Did You Know...
...that two musicians were responsible for the invention of color print film? Fascinated by photography, Leopold Godowsky and Leopold Mannes worked together to produce an easy-to-use, practical color film. They worked full time as music teachers and gave concerts while experimenting during their off hours in Mannes' kitchen. Their success earned them full-time, well-paying jobs at Kodak and their efforts resulted in Kodachrome film, which was introduced in 1935.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 8442180 | Control rod position detector A control rod position detector including a permanent magnet that is attached on a control rod inserted in a reactor pressure vessel, where the permanent magnet is capable of moving together with the control rod, and a plurality of reed switch mechanisms that are ar... | 05/14/2013 |
| 8351561 | Advanced digital control rod position indication system with rod drop monitoring for nuclear power plants An advanced digital rod position indication (ADRPI) system having rod drop monitoring capability. When a reactor trip occurs, the ADRPI system derives the rod drop time from the signals induced in the detector coils by the falling drive rods. The ADRPI system is lin... | 01/08/2013 |
| 8155259 | Apparatus and method for measuring and setting perpendicularity of an upper tie plate of a nuclear fuel bundle An apparatus for measuring perpendicularity of an upper tie plate of a nuclear fuel bundle includes a first comb having a first plurality of teeth; a second comb having a second plurality of teeth, the second comb being parallel to and spaced from the first comb; a ... | 04/10/2012 |
| 7308068 | Device and method for controlling the exterior aspect of fuel rods for nuclear reactors The invention concerns a device (1) for controlling the exterior aspect of fuel rods (2) for nuclear reactors, said device comprising optical means (40) having at least one camera (42, 42′) and linked to an image acquisition and process... | 12/11/2007 |
| 7308069 | Device and method for controlling the exterior aspect of fuel rods for nuclear reactors The invention concerns a device (1) for controlling the exterior aspect of fuel rods (2) for nuclear reactors, said device comprising optical means (40) having at least one camera (42, 42′) and linked to an image acquisition and process... | 12/11/2007 |
| 7302028 | Instrumented capsule for nuclear fuel irradiation tests in research reactors An instrumented capsule for nuclear fuel irradiation tests in research reactors includes an outer shell; a rod tip assembly assembled to a lower end plate of the shell, thus absorbing impact; fuel rod assemblies supported in the shell by means of support tubes and h... | 11/27/2007 |
| 7120218 | Method for calibrating steam generator water level measurement A method is provided for determining and controlling feed water level in a steam generator of a nuclear power plant, whereby the water level sensor is calibrated in terms of the pressure drop across structural components in the feed water path. The water level diffe... | 10/10/2006 |
| 7096699 | Multiple bladder internal tube expansion and method Method and apparatus for the production of a plurality of uniform expansions of a tube in a plurality of tube supports simultaneously. A plurality of tubes are expanded in apertures of tube supports in a repetitive manner, each tube being expanded into the plurality... | 08/29/2006 |
| 7017407 | Apparatus and method for determining a liquid level in a steam drum An apparatus for determining a density-compensated liquid level in a vessel containing a mixture of liquid and vapors comprises a temperature sensor which produces a signal that is proportional to the temperature of the mixture; and a processing apparatus that inclu... | 03/28/2006 |
| 6895066 | Measuring head and measuring assembly for a nuclear fuel rod A measuring head is used in measuring an assembly part of a nuclear facility, such as a fuel rod, a fuel assembly box, or a spacer of the fuel assembly. The measuring head is capable of augmenting a comparatively large data base representing the overall aging state ... | 05/17/2005 |
| 6879653 | Method and device for measuring the diameter of a peripheral rod in a fuel assembly of a nuclear reactor The diameter of a segment of a peripheral rod in a fuel assembly is measured between two successive spacer grids. A measuring tool is positioned at a level situated between the two successive spacer grids, the tool comprising two measuring fingers that are free to m... | 04/12/2005 |
| 6865244 | Device and method for cooling a reactor pressure vessel of a boiling water reactor plant In order to allow a reliable and passive external cooling of a reactor pressure vessel of a boiling water reactor, outside the reactor pressure vessel a differential-pressure measurement pipe is provided and has a first and a second pipe leg which are connected to o... | 03/08/2005 |
