Did You Know...
...that the Band-Aid Bandage was invented by a Johnson & Johnson employee whose wife had cut herself? Earl Dickson's wife was rather accident prone, so he set out to develop a bandage that she could apply without help. He placed a small piece of gauze in the center of a small piece of surgical tape, and what we know today as the Band Aid bandage was born!
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 6721381 | Seal arrangement for in-core instrument housing A seal arrangement for providing a seal between a nuclear reactor in-core instrument housing and an instrument contained within the housing includes a lower seal assembly surrounding an outer portion of the in-core instrument housing, an upper seal assembly surround... | 04/13/2004 |
| 6680994 | Monitoring the contents of a container by ultrasonic means The contents of a container 1 are non-intrusively monitored by probing the container with an ultrasonic signal, and measuring changes in the ultrasound signature of the received signal after the signal has passed through the contents of the container.... | 01/20/2004 |
| 6621079 | Apparatus and method for a near field scanning optical microscope in aqueous solution The present invention near field scanning optical microscope NSOM, and related method thereof, provides a high resolution image of a sample in aqueous solution without damaging the sample. This attribute will greatly expand the applications and utility of... | 09/16/2003 |
| 6522708 | Seal arrangement for in-core instrument housing A seal arrangement for providing a seal between a nuclear reactor in-core instrument housing and an instrument contained within the housing includes a lower seal assembly surrounding an outer portion of the in-core instrument housing, an upper seal assemb... | 02/18/2003 |
| 6370214 | Radiation induced growth indication apparatus for pressurized water reactor nuclear fuel assemblies Apparatus for the determination of radiation induced growth due to burnup of a nuclear reactor fuel assembly in a reactor core.... | 04/09/2002 |
| 5892804 | One-way implodable tag capsule with hemispherical beaded end cap for LWR fuel manufacturing A capsule containing a tag gas in a zircaloy body portion having a hemispical top curved toward the bottom of the body portion. The hemispherical top has a rupturable portion upon exposure to elevated gas pressure and the capsule is positioned within a f... | 04/06/1999 |
| 5790622 | Fuel rod having predetermined secondary damage In order to avoid uncontrolled secondary damage to a fuel rod, in particular a fuel rod being formed of Zircaloy and having a liner on the inside, in which the secondary damage may be generated by coolant that enters the fuel rod in the event of primary d... | 08/04/1998 |
| 5706321 | Method for nonlinear optimization for gas tagging and other systems A method and system for providing nuclear fuel rods with a configuration of isotopic gas tags. The method includes selecting a true location of a first gas tag node, selecting initial locations for the remaining n-1 nodes using target gas tag compositions... | 01/06/1998 |
| 5436944 | Device and method for monitoring the internal surface of a tubular piece The device includes a first tubular support (11) carrying on its outside surface means for fixing to a handling tool, a second tubular support (18) mounted coaxially inside the first support (11) for rotation about its axis. A flexible strip (55) carrying... | 07/25/1995 |
| 5406605 | Method for designing gas tag compositions For use in the manufacture of gas tags such as employed in a nuclear reactor gas tagging failure detection system, a method for designing gas tagging compositions utilizes an analytical approach wherein the final composition of a first canister of tag gas... | 04/11/1995 |
| 5185122 | Gamma ray flux measurement system Gamma radiation leaving the surface of a radioactive materials storage vessel is measured and monitored using a plurality of gamma ray absorbing calorimeters. The gamma ray energy absorbed is converted into heat and such heat is measured or indicated for ... | 02/09/1993 |
| 5098641 | Method and apparatus for measuring subchannel voids in a light water reactor test fuel assembly A light water nuclear reactor test assembly for emulating the performance of a nuclear boiling water reactor fuel bundle and measuring the subchannel void fraction in the two-phase region of the emulated fuel bundle by gamma ray attenuation is disclosed. ... | 03/24/1992 |
