Patents by Inventor Grant Helmreich

Grant Helmreich has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • FUEL-CLADDING CHEMICAL INTERACTION RESISTANT NUCLEAR FUEL ELEMENTS AND METHODS FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME
    Publication number: 20190043625
    Abstract: This disclosure describes fuel-cladding chemical interaction (FCCI) resistant nuclear fuel elements and their manufacturing techniques. The nuclear fuel elements include two or more layers of different materials (i.e., adjacent barriers are of different base materials) provided on a steel cladding to reduce the effects of FCCI between the cladding and the nuclear material. Depending on the embodiment, a layer may be the structural element (i.e., a layer thick enough to provide more than 50% of the strength of the overall component consisting of the cladding and the barriers) or may be more appropriately described as a liner or coating that is applied in some fashion to a surface of the structural component (e.g., to the cladding, or to a structural form of the fuel).
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 19, 2018
    Publication date: February 7, 2019
    Applicant: TerraPower, LLC
    Inventors: Micah J. Hackett, Grant Helmreich, Ryan N. Latta, Gary Povirk, Philip M. Schloss, James M. Vollmer
  • NUCLEAR FUEL ELEMENT
    Publication number: 20140185733
    Abstract: Disclosed embodiments include fuel assemblies, methods of making a fuel element, and methods of using a fuel element.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 11, 2013
    Publication date: July 3, 2014
    Inventors: Gary Povirk, James M. Vollmer, Ryan N. Latta, Grant Helmreich, Phillip Schloss