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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7986760 | Method and apparatus for permissive control of a mast and grapple A method and apparatus for the permissive control of a mast and fuel grapple to be used in the movement of reactor fuel components, including fuel assemblies, single blade and double blade guides, to be used in a Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) nuclear reactor. The Perm... | 07/26/2011 |
| 7386087 | Method and device for loading a fuel assembly into the core of a nuclear reactor The invention relates to a method and a device for loading a fuel assembly into the core of a nuclear reactor. The inventive method consists in: inserting a dummy assembly (4) into the loading location (3) of the fuel assembly (5), said dummy as... | 06/10/2008 |
| 7289590 | Method and apparatus for handling a tube guide of upper interval equipment of a nuclear reactor A device for handling a guide tube assembly. The assembly has an upper tube and a lower tube in each of which there are fixed horizontal guide plates arranged such that they are spaced apart in an axial direction. The handling device itself includes a gripper having... | 10/30/2007 |
| 7272204 | Method and apparatus for clamping a riser brace assembly in nuclear reactor An apparatus and method are provided which are designed to structurally replace welds that attach a riser brace assembly to a jet pump riser pipe. The riser brace assembly may include an upper clamp assembly, a lower clamp assembly, and a plurality of mechanical fas... | 09/18/2007 |
| 7239683 | Fuel assembly nozzleless handling tool and method A device and method to move a fuel assembly of a nuclear reactor, wherein the device eliminates the potential for dropping the fuel assembly due to stress corrosion cracking of the upper guide thimble sleeves that attach the top nozzle to guide thimbles. ... | 07/03/2007 |
| 7158605 | Head assembly A head assembly for a reactor pressure vessel includes a removable closure head, an array of control rod drive mechanisms, a seismic support platform, a missile shield assembly and a cooling system for drawing atmospheric air across electromagnetic coil stack assemb... | 01/02/2007 |
| 7055278 | Portable tube cleaning system A portable cannon tube cleaning system that includes a trailer designed to be pulled to the field site of a cannon tube to be cleaned; a mechanism securely mounted to the floor of the trailer for providing vertical height adjustment; a main cleaner chassis assembly ... | 06/06/2006 |
| 6853697 | Hermetically sealable transfer cask An apparatus, transfer cask, system, and method for defueling a nuclear reactor and transferring spent nuclear fuel from a spent nuclear fuel to a storage cask for long terms storage. In one aspect, the invention is an apparatus for use in transferring a canister of... | 02/08/2005 |
| 6788755 | Safe lift and process for transporting canisters of spent nuclear fuel A system and method for moving a canister of spent nuclear fuel from a first location, which may be within a nuclear power generation facility to a second location such as a storage cask that is used for short-term or long-term storage of spent nuclear fuel includes... | 09/07/2004 |
| 6744841 | Method for carrying equipment out of nuclear power plant A method of carrying equipment out of a nuclear reactor building that, in carrying equipment rendered radioactive out of a nuclear reactor building, makes it possible to shorten the operating time and reduce the number of casks to be used, wherein the structures of ... | 06/01/2004 |
| 6731715 | Reactor vessel handling method One of methods for carrying out a reactor vessel according to the present invention comprises the steps of removing an overhead traveling crane in a reactor containment vessel of a pressurized water reactor, or the steps of, in an area where an overhead traveling cr... | 05/04/2004 |
| 6665364 | Inspection method and apparatus for piping Nuclear fuels are taken from a nuclear reactor pressure vessel, a rail for running is mounted under the reactor pressure vessel drain piping in parallel with a horizontal portion of the reactor pressure vessel drain piping inside a pedestal positioned on ... | 12/16/2003 |
| 6654436 | Stud enclosure and method of use A stud enclosure for protecting a stud extending upwardly from a nuclear reactor pressure vessel (RPV) flange has a cylindrical can with a capped end and an open end. The capped end has an axially extending hole with a screw extending therein for fastenin... | 11/25/2003 |
