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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7290319 | Methods for installing a fuel pellet locking retainer in a nuclear fuel rod A method for installing a locking retainer in a tube to maintain internal components within the tube under compression comprising the steps of: a) providing an elongated retainer spring having large and small diameter sections with the large diameter section of a si... | 11/06/2007 |
| 7010078 | Fuel rod for a nuclear plant and a plenum spring arranged to be provided in such a fuel rod The present invention relates to a fuel rod for a nuclear plant and a plenum spring arranged to be provided in a fuel rod. The fuel rod (1) comprises a cladding tube (2) sealed at its ends by end plugs (3, 4), a plurality of fuel pellets (5 | 03/07/2006 |
| 6934351 | Boiling water reactor fuel assembly An fuel assembly with a connection between a fuel channel and a lower tie plate to allow the fuel channel to be removed from an internal fuel rod assembly without the necessity of moving interior fuel rods during removal of the fuel channel. ... | 08/23/2005 |
| 6909766 | Production method for a nuclear fuel assembly support grid and a nuclear fuel assembly support grid produced by the same One object of the present invention is to provide a production method for a nuclear fuel assembly support grid that improves the corrosion resistance of welded parts without impairing the characteristics of the support grid so as to be able adequately withstand high... | 06/21/2005 |
| 6901969 | Plugs for use in conduits to reinforce air conditioning ducts, and methods of manufacture and use A method and apparatus for reinforcing duct work is provided. In one embodiment, a reinforcement comprises a conduit having a first end and a second end. A pair of plugs is insertable into the first and second ends of the conduit. Each of the plugs has a groove exte... | 06/07/2005 |
| 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 |
| 6697448 | Neutronic fuel element fabrication This disclosure describes a method for metallurgically bonding a complete leak-tight enclosure to a matrix-type fuel element penetrated longitudinally by a multiplicity of coolant channels. Coolant tubes containing solid filler pins are disposed in the co... | 02/24/2004 |
| 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 |
| 6665363 | Method of inspecting the welding of a sealed closure plug of a nuclear reactor fuel element Before welding, the plug and the sleeve of the fuel rod being in the welding position at the welding station, the sleeve and the plug of the fuel rod are rotated about their common axis with the aid of rotation means, images are taken along the periphery ... | 12/16/2003 |
| 6644915 | Nuclear power station primary pump There is provided a nuclear power station primary pump of the type comprising a drive shaft for rotating a wheel, a heat exchanger, a thermal barrier cover comprising a peripheral skirt provided at its base with a circular end wall, and a diffuser compris... | 11/11/2003 |
| 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 |
| 6347130 | Fuel assembly with short fuel units A fuel assembly for a boiling water reactor comprising a plurality of fuel units, stacked on top of each other, each of which comprising a plurality of fuel rods extending vertically between a top tie plate and a bottom tie plate, and means for keeping th... | 02/12/2002 |
| 6310931 | Device and method for locking rods in a bottom tie plate of a fuel assembly The present invention relates to a fuel assembly (1) and a method therefor. The fuel assembly is intended for a light-water cooled nuclear reactor and comprises a first and a second locking member (9a, 9b, 10), a plurality of elongated elements (3, 3a) wh... | 10/30/2001 |
| 6275557 | Nuclear fuel assembly The present invention relates to a fuel assembly with a substantially square cross section for a light-water reactor. The light-water reactor comprises a plurality of fuel rods (4) extending between a top tie plate (5) and a bottom tie plate (6). A fuel r... | 08/14/2001 |
| 6212250 | Fuel element closure method A method for providing a leak-tight metal enclosure to a fuel matrix penetrated by coolant channels, wherein the mutually contacting surfaces of said metal enclosure and said fuel matrix are metallurgically bonded, comprising placing a metal cladding abou... | 04/03/2001 |
| 6151376 | Nuclear fuel assembly The present invention relates to a fuel assembly with a substantially square cross section for a light-water reactor. The light-water reactor comprises a plurality of fuel rods extending between a top tie plate and a bottom tie plate. A fuel rod comprises... | 11/21/2000 |
| 6104773 | Fuel rod for a nuclear reactor A fuel rod for a nuclear reactor includes a metal cladding tube being filled with nuclear fuel and having ends, an outer surface, and a longitudinal axis. A metal seal plug is welded to one of the ends of the cladding tube at a transition point, defining ... | 08/15/2000 |
| 6014418 | Fuel rod for light water reactor and method for manufacturing the same A fuel rod for a light water reactor comprises a cladding tube which comprises a zirconium alloy having a composition including 0.6 to 2.0% by weight of Nb, 0.5 to 1.5% by weight of Sn, 0.05 to 0.3% by weight of Fe, and the balance being Zr and incidental... | 01/11/2000 |
| 5949839 | Fuel assembly for a boiling water reactor A fuel assembly for a boiling water reactor where the fuel assembly during operation is arranged vertically in the core of the reactor. The fuel assembly comprises a plurality of vertical fuel rods (22) arranged in one or more fuel bundles, wherein at lea... | 09/07/1999 |
| 5943385 | Nuclear fuel assembly having a transition piece providing a reduced flow resistance In order to reduce the flow resistance of a coolant flowing through a passage in a support plate of a boiling water reactor and entering a transition piece at a lower end of a fuel assembly resting on the support plate, a lower rim of the transition piece... | 08/24/1999 |
| 5912935 | Fuel rod for light water reactor and method for manufacturing the same A fuel rod for a light water reactor comprises a cladding tube which comprises a zirconium alloy having a composition including 0.6 to 2.0% by weight of Nb, 0.5 to 1.5% by weight of Sn, 0.05 to 0.3% by weight of Fe, and the balance being Zr and incidental... | 06/15/1999 |