| 5098642 | System for identification of components A method and apparatus for providing a permanent identification of reactor fuel assemblies with an in-reactor remote readout capability. A bar code type code assemblage is permanently coupled with the upper portion of the fuel assembly which is comprised ... | 03/24/1992 |
| 5009835 | Nuclear fuel rod helium leak inspection apparatus and method An inspection apparatus and method for testing nuclear fuel rods for helium leaks includes the basic operative steps of constantly leaking helium at a predetermined known value into a test chamber containing a fuel rod to be tested, and sampling the atmos... | 04/23/1991 |
| 4990304 | Instrumentation tube features for reduction of coolant flow-induced vibration of flux thimble tube A nuclear fuel assembly has mechanical elements which constrain the flux thimble tube within the instrumentation tube to maintain physical contact with the interior surface of the instrumentation tube at a plurality of points staggered on a single-diametr... | 02/05/1991 |
| 4859408 | Method and apparatus for securing structural tubes in nuclear reactor fuel assemblies An insert for providing a reduced inside diameter for a structural tube, specifically an instrumentation guide tube, of a nuclear fuel assembly. The insert has forming lobes which coact with the structural tube to plastically deform the structural tube an... | 08/22/1989 |
| 4822987 | Method and apparatus for providing fuel rod identification to permit traceability during manufacture and use In a nuclear fuel rod identification system, indicia is provided on a nuclear fuel rod in two stages. In the first stage, by use of a laser beam a bar code is applied directly on the fuel rod cladding tube prior to loading it with nuclear fuel and attachi... | 04/18/1989 |
| 4716017 | Apparatus for securing structural tubes in nuclear reactor fuel assemblies An insert for providing a reduced inside diameter for a structural tube, specifically an instrumentation guide tube, of a nuclear fuel assembly. The insert has forming lobes which coact with the structural tube to plastically deform the structural tube an... | 12/29/1987 |
| 4697322 | Method and device for repairing fuel assemblies of boiling-water nuclear reactors A method of repairing under water a boiling water reactor-fuel assembly having a fuel assembly channel and an upper grid plate by means of a channel stripping machine, disassembling the upper grid plate, determining a damaged fuel rod and exchanging the d... | 10/06/1987 |
| 4659544 | Unitary structure of tag gas capsule and end cap of nuclear fuel cladding tube An end cap with a tag gas capsule adapted to close an end of a cladding tube of a nuclear fuel element and to introduce a tag gas into the fuel element. The end cap is fixed to the tag gas capsule to form a unitary structure. The end cap has a specific sh... | 04/21/1987 |
| 4657729 | Solid tags for identifying failed reactor components A solid tag material which generates stable detectable, identifiable, and measurable isotopic gases on exposure to a neutron flux to be placed in a nuclear reactor component, particularly a fuel element, in order to identify the reactor component in event... | 04/14/1987 |
| 4645636 | Measuring head for determining the pressure of fission gases released inside bars of nuclear fuel A measuring head suitable for determining the pressure of fission gases released inside non-instrumented bars of nuclear fuel (which have reached high irradiation levels), and for connection to said bars by a method which allows no escape of said active g... | 02/24/1987 |
| 4513506 | Measuring of tube expansion The expansion of the primary tubes or sleeves of the steam generator of a nuclear reactor plant are measured while the tubes or sleeves are being expanded. A primary tube or sleeve is expanded by high pressure of water which flows through a channel in an ... | 04/30/1985 |
| 4495141 | Tagging gas releasing element A tagging gas releasing element which is contained in a nuclear fuel rod to release a tagging gas for detecting a failed fuel. The element comprises an inorganic solid material holding the tagging gas therein. The tagging gas is composed of a rare gas, an... | 01/22/1985 |
| 4415524 | Apparatus for and method of monitoring for breached fuel elements This invention teaches improved apparatus for the method of detecting a breach in cladded fuel used in a nuclear reactor. The detector apparatus uses a separate bypass loop for conveying part of the reactor coolant away from the core, and at least three s... | 11/15/1983 |
