Patents Assigned to AREVA
  • Patent number: 7587018
    Abstract: A nuclear fuel and a method to produce a nuclear fuel wherein a porous uranium dioxide arrangement is provided, the arrangement is infiltrated with a precursor liquid and the arrangement is thermally treated such the porous uranium dioxide arrangement is infiltrated with a precursor liquid, followed by a thermal treating of the porous uranium dioxide arrangement with the infiltrated precursor liquid such that the precursor liquid is converted to a second phase.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 8, 2007
    Date of Patent: September 8, 2009
    Assignee: Areva NP Inc.
    Inventor: John Kevin McCoy
  • Publication number: 20090217504
    Abstract: A method for producing a collecting line, and a collecting line produced according to the method is provided for detecting and locating an agent discharging into the environment of the collecting line in case of leakage. Such a collecting line has a carrier pipe, the wall of which is equipped with openings that are sealed by an elastic material that is permeable for the agent. Accordingly, a hose made of the permeable elastic material, the inside diameter of which is smaller than the outside diameter of the carrier pipe, is elastically expanded by creating a pressure difference between the interior and the exterior of the hose. The carrier pipe is inserted into the radially expanded hose, and the radially expanded hose is attached to the outside surface of the carrier pipe by reducing the pressure difference.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 12, 2009
    Publication date: September 3, 2009
    Applicant: AREVA NP GMBH
    Inventors: Karl-Heinz Storb, Arno Balthasar, Jan Zach, Walter Knoblach, Hans-Joachim Wittmann
  • Publication number: 20090213979
    Abstract: The invention relates to a nuclear power station comprising: at least one high temperature reactor; a storage installation (14) for fuel elements (5); means (32) for transferring the fuel elements (5) between the core (4) and the storage installation (14). According to the invention, the transfer means (32) comprise a tunnel (34) for transferring the fuel elements between the reactor core (4) and the storage installation (14).
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 8, 2008
    Publication date: August 27, 2009
    Applicant: AREVA NP
    Inventor: Christophe Frecon
  • Patent number: 7577229
    Abstract: A resilient bush for frictionally engaging a centering pin of the fuel assembly is fixed in each of the through-holes of at least one of the end-pieces of the fuel assembly. The resilient bush comprises an annular member which has a portion for fixing in the hole of the end-piece and resilient arms which are separated by apertures. The flexible arms of the resilient bush comprise, in a free end portion, a supporting surface which projects radially inside the bush whose diameter is smaller than the diameter of a centering pin of the fuel assembly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 18, 2009
    Assignee: Areva NP
    Inventors: Jean-Luc Chambrin, Angelo Beati, Guy Gentet
  • Patent number: 7573315
    Abstract: A control device contains a plurality of controllers, a common signal output, and a change-over unit. The controllers are coupled on an output side to the common signal output through the change-over unit. A plurality of differentiating elements are disposed upstream of the change-over unit and in each case connected with one of the controllers. An integrating element follows the change-over unit. An output of a controller is first differentiated, sent through the change-over unit, and then integrated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 2007
    Date of Patent: August 11, 2009
    Assignee: Areva NP GmbH
    Inventor: Victor Morokhovskyi
  • Publication number: 20090190711
    Abstract: A cask for loading at least one nuclear fuel assembly in a transport container, including a body with a longitudinal axis (X) capable of sealably covering an upper end of a container, at least one aperture (10) for letting through a fuel assembly, at least one means for connecting to pneumatic confinement means and at least one means (56) capable of maintaining a means (58) for sealing a chamber of the container inside the cask and at a distance from an entrance of said chamber during loading, wherein the maintaining means (56) includes a first arm (60) rotationally mobile around a first axis and a second arm (62) attached to the first arm (60) and rotationally mobile relatively to the first arm, said cask also including external means for controlling the arms (68,86), and wherein the second arm (62) includes a housing (76) for receiving the sealing means.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 26, 2007
    Publication date: July 30, 2009
    Applicant: AREVA NC
    Inventor: Serge Fantini
  • Publication number: 20090188715
    Abstract: An electrical insulator disk has central recesses and peripheral recesses to enable the disk to be mounted floatingly relative to flanges between which the disk is held and to a linear conductor that extends through the disk.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 26, 2009
    Publication date: July 30, 2009
    Applicant: AREVA T&D AG
    Inventors: Johannes Blatter, Hugo Hiltbrunner, Gerardo Palmieri, Robert Luscher
  • Publication number: 20090183694
    Abstract: A method is provided for cleaning crevices between a plurality of tubes and a plurality of tube support plates supporting the tubes in a steam generator. The steps include filling a secondary side of the steam generator with a solvent to a first level above a first tube support plate to be cleaned, draining the solvent to a second level lower than the first tube support plate, and refilling the secondary side of the steam generator with the solvent to a third level above the first tube support plate. A cleaning system is also provided.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 18, 2008
    Publication date: July 23, 2009
    Applicant: AREVA NP INC.