| 5878100 | Fuel assembly for a boiling water reactor A fuel assembly for a boiling water reactor comprises a plurality of first full-length fuel rods arranged in an orthogonal lattice, wherein each fuel rod is included in two rows of fuel rods perpendicular to each other, and a number of second fuel rods ar... | 03/02/1999 |
| 5859886 | Fuel assembly for a boiling water reactor A fuel assembly for a boiling water reactor comprises a bottom tie plate, a top tie plate, and a first and a second group of vertical fuel rods, each including a column of fuel pellets surrounded by a cladding tube. The second group of fuel rods has a sho... | 01/12/1999 |
| 5748691 | Apparatus and methods for sealing end plugs for nuclear fuel rods End plugs for nuclear fuel rods are provided with a spot weld along the interior end face of the end plugs to seal any streamer openings or passages along the axis of the end plugs, thereby maintaining the fuel rods sealed at its opposite ends. The spot w... | 05/05/1998 |
| 5623526 | Method and apparatus for repair of nuclear reactor shroud In order to support a shroud against bending, shear, stress and torsion, straps which are preferably formed of the same material as the shroud, are placed in strategic positions with respect to cracks or the like type of weaknesses which have been detecte... | 04/22/1997 |
| 5619546 | Resistance temperature detector nozzle mechanical clamp A fluid tight mechanical clamp for creating a compressed graphite seal between a resistance temperature detector nozzle and a NSSS piping hot or cold leg pipe is provided which includes a split graphite seal ring, a peripheral seal back-up ring, a split l... | 04/08/1997 |
| 5608768 | Threaded fuel rod end plugs and related method In a fuel bundle assembly for a nuclear reactor wherein a plurality of fuel rods and tie rods extend between upper and lower tie plates and wherein some of the fuel rods are partial length fuel rods extending between the lower tie plate and a spacer locat... | 03/04/1997 |
| 5602885 | Automated girth weld inspection of nuclear fuel rods The girth welds joining the end plugs and the hollow tubes of nuclear fuel rods are inspected automatically using a technique that averages reflectance values, compares the reflectance values to standards defined as proportions of the average, and counts ... | 02/11/1997 |
| 5600694 | Nuclear fuel upper end fitting quick disconnect joint A fuel assembly for use in a pressurized water nuclear reactor includes an assembly having guide tubes joined at their upper ends to posts having heads against which is biased a holddown plate spaced from a flow plate. The holddown plate is slidably mount... | 02/04/1997 |
| 5586155 | Narrow access scanning positioner for inspecting core shroud in boiling water reactor A method and an apparatus for inspecting a core shroud by remote operation. The apparatus is a robotic scanning device which can be installed in the narrow space between the core shroud and the jet pumps and which can scan azimuthally and vertically aroun... | 12/17/1996 |
| 5581588 | Insulated protective coating doped with a noble metal for mitigation of stress corrosion cracking A method for mitigating crack initiation and propagation on the surface of metal components in a water-cooled nuclear reactor. An electrically insulating coating doped with a noble metal is applied on the surfaces of IGSCC-susceptible reactor components. ... | 12/03/1996 |
| 5577081 | Method of forming grids for nuclear fuel assembly and grids formed by same method A method of forming a nuclear fuel assembly grid, as well as the resulting grid itself, are disclosed. In the formation of the grid, formed straps having slits are prepared, arranged into a grid form by intersecting the straps with each other through the ... | 11/19/1996 |
| 5555280 | Process and device for producing a leakproof protective coating on a surface of a nuclear reactor component The surface of the component (1, 2) to be protected is scanned, a jet of semitransferred arc plasma (17) into which a metal powder is introduced. The process can be applied to the production of a layer of coating (18) on the outer surface of a region of w... | 09/10/1996 |
| 5533077 | Method for preventing scratches on fuel rods during fuel bundle assembly An improved method for assembling bundles of nuclear fuel rods which reduces damage to the fuel cladding surface as the fuel rods are passed through an array of spacers. In particular, the invention prevents or greatly reduces the severity of longitudinal... | 07/02/1996 |
| 5526388 | Debris resistant fuel rod sleeve A debris resistant fuel rod sleeve that is received over the lower end of a fuel rod. The sleeve extends above the top of the lowermost spacer grid. Openings are spaced apart around the circumference of the sleeve to correspond to the location of hard sto... | 06/11/1996 |
| 5490189 | Nuclear fuel assembly debris filter A nuclear fuel assembly debris filter. Each fuel rod has a ring attached to the lower end cap. The rings are shaped and sized to define a space between the lower end cap and ring such that the space serves to trap, or filter, debris before it reaches the ... | 02/06/1996 |
| 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 |
| 5425071 | Loading nuclear fuel pellets into cladding tubes An end plug is inserted into the end of a nuclear fuel pin cladding tube after loading mixed oxide fuel pellets into the tube from a containment area. During the pellet loading operation, a disposable sleeve and an end plug carrier protect the external su... | 06/13/1995 |
| 5374800 | Method for welding of fuel rod A resistance welding method for a fuel rod is presented in which the gas seal opening is closed with a sealing material of the same composition as the end plug material. The method enable to perform welding stably in a pressurized welding chamber, and the... | 12/20/1994 |
| 5317612 | Use of shape memory alloys in fuel pellet holddown springs A composite holddown spring for applying an axial force to a fuel pellet stack in a nuclear reactor fuel rod. The composite holddown spring comprises a shape-memory alloy spring portion and a conventional metal spring portion. The shape-memory alloy sprin... | 05/31/1994 |