| 6643349 | Method of removing a large-sized apparatus from a reactor building of a nuclear plant In order to carry out a radioactivated reactor pressure vessel from a nuclear reactor building of a nuclear power plant, a first opening portion for carrying out the reactor pressure vessel is provided in a roof of the nuclear reactor building. A radiatio... | 11/04/2003 |
| 6625248 | Process for the treatment of radioactive graphite A process for the treatment of radioactive graphite which includes the following steps: (i) reacting the radioactive graphite at a temperature in the range of from 250° C. to 900° C. with superheated steam or gases containing water vapor to form hydroge... | 09/23/2003 |
| 6625245 | Method of handling reactor vessel A method of carrying out a reactor vessel according to the present invention includes removing an overhead traveling crane in a reactor containment vessel of a pressurized water reactor. Alternatively, in an area where an overhead traveling crane is insta... | 09/23/2003 |
| 6556641 | Apparatus and method for handling reactor-internal equipments There are provided a control rod holding unit 16 for releasably holding a control rod 7 which is loaded in a reactor vessel 1, and fuel support/control rod guide tube holding unit 17 for releasably holding a fuel support 8 which supports a bottom end of a... | 04/29/2003 |
| 6501813 | Control rod/fuel support grapple A control rod/fuel support grapple is provided which is capable of pulling up simultaneously a control rod and a fuel support from a reactor and also uncoupling the control rod and control rod drive mechanism. The control rod/fuel support grapple comprise... | 12/31/2002 |
| 6452993 | Method of carrying out large-sized apparatus When a radioactivated reactor pressure vessel is carried out from a nuclear reactor building of a nuclear power plant, a first opening portion for carrying out the reactor pressure vessel is provided in a roof of the nuclear reactor building, a radiation ... | 09/17/2002 |
| 6327322 | Interlock assembly for burnable poison rod transfer device A transfer device for moving a poison rod assembly between fuel cells in a nuclear fuel storage facility coupleable to an overhead crane. The poison rod assembly has a plurality of poison rods disposed in rows. The device includes an elongated outer membe... | 12/04/2001 |
| 6327321 | Borated aluminum rodlets for use in spent nuclear fuel assemblies Extruded Borated Aluminum rodlets of extended length are formed to maximize neutron absorption surface area while minimizing weight. They are located in the empty cells of a new or spent fuel assembly previously used by control rods and instrumentation wi... | 12/04/2001 |
| 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 |
| 6282254 | Slidable comb assembly for burnable poison rod transfer device A transfer device for moving a poison rod assembly between fuel cells in a nuclear fuel storage facility, where the poison rod assembly has a plurality of poison rods depending from a web. The transfer device includes a frame assembly, a poison rod assemb... | 08/28/2001 |
| 6240155 | Preventive maintenance apparatus for structural members in a nuclear pressure vessel A method of performing maintenance on a structural member inside a reactor pressure vessel includes lowering an annular guide rail having a second lug until the guide rail rests on an upper flange of a core shroud provided inside the reactor pressure vess... | 05/29/2001 |
| 6108391 | Apparatus for performing jet pump riser pipe repairs Apparatus for supporting the lower elbow assembly of a jet pump in a reactor pressure vessel (RPV) of a nuclear reactor are described. The clamp apparatus includes a lower clamp element and an upper clamp element. The upper and lower elements are configur... | 08/22/2000 |
| 6047037 | Multi-lift tool and method for moving control rods in a nuclear reactor A multi-lift tool and method for moving control rod assemblies in a nuclear reactor. The multi-lift tool comprises a frame having an upper end and a lower end. A control rod grapple is supported by the frame for engaging a lifting handle of a control rod.... | 04/04/2000 |
| 5999584 | Reactor head lift apparatus A rigging system for reactor closure head and reactor internals lifts. The system includes a plurality of latchbox pendants attached to the lifting structure of an overhead crane. A first set of a plurality of lifting lugs is attached to the reactor inter... | 12/07/1999 |