    Inventors: John F. Remark, Sarah E. Evans
  • Publication number: 20090184298
    Abstract: A process for reprocessing a spent nuclear fuel and for preparing a mixed uranium-plutonium oxide. The process: a) separates the uranium and plutonium from fission products, americium, and curium that are present in an aqueous nitric solution resulting from dissolution of the fuel in nitric acid, the separating including at least one operation of coextracting the uranium and plutonium from the solution by a solvent phase; b) partitions the coextracted uranium and plutonium to a first aqueous phase containing plutonium and uranium, and a second aqueous phase containing uranium but no plutonium; c) purifies the plutonium and uranium that are present in the first aqueous phase; and d) coconverts the plutonium and uranium to a mixed uranium/plutonium oxide.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 23, 2007
    Publication date: July 23, 2009
    Applicants: Commissariat A L'Energie Atomique, Areva NC
    Inventors: Pascal Baron, Binh Dinh, Michel Masson, Francois Drain, Jean Luc Emin
  • Patent number: 7563161
    Abstract: The control device comprises a vacuum first item of switchgear (1) which includes a pair of contacts (5, 6) that can be separated for interruption purposes. It also includes a main drive shaft (2) for actuating a second item of switchgear (10) immersed in a gaseous insulating fluid (G2) contained at a determined pressure (P2), and further includes an auxiliary shaft (4) to enable a moving contact (5) of the first item of switchgear (1) to be driven. The auxiliary shaft (4) passes in leaktight manner through a wall (7A, 7?) which separates the volume of gaseous insulating fluid (G2) from another volume (V1) of fluid (G1) at a lower pressure, the difference between the respective pressures (P2, P1) of the two fluids (G2, G1) procuring a certain force (Fp) which is applied to said auxiliary shaft (4) and which participates in said contact pressure force.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2005
    Date of Patent: July 21, 2009
    Assignee: Areva T & D SA
    Inventor: Michel Perret
  • Publication number: 20090173611
    Abstract: Operating mechanism for medium and high voltage switchgear, in which a rotatable main shaft is coupled to a switch, and a rocker plate is rotatable with the main shaft, the main shaft being arranged to open and close said switch by tilting the rocker plate. The rocker plate constitutes a plurality of force transmission levers and comprises a plurality of zones distributed around the main shaft. A rotary actuator has force transmitting means for driving the rocker plate in a direction corresponding to closing of the switch, and an opening spring for driving the rocker plate in a direction corresponding to opening of the switch. Closed switch locking means are coupled to the rocker plate (4) and are disposed substantially in a common plane of the rocker plate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 12, 2008
    Publication date: July 9, 2009
    Applicant: AREVA T&D AG
    Inventors: Ernst SUTER, Xavier Allaire, Philippe Manin
  • Publication number: 20090174397
    Abstract: This internal instrumentation system (3) for a nuclear reactor comprises at least: a probe (7) for measuring the neutron flux in the core (5) of the nuclear reactor; a displacement cable (9) for moving the probe inside the core (5); a rotary drive device (35) for the displacement cable (9); and a determination device (44) for determining the angular position of the rotary drive device (35), which determination device comprises a synchrotransmitter (45) which itself comprises a rotor made to rotate as one with the drive device (35) and a stator having three windings. The device (44) for determining the angular position comprises an electronic unit for digitising at least two of the voltages at the terminals of the stator windings of the synchrotransmitter and for digitally processing these digitised voltages in order to produce at least one output signal representative of the angular position of the rotary drive device (35).
