controller:
obtaining the first command information signal;
determining which of said plurality of PDUs should be activated in response to the first command information signal; and
sending a first PDU control signal via the wired network to activate only those PDUs that the controller has determined should he activated in response to the first command information signal.
7. The method according to claim 6, comprising:
activating PDUs in response to the first command information signal only so long as the first button remains activated and the handset continues to a transmit a command signal.
8. The method according to claim 6, wherein the plurality of PDUs are arranged in a right row and a left row along a length of the air cargo compartment, the method comprising:
activating PDUs in both rows, in response to the first PDU control signal.
9. The method according to claim 6, wherein the plurality of PDUs are arranged in a right row and a left row along a length of the air cargo compartment, the method comprising:
activating PDUs in only a first of the two rows and activating none of the PDUs in the second of the two rows, in response to the first PDU control signal.
10. The method according to claim 9, comprising:
activating a second button on a second remote control handset to thereby create a second light signal;
receiving the second light signal at a light detector of one of said plurality of PDUs;
at said one PDU which receives the second light signal:
determining whether the received second light signal comprises a command signal to be relayed to the controller;
if the received second light signal is determined to be a command signal to be relayed to the controller, sending an appropriate second command information signal to the controller; and
at the controller:
interpreting the second command information signal;
determining which of said plurality of PDUs should be activated in response to the second command information signal; and
sending a second PDU control signal to activate only those PDUs that the controller has determined should be activated in response to the second command information signal; and
activating PDUs in only the second of the two rows and activating none of the PDUs in the first of the two rows, in response to the second PDU control signal.
11. The method according to claim 10, comprising:
activating PDUs in the first row in response to the first command information signal only so long as the first button remains activated and the handset continues to a transmit a command signal.
12. The method according to claim 6, wherein the plurality of PDUs are arranged in a right row and a left row along a length of the air cargo compartment, the method further comprising:
providing a handset that is configured to create light signals which, when interpreted by the controller, can result in the activation of PDUs in only one of the two rows.