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...Daniel Webster invented a "bull plow" to pull out tree stumps. It didn't catch on because it was huge and required four oxen to pull it!
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 4722830 | Automated multiple stream analysis system An automated analysis system includes a pair of sample selection subsystems whose operations are coordinated by a host computer pursuant to developing analytical data useful to a process computer in controlling an industrial process. Each subsystem includ... | 02/02/1988 |
| 4716297 | Method and apparatus for optically switching current An electrical switching system comprising a relay having a photoelectric element comprising a photodiode, with first and second electrodes and a photosensitive portion. The photosensitive portion is responsive to optical stimulation for electrically coupl... | 12/29/1987 |
| 4713210 | Control rod driveline and grapple A control rod driveline and grapple is disclosed for placement between a control rod drive and a nuclear reactor control rod containing poison for parasitic neutron absorption required for reactor shutdown. The control rod is provided with an enlarged cyl... | 12/15/1987 |
| 4701621 | Monitor for airborne radioactive particles A monitor for detecting airborne radioactive particulates is disclosed. An elongate strip of filter paper is fed across first and second air inlet ports of a collection chamber. Ambient air is selectively drawn into the chamber through a selected one of t... | 10/20/1987 |
| 4699671 | Treatment for overcoming irradiation induced stress corrosion cracking in austenitic alloys such as stainless steel Stress corrosion cracking of austenitic stainless steel or nickel-based alloys attributable at least in part to exposure to irradiation is reduced with a specific heat treatment.... | 10/13/1987 |
| 4698214 | Method and combustion reactor for converting uranium hexafluoride gas to an oxide of uranium A uranium oxide product is formed in a gaseous reaction medium from uranium hexafluoride by interaction with a fuel gas such as hydrogen and oxygen. Oxide content and particle properties of the uranium oxide product are governed by the improved method and... | 10/06/1987 |
| 4696769 | Method and binder for the manufacture of nuclear fuel pellets, and the product A method and binder composition for prolonging the induced plasticity of a particulate ceramic material admixture comprising uranium dioxide and a fugitive binder, and product thereof, for subsequent compaction by compression molding in the manufacture of... | 09/29/1987 |
| 4696792 | Nuclear reactor coolant recirculation Coolant recirculation arrangement for a nuclear reactor including a plurality of vertically oriented tubular conduits arranged in spaced relation between an unshrouded nuclear core and the inner pressure vessel wall for conducting coolant from an upper pl... | 09/29/1987 |
| 4692390 | Method and system for hydrogen thermal-electrochemical conversion A system for converting heat energy into electricity includes a conversion cell comprising a pair of spaced-apart electrodes having an electrolyte therebetween. The electrolyte is selected to pass negatively-charged hydrogen ions and to inhibit the passag... | 09/08/1987 |
| 4678622 | Transient monitor for nuclear reactor A monitored nuclear reactor parameter, such as a startup range neutron monitoring signal, is filtered at a filter having a preselected time constant and amplified with the output being passed to one channel of a two channel comparator. The level of the am... | 07/07/1987 |
| 4678626 | Radiant vessel auxiliary cooling system In a modular liquid-metal pool breeder reactor, a radiant vessel auxiliary cooling system is disclosed for removing the residual heat resulting from the shutdown of a reactor by a completely passive heat transfer system. A shell surrounds the reactor and ... | 07/07/1987 |
| 4675154 | Nuclear fuel assembly with large coolant conducting tube In a nuclear reactor fuel assembly, a relatively flexible mounting member for mounting a large coolant conducting tube to the lower tie plate whereby excessive side forces on the fuel rod spacers are avoided in the event of lateral displacement of the fue... | 06/23/1987 |
| 4675149 | Jet pump beam holder/positioner tool Repair apparatus and a method of repair utilized for securing pressure sensing lines to jet pump diffusers in boiling water nuclear reactors is disclosed. Conventional access is made to the reactor with removal of the jet pump inlet mixer to expose the up... | 06/23/1987 |
| 4670198 | Binder system for the manufacture of nuclear fuel pellets, and the method and product thereof A reproducible method and stable binder composition for preserving the induced plasticity of a particulate ceramic material admixture comprising uranium dioxide and a fugitive binder, and product thereof, for subsequent compaction by compressing molding i... | 06/02/1987 |
| 4664754 | Spent liquid organic solvent recovery system An apparatus and method for continuously separating and recovering an organic liquid such as a hydrocarbon solvent from immiscible water and/or other impurities mixed therewith. The apparatus and method comprise a system for treating liquids while continu... | 05/12/1987 |
| 4663118 | Flow channel to nozzle attachment for nuclear fuel assembly A flow channel-to-nozzle attachment for a nuclear fuel assembly wherein the flow channel and nozzle are formed of material having different thermal coefficients of expansion, the attachment comprising tapered bars secured to the lower inner ends of the ch... | 05/05/1987 |
| 4659540 | Composite construction for nuclear fuel containers An improved method for producing nuclear fuel containers of a composite construction having components providing therein a barrier system for resisting destructive action by volatile fission products or impurities and also interdiffusion of metal constitu... | 04/21/1987 |
| 4655991 | Detector for fuel assembly A probe is disclosed for detecting the absence of helical springs from an array of mutually spaced springs, each mounted on a separate shank. The probe includes an elongate arm having a pair of pawls mounted in an aperture at one end of the arm, biased to... | 04/07/1987 |
| 4656015 | Continuous process for the production of powdered uranium dioxide from uranyl nitrate An improved process for producing powdered uranium dioxide from a solution of uranyl nitrate which is suitable for the manufacture of fuel for nuclear reactors. The process is continuous and comprises an incremental precipitation of soluble uranyl nitrate... | 04/07/1987 |