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 13, 2007
    Publication date: July 9, 2009
    Applicant: AREVA NP
    Inventor: Michel Leclerc
  • Publication number: 20090166333
    Abstract: A high or very high voltage circuit breaker comprising, for each phase: at least two breaker chambers connected electrically in series and disposed parallel to each other in a metal tank, in which the ends of the chambers through which at least one pair of movable contacts of each chamber is driven lie in a common plane; and the mechanical transmission assembly whereby simultaneous movement is transmitted, and which ensures identical stroke lengths for the movements of the movable contacts of at least two chambers, comprises firstly at least two bars of identical lengths, each coupled to the pair of movable contacts of one of the chambers, and secondly, drive means coupled to at least one drive rod outside the tank or passing through its wall.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 31, 2008
    Publication date: July 2, 2009
    Applicant: Tour AREVA
    Inventors: Gwenael MARQUEZIN, Andre Cimala
  • Patent number: 7553422
    Abstract: A method of purifying water in a nuclear installation includes an ion exchange mechanism in which the water is purified with an ion exchanger. Before being guided over the ion exchanger, the water is brought into contact with a catalyst in order to decompose hydrogen peroxide that is present in the water.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2007
    Date of Patent: June 30, 2009
    Assignee: Areva NP GmbH
    Inventors: Uve Reitzner, Volker Schneider, Waldemar Tischler
  • Patent number: 7555093
    Abstract: A spacer for a fuel assembly of a boiling water reactor has a frame formed of outer webs and inner webs disposed crosswise relative each other. Gills are disposed on the exterior of the outer webs. The exterior of the outer webs of the spacer is provided with a plurality of projections in the form of bulges in the wall. The bulges project outwardly by a greater distance than the gills.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 24, 2003
    Date of Patent: June 30, 2009
    Assignee: Areva NP GmbH
    Inventor: Michael Liebler-Ranzus
  • Patent number: 7551705
    Abstract: A method and device to repair nuclear fuel assembly structural defects in the top nozzle to guide thimble connection, wherein the device includes a repair sleeve comprising tendons configured to deflect to allow establishment of a structural connection between a projection on each tendon and a dimple area of a guide thimble.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2003
    Date of Patent: June 23, 2009
    Assignee: Areva NP, Inc.
    Inventors: George S. Pabis, Anthony A. Pugh, Raymond A. King, Darel R. Clark
  • Publication number: 20090142177
    Abstract: Device to load a sintering boat with nuclear fuel pellets, comprising a loading chute (2) delimiting a travel pathway (4) for the pellets, the loading chute comprising an upper end (8) intended to receive pellets and a lower end (12) intended to lie close to a sintering boat, said loading chute (2) comprising gates (18, 20, 22) forming an obstacle in the pathway of the pellets so as to fractionate said pathway, said gates (18, 20, 22) able to be actuated alternately, and the lower end (12) of the loading chute being movable so that it can be drawn close to and away from a bottom part of the sintering boat. A further subject-matter of the present invention is a method to load a sintering boat with nuclear fuel pellets, using a device according to the present invention.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 20, 2006
    Publication date: June 4, 2009
    Applicant: AREVA NC
    Inventors: Jean-Luc Pandraud, Herve Sanchis
  • Publication number: 20090139956
    Abstract: The gasket makes it possible for the apparatus, in particular the vacuum bottle, to be assembled and disassembled relatively easily and conveniently. It imparts high dielectric performance to the apparatus. The inside and the outside contact surfaces of the gasket are smooth, and, for example, each of them can be made up of two cylindrical portions (31A & 31B; 32A & 32B) of different concinnities. At least one of the side surfaces has an annular recess (35). Application to switchgear using vacuum bottles for operating at high and medium voltages.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 16, 2006
    Publication date: June 4, 2009
    Applicant: AREVA T & D SA
    Inventors: Jean-Francois Tortorici, Olivier Gascard
  • Publication number: 20090141848
    Abstract: The invention relates to a nuclear reactor primary circuit comprising a primary pipeline (30), which defines an internal volume (32) and in which a primary nuclear reactor coolant downwardly runs, an additional pipeline (26) which is branched to the primary pipeline (30) and defines an internal volume communicating with the internal volume (32) of the primary pipeline (30) and a cuff (36) whose first end (50) is connected to the additional pipeline (26) and the second free end (52) is positioned in the internal volume (32) of the primary pipeline (30). According to said invention, the second end (52) is delimited by a free peripherial edge (53) comprising at least one upstream and downstream sections (56, 58) which are oriented towards the upstream, wherein the upstream section (56) penetrates into the internal volume (32) deeper from the primary pipeline (30) than the downstream section (58).
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 14, 2006
    Publication date: June 4, 2009
    Applicant: AREVA NP
    Inventors: Guy Barois, Jean-Georges Alibaud, Thierry Muller, Christelle Dumez
  • Publication number: 20090141965
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method of displaying and monitoring the profile of a weld bead (4), in which, placed inside the groove, there is an assembly (10) comprising, facing one another, an image acquisition means (11), a light source (12), the beam of which is directed towards said image acquisition means, and, between the image acquisition means and the light source, a mask (13); the optical axis of the image acquisition means (11) is oriented so as to be approximately parallel to the sidewalls (5, 6) of the groove (3); a light beam produced by the light source (12) is directed towards the mask (13) and the image acquisition means (11); a central shadow zone and a peripheral halo are formed by means of the light beam and the mask (13), said halo illuminating, approximately perpendicularly, the weld bead (4) and the sidewalls (5, 6); the profile of the weld bead (4) and the sidewalls (5, 6) are displayed on a display/monitoring means; and said assembly (10) is moved inside the groove (3) longitudinally and
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 4, 2008
    Publication date: June 4, 2009
    Applicant: AREVA NP
    Inventors: Jean-Claude Ferlay, Jean-Mathieu Mestre-Bresson