| 4402904 | Method for determining clad integrity of a nuclear fuel rod A method for testing the clad integrity of a nuclear fuel rod, comprising the first step of fabricating a sealed fuel rod with a wad of electrically conducting material mounted therein. The material is of a type that undergoes a permanent change in electr... | 09/06/1983 |
| 4380527 | Standard fission product emission device for detecting failed fuel elements in a nuclear reactor The present invention relates to a standard fission product emission device, for detecting failed fuel elements in a nuclear reactor of the type cooled by pressurized water, said reactor comprising a pressure-resistant vessel and a core constituted by fue... | 04/19/1983 |
| 4376582 | Optical fuel pin scanner An optical scanner for indicia arranged in a focal plane at a cylindrical outside surface by use of an optical system including a rotatable dove prism. The dove prism transmits a rotating image of an encircled cylindrical surface area to a stationary phot... | 03/15/1983 |
| 4368170 | Method of operating nuclear reactors In a nuclear reactor comprising control rods, nuclear fuel elements each having a cladding and pellets inserted therein, and a recirculation system, the reactor raises its power at least once by withdrawal of the control rods above a pellet-cladding inter... | 01/11/1983 |
| 4312707 | Nuclear fuel rod A nuclear fuel rod, which comprises: a cladding tube filled with an inert gas or liquid metal and sealed at both ends in airtightness; and a plurality of nuclear fuel pellets piled one atop another in the cladding tube, and wherein an adsorbent carrying a tag ... | 01/26/1982 |
| 4302295 | Nuclear fuel element A fuel element contains a tag gas serving to detect breakage of a cladding tube. Pellets of a fuel material and a metal foil having a tag gas implanted thereinto by ion implantation method are loaded in a cladding tube.... | 11/24/1981 |
| 4289987 | Magnetostrictive non-contacting pressure detection system A system including a sensor and electronic instrumentation for measuring fission gas pressures inside a pressurized system or device or the like, such as a nuclear fuel rod. The system is based primarily on what is commonly known as the Villari effect whi... | 09/15/1981 |
| 4132618 | Electrolytic device for marking metallic parts At least one cylinder having electrically conductive portions and in tangential contact with a metallic tube is associated with a tank filled with electrolyte which is brought to the contact surface between cylinder and tube as a result of rotational moti... | 01/02/1979 |
| 4092217 | Fuel elements for nuclear reactors and method for testing the circulation of fuel elements in a core of a nuclear reactor A method of testing the circulation of a bulk charge of fuel elements in the core of a pebble bed type of nuclear reactor comprises increasing the electrical conductivity of a number of fuel elements and then injecting the marked elements into a bulk char... | 05/30/1978 |
| 4051369 | Method for inspecting nuclear fuel rod or irradiation capsule A method for inspecting a nuclear fuel rod or irradiation capsule in which a heat transfer medium consisting of a liquid metal having a radioactive element uniformly admixed therewith is charged, e.g. poured, into a gap defined between the nuclear fuel ma... | 09/27/1977 |
| 4039375 | Detection of fuel rod leakage Nuclear reactor fuel rod leakage is determined by measurement of vibrational characteristics of a resilient, flexible means sealed within the upper end caps of the fuel elements. The flexible means, which is preferably a metallic diaphragm, is set into mo... | 08/02/1977 |
| 3969187 | Detection of fuel rod leakage Nuclear reactor fuel rod leakage is determined by measurement of vibrational characteristics of a resilient, flexible means sealed within the upper end caps of the fuel elements. The flexible means, which is preferably a metallic diaphragm, is set into mo... | 07/13/1976 |
| 3964967 | Tag gas capsule with magnetic piercing device An apparatus for introducing a tag (i.e., identifying) gas into a tubular nuclear fuel element. A sealed capsule containing the tag gas is placed in the plenum in the fuel tube between the fuel and the end cap. A ferromagnetic punch having a penetrating p... | 06/22/1976 |
| 3940313 | Device for detecting defective nuclear reactor fuel rods A moisture sensor is provided for a nuclear fuel rod for water-cooled nuclear reactors wherein moisture can be present. The fuel rod has an end cap and a charge of nuclear fuel. The moisture sensor is disposed between the end cap and the charge and serves... | 02/24/1976 |