| 4650633 | Method and apparatus for protection of pump systems A control apparatus and method for restricting liquid flow in a liquid moving pump, usually of the centrifugal type, to prevent pump cavitation and pump prime mover overloading. The control apparatus includes sensors to detect liquid temperature and press... | 03/17/1987 |
| 4649632 | Fuel bundle assembly machine An apparatus is provided for the automatic assembly of nuclear fuel rod bundles in a predetermined coordinate array. Each fuel rod is identified during its travel and positioned according to an identifying code carried on its lower end plug which designat... | 03/17/1987 |
| 4640812 | Nuclear system test simulator A portable, microprocessor-based test instrument for the calibration, check testing, and checkout of nuclear power reactor systems under simulated operating conditions. The instrument includes a master microprocessor bus having direct communication to int... | 02/03/1987 |
| 4634568 | Fixed incore wide range neutron sensor Disclosed is a neutron detector, provided with a sealed chamber having two spaced apart electrodes, hermetically sealed in the chamber with a seal which is located in an environment of at least two decades less neutron flux than that experienced by the de... | 01/06/1987 |
| 4634877 | Optical transmitter receiver switch An optical transmitter receiver switch incorporating a fiber optic light guide for communicating between electrically isolated circuits. Each switch has a photoemitter and a photosensor in optical communication with each other and with one end of the ligh... | 01/06/1987 |
| 4629599 | Burnable absorber arrangement for fuel bundle A reactor fuel assembly (15) configuration which allows cold shutdown margins to be met with minimal penalty to operating efficiency. The assembly comprises a component of fissile material distributed over a substantial axial extent of the fuel assembly a... | 12/16/1986 |
| 4628252 | Corrosive impurity sensor A sensor apparatus cooperates with an electrical system capable of delivering power to and receiving signals from the sensor. A cable housing insulated wires is connected to the sensor and disposed in proximity to a fluid possibly containing a corrosive i... | 12/09/1986 |
| 4628277 | Femtoammeter A femtoammeter is disclosed which resists noise induced reversed bias of the ammeter amplifier and avoids long time constant recovery with unusually high measurement accuracy. The amplifier ammeter has a feedback loop which is provided with paired opposin... | 12/09/1986 |
| 4627006 | Method for determining the radiation threshold of non-metallic materials An improved method for determining the nuclear radiation threshold of a non-metallic material with the aid of a computer is disclosed, in which differently irradiated samples of the material are subjected to thermogravimetric analysis. From the resultant ... | 12/02/1986 |
| 4624826 | Control rod velocity limiter A velocity limiting device providing greater resistance to motion through a fluid in one direction than in the opposite direction. The device includes a toroidally shaped control member having a smooth generally conical surface on one side for low resista... | 11/25/1986 |
| 4620099 | Automated monitoring of fissile and fertile materials in incinerator residue A system for determining the radioactive materials content of the ash or residue from an incinerator of contaminated materials contained in cans. The system includes can handling apparatus, a neutron source for activating the material and neutron and gamm... | 10/28/1986 |
| 4620100 | Automated monitoring of fissile and fertile materials in large waste containers A system for determining the U-235 and U-238 content in a box of radioactive waste material. The system utilizes a passive arrangement which detects spontaneous gamma ray emission from the material in combination with an active arrangement including a neu... | 10/28/1986 |
| 4617168 | Apparatus and method for reactor monitoring A method and apparatus are disclosed for monitoring the operation of a boiling water nuclear reactor for the occurrence of a superheated condition. The invention provides redundant monitoring of the level of coolant water in the reactor independently of e... | 10/14/1986 |
| 4614635 | Fission-couple neutron sensor Disclosed is apparatus and method which, in cooperation with an electrical system, analyzes signals generated by detectors placed in a flux field of gamma rays and neutrons. A first detector with a first sensor is coupled to the electrical system. A secon... | 09/30/1986 |
| 4604785 | Method of making fuel channel A method for making a nuclear fuel channel is disclosed having a high degree of dimensional accuracy which uses the thermal expansion of a mandrel to precisely size the channel. An assembly of the mandrel and a channel preform is pulled through a die to d... | 08/12/1986 |
| 4605858 | Personal radiation dosimeter A radiation dosimeter includes a plurality of air wall type ionization chambers for radiation detection. Each ionization chamber is connected in series with a selectively actuable switching element under the control of a data processor. The ionization cha... | 08/12/1986 |
| 4590472 | Analog signal conditioner for thermal coupled signals The present invention described a signal conditioner. A thermocouple produces a signal that is present at a summing node input of a conditioning amplifier. The conditioning amplifier has a plurality of selectable gain values by which amplifier sensitivity... | 05/20/1986 |
| 4587704 | Method of mounting a continuous loop spring on a nuclear fuel spacer In a fuel assembly for a nuclear reactor a fuel element spacer formed of an array of laterally positioned cojoined tubular ferrules each providing a passage for one of the fuel elements, the elements being laterally supported in the ferrules between slend... | 05/13/1986 |
| 4585611 | Undervessel arrangement A stabilizer and aligning support plate arrangement for a vertically and rotatably positionable undervessel platform in a nuclear reactor including a pressure vessel, said arrangement facilitating mobilization of said platform for servicing operation.... | 04/29/1986 |
| 4584165 | Redundant reactivity control system A redundant reactivity control system, operating in conjunction with other systems in a nuclear power plant, to mitigate the potential consequences of an anticipated transient without scram event, is described. The invention interfaces to a boiling water ... | 04/22/1986 |
| 4581813 | Method for producing encapsulated thermocouples A method for fabricating a thermocouple unit for service in and about nuclear reactors and other radioactive environments. The method provides a thermocouple encapsulated within a sphere of fissile material.... | 04/15/1986 |