| 5970109 | Method for disposing of a component located in a reactor pressure vessel of a nuclear reactor plant A method for disposing of a component located in a reactor pressure vessel of a nuclear reactor plant. The component is, in particular, a lower core structure of a pressurized water reactor plant. An upper part of a container provided for further transpor... | 10/19/1999 |
| 5930318 | Method and a device for nuclear fuel handling The present invention provides a method and apparatus for fuel handling in a nuclear reactor. The nuclear reactor has a reactor vessel comprising a reactor core with a plurality of fuel assemblies and control rods. A fuel pool is arranged adjacent to the ... | 07/27/1999 |
| 5896430 | Method and a device for fuel handling The present invention is used in fuel handling for lifting of fuel assemblies and/or control rods out of/into a reactor vessel in a nuclear reactor. The reactor vessel comprises a reactor core with a plurality of fuel assemblies and control rods. A fuel p... | 04/20/1999 |
| 5802127 | Device for protecting in-core monitors against damage during servicing of nuclear reactor An in-core monitor protector intended for use during in-vessel services while work is being performed in the reactor core region of a BWR. The purpose of the protector is to prevent damage to or displacement of the in-core monitors, which could be caused ... | 09/01/1998 |
| 5778034 | Control rod drive mechanism This control rod drive limiter removes the need for piping for extraction drive, increases the reliability of linkage with respect to the control rod, and removes the need of a speed limiter for the control rod, since there is no need to assume that the l... | 07/07/1998 |
| 5734690 | Reactor-internal equipment handling apparatus The reactor-internal equipment handling apparatus (29) can mount and dismount a reactor-internal equipment (5, 70) to and from the reactor pressure vessel (24) quickly. The reactor-internal equipment handling apparatus for a nuclear reactor, hung down fro... | 03/31/1998 |
| 5570399 | Control rod and supporting metal gripping apparatus and method of withdrawing same A control rod and fuel supporting member gripping apparatus for gripping a fuel supporting member and a control rod is disposed in a reactor pressure vessel. The fuel supporting member is mounted on a core supporting plate and has fuel assembly supporting... | 10/29/1996 |
| 5473645 | Fuel support and control rod storage rack A tool set and a method of using those tools in combination is disclosed that are especially well adapted to the function of rearranging and/or replacing the control rods and fuel supports in a boiling water reactor. The tool set includes a grapple that i... | 12/05/1995 |
| 5425070 | Nuclear fuel assembly insert alignment tool Apparatus for engaging and aligning lower ends of rodlets, or pins, of a nuclear fuel assembly insert. The apparatus facilitates positioning the insert within guide tubes of a nuclear fuel assembly. The nuclear fuel assembly insert rodlet alignment appara... | 06/13/1995 |
| 5420899 | Grapple for a fuel bundle channel A grapple is provided for use with a fuel bundle channel of a nuclear reactor wherein the channel is provided with a pair of gussets in opposite corners of an upper end of the channel, each gusset having a hole therein. The grapple includes a pair of leve... | 05/30/1995 |
| 5377240 | Transfer carriage with interchangeable baskets An improved system for transferring fuel bundles and control blades between a fuel storage pool and a fuel core of a nuclear reactor. The transfer system includes a carriage which is movable horizontally along a track which is submerged in a transfer pool... | 12/27/1994 |
| 5377239 | BWR control rod handling tooling & method A tool set and a method of using those tools in combination is disclosed that are especially well adapted to the function of rearranging and/or replacing the control rods and fuel supports in a boiling water reactor. The tool set includes a grapple that i... | 12/27/1994 |
| 5331675 | Apparatus and a method for handling a control rod A control rod handling apparatus and method for exchanging a control rod connected to a control rod drive mechanism by a bayonet coupling. The control rod handling apparatus comprises a member or connection to a fuel exchange apparatus, a fixing part havi... | 07/19/1994 |
