Did You Know...
...that Charles Goodyear performed some of his experiments on rubber while in debtor's prison? He was there so often he referred to it as his "hotel". Chronically in debt because of poor business sense and ill health, Goodyear depended on the generosity of friends and family. Even after he unlocked the secret to vulcanizing rubber, he was unable to improve his financial situation. When he died, his estate was $200,000 in debt.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7139352 | Reactivity control rod for core A reactivity control rod adapted to be used in a reactor core of a fast reactor and disposed at a substantially central portion of the reactor core for controlling a reactivity therein. The reactivity control rod includes a wrapper tube surrounded by a plurality of ... | 11/21/2006 |
| 6909765 | Method of uprating an existing nuclear power plant An improved method of increasing the power output of an existing nuclear power plant includes increasing the thermal power output of the plant's nuclear island and constructing of an auxiliary BOP to handle the increased thermal power. The thermal power of the nucle... | 06/21/2005 |
| 6594333 | Thermal load reducing system for nuclear reactor vessel The present invention is used to reduce thermal load itself, being the cause to generate stress, which develops near liquid surface in a nuclear reactor wall and to contribute to further improvement of safety. A partition member (5) is arranged above a co... | 07/15/2003 |
| 6526115 | Supercritical-pressure water cooled reactor and power generation plant A supercritical pressure water cooled reactor comprising: a reactor vessel including: a shell part for containing sub-critical pressure coolant, and an end part for containing supercritical-pressure coolant which is separated from the sub-critical pressur... | 02/25/2003 |
| 5528641 | Fuel assembly A fuel assembly is provided with a coolant ascending path for making coolant rise and a water rod having a coolant descending path for conducting the coolant. A ratio of a flow area in a coolant inlet port of the smallest in coolant ascending path 13 on t... | 06/18/1996 |
| 5200138 | Spectral shift-producing subassembly for use in a nuclear fuel assembly A spectral shift-producing subassembly is composed of a plurality of sealed empty water displacement rodlets incorporating a spectral shift-producing capability. Each of the rodlets includes an elongated tube sealed at its opposite ends and having an axia... | 04/06/1993 |
| 5196159 | Fast reactor A fast reactor comprises a reactor vessel to be arranged vertically in a reactor building, a reactor vessel upper structure disposed on an upper portion in the reactor vessel, a drum structure suspended from the reactor vessel structure into a central por... | 03/23/1993 |
| 5183628 | Nuclear reactor internals with cluster guides Internal equipments suitable for use in a nuclear reactor comprise a lower plate provided with openings for the coolant leaving the core, an upper plate, support columns connecting the plates together and guides for the vertically movable control clusters... | 02/02/1993 |
| 5167906 | Apparatus for increasing fuel efficiency in nuclear reactors An apparatus for achieving increased fuel efficiency in a nuclear reactor wherein spectral shift is utilized to adjust for excess reactivity. This feature is achieved by stationary displacer rods within the fluid moderator of the reactor, with these stati... | 12/01/1992 |
| 5075069 | Method and apparatus for increasing fuel efficiency in nuclear reactors A method and apparatus for achieving increased fuel efficiency in a nuclear reactor wherein spectral shift is utilized to adjust for excess reactivity. This feature is achieved by stationary displacer rods within the fluid moderator of the reactor, with t... | 12/24/1991 |
| 5023047 | Nuclear reactor having an ascending cooling path much greater than the descending cooling path A fuel assembly has a water rod which consists of a coolant ascending path and a coolant descending path, the coolant ascending path opening below a fuel support of a lower tie plate, the coolant descending path opening above the fuel support and adapted ... | 06/11/1991 |
| 4976911 | Nuclear reactivity control using laser induced polarization A control element for reactivity control of a fission source provides an atomic density of 3 He in a control volume which is effective to control criticality as the 3 He is spin-polarized. Spin-polarization of the 3 He aff... | 12/11/1990 |
| 4728480 | Apparatus and method for refurbishing a spectral shift mechanism for a nuclear reactor fuel assembly A fuel assembly in a nuclear reactor has a spectral shift apparatus including a plurality of displacer rods for controlling reactivity in the assembly and an apparatus for refurbishing the displacer rods for reuse. Each displacer rod contains a quantity o... | 03/01/1988 |
| 4717527 | Fuel assembly A fuel assembly for a pressurized water nuclear reactor incorporating fluid moderator spectral shift control means. During the first part of the fuel cycle when there is excess reactivity, neutron moderation may be decreased by replacing a portion of the ... | 01/05/1988 |
| 4693862 | Gas displacement spectral shift reactor and control method A method and apparatus for extending the life of a core of a water moderated nuclear reactor by spectral shift comprising the displacement of a portion of the moderator in the core by a gas having a low neutron cross-section during the initial stage of th... | 09/15/1987 |
| 4683103 | Spectral shift apparatus and method for a nuclear reactor fuel assembly A fuel assembly in a nuclear reactor has a spectral shift apparatus including a plurality of displacer rods for controlling reactivity in the assembly and an apparatus for refurbishing the displacer rods for reuse. Each displacer rod contains a quantity o... | 07/28/1987 |
| 4661306 | Fluid moderator control system reactor internals distribution system Apparatus is disclosed for introducing a low neutron moderating fluid into the reactor vessel of a spectral shift pressurized water nuclear reactor and for distributing the moderating fluid through the lower core support plate into the fuel assemblies in ... | 04/28/1987 |
| 4657726 | Moderator control apparatus for a nuclear reactor fuel assembly A moderator control apparatus is provided for use with a fuel assembly to improve fuel utilization in thereby reducing fuel cycle costs. The apparatus includes a plurality of displacer rods filled with a burnable poison gas which are inserted into the gui... | 04/14/1987 |
| 4642214 | Nuclear pebble bed reactor with inherent passive stabilization in the event of damage A high-temperature nuclear reactor having spherical fuel elements which are rranged approximately ring-shaped about a graphite core, and in particular, a massed-sphere nuclear reactor providing for inherent passive stabilization in the event of damage. The... | 02/10/1987 |
| 4575448 | Moderation of neutron energy A nuclear reactor system in which the neutron-energy spectrum is displaced towards lower energy (enthalpy) by a control selectively operable by commands outside of the reactor. The core of the reactor contains, in addition to fuel assemblies, sealed tubes... | 03/11/1986 |
| 4545954 | Device for shutting down a high-temperature nuclear reactor Device for shutting down a high-temperature nuclear reactor having a reactor core, including a reflector disposed outside the reactor core, channels being disposed in the reflector and having lower ends, storage bins being disposed above the reactor core ... | 10/08/1985 |
| 4371495 | Self rupturing gas moderator rod for a nuclear reactor An arrangement for controlling the moderation of a nuclear reactor which includes multiple fuel assemblies each of which includes top and bottom nozzles with fuel rods and control rod guide thimbles located therebetween. Certain ones of said assemblies in... | 02/01/1983 |
| 4188795 | Hydrogen-hydride absorption systems and methods for refrigeration and heat pump cycles Improved hydrogen-hydride absorption systems for improving the energy utilization in refrigeration and heat pump cycles comprise reactor systems for chemically forming three or more hydride components, means for supplying heat to and removing heat from th... | 02/19/1980 |
