Abstract: A heat pipe assembly of a nuclear apparatus includes a number of elongated heat pipes and a detection system having one or more fiber optic cable assemblies that are elongated and are wrapped in a helical fashion along an exterior surface of one or more of the heat pipes. The detection system further includes an optical signal generator that supplies to each, fiber optic assembly an optical signal and additionally includes a sensor that detects a number of reflections of the optical signal and generates an output. The output is usable by an instrumentation and control system to determine a number of temperatures along one or more of the heat tubes by detecting a temperature at each of a plurality of locations along each fiber optic cable assembly.

Abstract: A system usable in a nuclear environment provides a reservoir of liquefied breathable gas in fluid communication with a deployment system. The deployment system uses a stream of the breathable gas from the reservoir to operate a gas turbine which runs an electrical generator that is mechanically connected therewith to generate electrical power that is stored in a battery bank. The stream of breathable gas then flows from the turbine and is split between a heat exchanger that is situated in heat exchange relation with the interior region of the main control room and an outlet that provides breathable gas to the control room. The portion of the stream that flows through the heat exchanger cools the main control room. The other portion of the stream that provides breathable gas to the main control room also recirculates the atmosphere in the control room.

Abstract: This invention provides a nuclear reactor design that can enable automated or semi-automated manufacturing of a small reactor in a mechanized factory. This is possible by following a layered approach to combine simple “plate” geometries with the use of diffusion bonding and computer aided manufacturing techniques that integrate all the fuel, axial reflectors, axial gamma and neutron shields, fuel gas plenum, heat removal mechanism, primary heat exchangers and moderator all in one block or component. The final assembled block has no welds and limits or eliminates manual operations. This design has the potential to reduce the fabrication time of an entire nuclear reactor to just a few days.

Abstract: An igniter apparatus which generates a high speed buoyancy induced vortex to funnel hydrogen and air from the surrounding onto the “igniter core” where an “igniter core” heats up to the auto ignition temperature by the exothermic catalytic oxidation of hydrogen on its surface. Water (vapor) is formed as the product, which inhibits the oxidation reaction, if not stripped away from the catalyst surface. The high velocity of the vortex ensures the stripping of the boundary layer of steam that is formed by the reaction, thus ensuring more active sites are available for hydrogen oxidation. The vortex is formed by channeling an upward draft into a vortex by guided fins. The upward draft is formed by a plate, which is also coated with a hydrogen recombination catalyst. The plate becomes hot by the same catalytic oxidation reaction in the presence of air containing hydrogen.

Abstract: A nuclear reactor containment system including a nuclear reactor and a container enclosing the nuclear reactor. The container includes a number of heat removal systems each having an active state and an inactive state, wherein the heat removal systems dissipate heat from the container more efficiently in the active state than in the inactive state, and wherein the heat removal systems are structured to switch from the inactive state to the active state based on a temperature of the container.

Abstract: An emergency spent nuclear fuel pool cooling system that requires no external electrical power source and relies on the expansion of a cryogenic fluid through an evaporator/heat exchanger submerged within the spent fuel pool, to power various components used to cool the spent fuel pool and adjacent areas and provide makeup water to the spent fuel pool. Other than the evaporator/heat exchanger to which the cryogenic fluid is connected, the remaining components employed to cool the pool and the surrounding area and provide makeup water can be contained in a relatively small, readily transportable skid.

Abstract: A molten salt reactor is described that includes a containment vessel, a reactor core housed within the containment vessel, a neutron reflector spaced from the containment vessel and positioned between the core and the containment vessel, a liquid fuel comprised of a nuclear fission material dissolved in a molten salt enclosed within the core, a plurality of heat transfer pipes, each pipe having a first and a second end, wherein the first end is positioned within the reactor core for absorbing heat from the fuel, a heat exchanger external to the containment vessel for receiving the second end of each heat transfer pipe for transferring heat from the core to the heat exchanger, and at least one and preferably two or more reactor shut down systems, where at least one may be a passive system and at least one or both may be an active or a manually operated system. The liquid fuel in the core is kept within the core and heat pipes are used to carry only the heat from the liquid core to the heat exchanger.

Abstract: A system usable in a nuclear environment provides a reservoir of liquefied breathable gas in fluid communication with a deployment system. The deployment system uses a stream of the breathable gas from the reservoir to operate a gas turbine which runs an electrical generator that is mechanically connected therewith to generate electrical power that is stored in a battery bank. The stream of breathable gas then flows from the turbine and is split between a heat exchanger that is situated in heat exchange relation with the interior region of the main control room and an outlet that provides breathable gas to the control room. The portion of the stream that flows through the heat exchanger cools the main control room.

Abstract: An emergency spent nuclear fuel pool cooling system that requires no external electrical power source and relies on the expansion of a cryogenic fluid through an evaporator/heat exchanger submerged within the spent fuel pool, to power various components used to cool the spent fuel pool and adjacent areas and provide makeup water to the spent fuel pool. Other than the evaporator/heat exchanger to which the cryogenic fluid is connected, the remaining components employed to cool the pool and the surrounding area and provide makeup water can be contained in a relatively small, readily transportable skid.

Abstract: A compact heat exchanger is formed from a plurality of very thin layers that are affixed to one another and that are formed via additive manufacturing. Such additive manufacturing enables the configurations of the heat exchanger's flow channels and the arrangements of such flow channels to be optimized for improved heat transfer performance, for improved resistance to thermal and mechanical stresses, and for optimization based upon other factors such as the environment in which the heat exchanger will be situated.

Abstract: A household system (1), which includes a first cooling unit (10) that is configured to be connectable to a heat/energy reservoir (30) via a first peltier system (11), and a heating unit (20) that is configured to be connectable to the heat/energy reservoir (30) via a second peltier system (21), where the first peltier system (11) is configured for transferring heat/energy between the cooling unit (10) and the energy reservoir (30), and the second peltier system (21) is configured for transferring energy between the heat reservoir (30) and the heating unit (20).