| 6782069 | In-pile creep test system The present invention provides a remote-controlled in-pile creep test system used in in-pile creep tests for measuring and determining mechanical properties of nuclear materials irradiated in research reactors. The in-pile creep test system includes a creep tester v... | 08/24/2004 |
| 6707870 | Method for determining friction forces occurring on an object moving in a guide on an inaccessible site With this method it is possible to evaluate opposing friction forces occurring after a certain operating time on a mobile object in a guide. The method consists of measuring the variations in the speed of movement of the mobile object, of calculating the theo... | 03/16/2004 |
| 6668034 | Method of inspecting an operation of sealed closure by welding the end of a filling channel traversing the upper plug of a nuclear fuel rod A method of inspecting an operation of sealed closure by welding an end opening of a filling channel axially traversing an upper plug for closing the cladding of a fuel rod for a nuclear reactor, the cladding of the rod containing a plurality of pellets o... | 12/23/2003 |
| 6639959 | Guide tube camera inspection fixture and method of use A guide tube inspection camera fixture for inspecting internal surfaces of nuclear reactor control rod guide tubes is provided. In an exemplary embodiment, the guide tube camera fixture includes a base plate, a unit-body tower having a first end and a sec... | 10/28/2003 |
| 6606367 | Device for measuring the drop time of control rods into the core of a nuclear reactor The measurement device comprises a real-time measurement-signal acquisition module (25) and means (23, 24) for connecting the cables for picking up the voltage from electrical windings for measuring the movement of the control rods to the acquisition modu... | 08/12/2003 |
| 6549600 | Method and device for inspecting a fuel element in a nuclear reactor A method for inspecting an irradiated fuel element in a nuclear power plant includes the step of measuring, with a measuring device, a spacer of a fuel element for providing measurements of the spacer. The measuring device also measures a calibration rod ... | 04/15/2003 |
| 6526114 | Remote automated nuclear reactor jet pump diffuser inspection tool An inspection apparatus for inspecting welds in a nuclear reactor jet pump includes a probe subassembly rotatably and linearly movably coupled to a frame structure configured to attach to a top flange of the reactor pressure vessel. The probe subassembly ... | 02/25/2003 |
| 6449034 | Method for controlling perpendicularity of a cylindrical part, such as a nuclear fuel pellet In order to control the perpendicularity of a component (10) such as a nuclear fuel pellet, this component is placed upon a support plane and measurements are taken, by means of two pairs of laser micrometers (A1, A2; B1, B2), of the distances separating ... | 09/10/2002 |
| 6421405 | Monitoring control rod element assembly position Compliance with administrative limits on cumulative exposure of control rod groups in the reactor core, is monitored by computing the incremental effective exposure for each group commensurate with core power, for each time increment at which each group i... | 07/16/2002 |
| 6404835 | Nuclear reactor rod drop time testing method A method for measuring the drop time of a rod in nuclear reactor with the rod position indication system coils remaining energized. The signal generated at the coils includes both the rod drop trace and the coil power. A filter is applied to separate the ... | 06/11/2002 |
| 6380734 | Control element assembly position verification apparatus A position verification apparatus comprising a movable member disposed within and movable with respect to a housing containing the movable member, a means for generating a magnetic field within the housing, a first magnetically responsive means for sensin... | 04/30/2002 |
| 6295329 | Apparatus and method for handling reactor-internal equipments A reactor-internal equipment handling apparatus which is capable of reducing work required to load/unload control rods, fuel supports, and control rod guide tubes, includes a control rod holding unit (16) for releasably holding a control rod (7) which is ... | 09/25/2001 |
| 6236699 | Method and system for monitoring control rod element assembly position Compliance with administrative limits on cumulative exposure of control rod groups in the reactor core, is monitored by computing the incremental effective exposure for each group commensurate with core power, for each time increment at which each group i... | 05/22/2001 |
| 6219398 | Heated junction thermocouple cable arrangement An improved heated junction thermocouple cable arrangement for use with a nuclear reactor heated junction thermocouple having sensors with an unheated thermocouple, a heated thermocouple, and a heater coil, shares power conductors between multiple heater ... | 04/17/2001 |
