Patents Examined by Sandra Herrick
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Patent number: 10546662Abstract: A system for refueling a nuclear reactor is provided. The system includes a lower reactor vessel with a plurality of fuel rods and a plurality of control rods disposed therein, the lower reactor vessel further comprising an upper flange. An upper reactor vessel is provided which encloses a steam generator and a pressurizer, the upper reactor vessel further comprising a lower flange that matingly engages the upper flange of the lower reactor vessel. A transporter surrounds an outer surface of the upper reactor vessel, wherein the transporter is configured to translate the upper reactor vessel vertically toward and away from the lower reactor vessel and also to translate the upper reactor vessel horizontally toward or away from alignment with the lower reactor vessel.Type: GrantFiled: March 13, 2014Date of Patent: January 28, 2020Assignee: BWXT mPower, Inc.Inventors: James Inman, Scott Shargots, James McNulty, Martin Reifschneider, John Smith
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Patent number: 10529456Abstract: The invention relates to a system for the monitoring and control of the core of a nuclear reactor along which N fission chambers CFi (i=1, 2, . . . , N) are positioned, N being an integer number greater than or equal to 2, in which: computing means (P) are able to compute a statistical estimation of the nth order neutron flux CFi of each fission chamber CFi and a mean value of estimation of the neutron flux that represents the mean neutron flux prevailing in the core of the nuclear reactor, such that = 1 N ? ? i = 1 N ? ? CFi ? ? and computing means (M, CMP) are able to compute an ageing indicator (S) for the fission chamber CFi from the statistical estimation value of the neutron flux CFi of the fission chamber CFi.Type: GrantFiled: April 22, 2014Date of Patent: January 7, 2020Assignee: COMMISSARIAT A L'ENERGIE ATOMIQUE ET AUX ENERGIES ALTERNATIVESInventor: Mounir Bakkali
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Patent number: 10395785Abstract: A system for monitoring a reactor module housed in a reactor bay may include a mounting structure and one or more extendable attachment mechanisms connected to the mounting structure. Additionally, one or more monitoring devices may be operably coupled to the one or more extendable attachment mechanism, and the one or more extendable attachment mechanisms may be configured to selectively position the one or more monitoring devices at varying distances from a wall of the reactor bay to place the one or monitoring devices in proximity to the reactor module.Type: GrantFiled: May 14, 2015Date of Patent: August 27, 2019Assignee: NUSCALE POWER, LLCInventor: Ky Duc Nguyen
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Patent number: 10286494Abstract: A method for manufacturing a core barrel according to the embodiment includes: welding one end part of a short ring to a lower core support plate; and machining the lower core support plate to which the short ring is welded. The machining of the lower core support plate includes forming a placement surface on which the fuel assembly is to be placed; and forming a fuel alignment pin hole, in which a fuel alignment pin for positioning the fuel assembly is to be inserted. After the machining of the lower core support plate, a main body barrel is welded to the other end part of the short ring, where the main body barrel covers the reactor core including the fuel assembly to be placed on the placement surface.Type: GrantFiled: February 9, 2016Date of Patent: May 14, 2019Assignee: KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOSHIBAInventors: Akira Yamamoto, Yoshiaki Ono, Daiki Maruyama
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Patent number: 10276270Abstract: The present invention discloses a nuclear reactor coolant pump that does not rely on an electric motor, but is operated by means of driving force generated inside a nuclear power plant, so a to be capable of maintaining the safety of the nuclear reactor when the nuclear reactor is operating normally and also in the event of an accident in the nuclear reactor. The nuclear reactor coolant pump comprises: a pump impeller rotatably installed in a first fluid passage of a nuclear reactor coolant system to circulate a first fluid inside the nuclear reactor coolant system; a drive unit receiving steam from a steam generator to generate driving force to rotate the pump impeller, and rotating about the same rotating shaft as the pump impeller to transfer the generated driving force to the pump impeller; and a steam supplying unit forming a passage between the steam generator and the drive unit to supply at least a portion of the steam released from the steam generator to the drive unit.Type: GrantFiled: November 25, 2014Date of Patent: April 30, 2019Assignee: KOREA ATOMIC ENERGY RESEARCH INSTITUTEInventors: Young Soo Kim, Young In Kim, Cheon Tae Park, Ju Hyeon Yoon, Tae Wan Kim, Keung Koo Kim, Jae Joo Ha
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Patent number: 10269459Abstract: A fuel channel for a nuclear power boiling water reactor is configured to include a bundle of fuel rods with nuclear fuel. The fuel channel is made of a sheet material and has a plurality of sides which have an elongated shape and which are connected to each other such that a corner with an elongated shape is formed where two adjacent sides meet. In one or more corners, the sheet materials from the two adjacent sides overlap with each other such that there is a corner region with double sheet material consisting of the overlapping sheet material from one of the two sides and the overlapping sheet material from the other of the two sides.Type: GrantFiled: March 28, 2014Date of Patent: April 23, 2019Assignee: Westinghouse Electric Sweden ABInventors: Mats Dahlbäck, Sture Helmersson
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Patent number: 9991010Abstract: A system for storing nuclear fuel, the system including a storage rack and a bearing pad. The storage rack includes an array of cells, each cell configured to receive and store nuclear fuel rods, a base plate configured to support the array of cells, and a support structure configured to support the base plate and to allow cooling fluid to circulate under and up through apertures in the base plate. The bearing pad is coupled to the support structure and is configured to limit lateral movement of the storage rack independent from lateral movement of the bearing pad. The base plate defines a base plate profile in a horizontal plane of the base plate, and the bearing pad defines a bearing pad profile in the horizontal plane of the base plate, wherein the bearing pad profile extends outside of the base plate profile.Type: GrantFiled: August 28, 2013Date of Patent: June 5, 2018Inventors: Krishna P. Singh, Charles W. Bullard, II
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Patent number: 9966155Abstract: An apparatus for reinforcing a jet pump riser includes: an elbow upper clamp for covering a riser elbow coupled to a thermal sleeve from an upper side thereof; an elbow lower clamping member for clamping the riser elbow from a lower side thereof; an elbow vertical portion clamping member for covering a vertical portion of the riser elbow; and an elbow horizontal portion clamping member for covering a horizontal portion of the riser elbow. These members are disposed in different orientations with respect to the elbow upper clamp so as to fix the thermal sleeve, the riser elbow and the riser pipe.Type: GrantFiled: March 11, 2014Date of Patent: May 8, 2018Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha ToshibaInventors: Masakazu Abura, Toshihiro Yasuda, Kazuo Sudo, Haruhiko Hata, Yasushi Kanazawa, Kunihiko Kinugasa, Hajime Mori