Patents by Inventor Shinichi Kirihara

Shinichi Kirihara 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).

  • Patent number: 5787139
    Abstract: In a fuel loading method of the present invention, a nuclear reactor is operated up to the second cycle without exchanging the fuel. Low-enrichment fuel is discharged from a core at the end of the second cycle and at the end of the third cycle. Moreover, high-enrichment fuel with an average enrichment higher than that of replacement fuel is discharged from the core at the end of the third cycle and reloaded into the core at the end of the fifth cycle.According to the present invention, because the high-enrichment fuel discharged from the core at the end of the third cycle normally has a high enrichment, a short combustion period, and a low burnup compared to the replacement fuel burned for 4 to 5 cycles, a lot of fissionable material are left in the high-enrichment fuel. By reloading the high-enrichment fuel to the core after one cycle or more passes, it is possible to greatly increase the discharge exposure of initially loaded fuel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 1997
    Date of Patent: July 28, 1998
    Assignees: Hitachi, Ltd., Hitachi Engineering Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Mitsunari Nakamura, Katsumasa Haikawa, Akihiro Yamanaka, Akiko Kanda, Takaaki Mochida, Junichi Yamashita, Shigetada Tanabe, Shinichi Kirihara