| 6192096 | Magnetostrictive wire control rod position detector assembly A magnetostrictive wire control rod position detector assembly which will allow nuclear reactor output to be increased, control performance to be improved, and peripheral equipment to be rationalized by continuously and accurately detecting the position o... | 02/20/2001 |
| 6169776 | Methods and apparatus for examining a nuclear reactor shroud Methods and apparatus for examining a nuclear reactor shroud are described. In one embodiment the inspection apparatus includes a drive system, a mast subassembly, and a scanner subassembly. The drive system includes at least two drive assemblies that eng... | 01/02/2001 |
| 6125160 | Nuclear fuel bundle spacer envelope dimension measuring system and methods The spacer envelope measurement system includes a generally U-shaped fixture having support plates extensible into positions overlying the spacer for supporting the fixture from the spacer. Extensible heads are carried by the fixture for engaging the spac... | 09/26/2000 |
| 6118837 | Method for detecting the dropping of a control element A method for detecting the dropping of at least one control element in a reactor core of a power station by delaying signals output by detectors disposed along a fall path of the control element in such a way that they are approximately simultaneous. This... | 09/12/2000 |
| 5978430 | Length gauge for in situ measurement of water rod lengths in nuclear fuel bundles and methods of measurement The length gauge includes an elongated standards rod, an indicator location block carrying a gauge and an indicator set block. The set block is applied to the location block and the gauge is zeroed out at a known distance between the movable element on th... | 11/02/1999 |
| 5963610 | CEDM data acquisition system A CEDM data acquisition system (40) receives analog coil-current signals from control element drive mechanism coils (18, 20); conditions the analog signals to remove noise induced therein by the electronic circuitry (44) associated with the control elemen... | 10/05/1999 |
| 5956381 | Method and apparatus for detecting the dropping of a control element A method and an apparatus detect the dropping of at least one control element in a reactor core of a power station by delaying signals output by detectors disposed along a fall path of the control element in such a way that they are approximately simultan... | 09/21/1999 |
| 5917875 | Apparatus for inspecting nuclear fuel assemblies Apparatus for rectifying the tendency of a fuel assembly (1) to incline from the perpendicular has a top nozzle support (19) and a base assembly (18) for supporting, respectively, a top nozzle (7) and a bottom nozzle (2) of the fuel assembly. Incorporated... | 06/29/1999 |
| 5881117 | Mid-loop fluid level measuring instrument for a nuclear power plant A measurement chamber (18) having an upper and a lower region is at substantially the same elevation as a horizontal pipe (12) having a top region and a bottom region. An equalization line (14) fluidly connects the top region of the pipe (12) to the upper... | 03/09/1999 |
| 5881118 | Core protection calculator input filter Changes in the value of the control element assembly position signal (26,28) are monitored over a preselected time period, and a determination is made whether these changes conform to a regular, predetermined pattern (S1), characteristic of nor... | 03/09/1999 |
| 5852642 | Method and apparatus for inspecting the geometry of a guide tube The apparatus is for internal inspection of a guide tube of a nuclear fuel assembly and measurement of deformations of a zone of smaller diameter in a terminal portion of the tube. The apparatus has a stick whose distal portion presents, in succession, st... | 12/22/1998 |
| 5850424 | Refueling machine with relative positioning capability A refueling machine having relative positioning capability for refueling a nuclear reactor. The refueling machine includes a pair of articulated arms mounted on a refueling bridge. Each arm supports a respective telescoping mast. Each telescoping mast is ... | 12/15/1998 |
| 5841824 | System and method for testing the free fall time of nuclear reactor control rods An improved system and method for testing the free fall time of nuclear reactor control rods. The system employs a plurality of sensor coils which are arranged in tandem along the control rod drive rod housing, having a plurality of the sensors energized ... | 11/24/1998 |
| 5835546 | System for seating at least one gasket in a pressure vessel penetration where a column penetrates telescopically A system for seating at least one gasket member used to seal a pressure vessel penetration where a column penetrates therethrough includes a tubular member, a column which penetrates through the tubular member in a telescoping manner and is normally movab... | 11/10/1998 |
