Induced nuclear reactions: processes, systems, and elements inventions 05/09

20090135981 - Method for transforming element and producing energy: A method for transforming element comprises a deuterium nuclear is located on vertical angle of each surface composing regular hexahedron inside the metal crystal and an electron is located on the rest of vertical angle, wherein four deuterium nuclei are fused by Coulomb attraction between four protons and four electrons... Agent: Mcginn Intellectual Property Law Group, PLLC

20090135980 - Nuclear fusion conducted at near absolute zero temperatures: A method for producing nuclear fusion in a fusion chamber, comprising the steps of: (a) Obtaining cooled high velocity nuclear particles; (b) Causing said particles to impact a target, and (c) Harvesting the energy thereby released.... Agent: Robert G. Lev

20090135982 - Neutron generator: A neutron generator includes an ion source disposed in a pressurized environment containing an ionizable gas. The ion source includes a substrate with a bundle of carbon nanotubes extending therefrom. The ends of the nanotubes are spaced from a grid. Ion source voltage supply circuitry supplies a positive voltage potential... Agent: Schlumberger Oilfield Services

20090135983 - Cross-section reducing isotope system: An isotope production target rod for a power generating nuclear reactor is provided. The isotope production target rod can include at least one rod central body including an outer shell that defines an internal cavity and a plurality of irradiation targets within the internal cavity. The irradiation targets can be... Agent: Harness, Dickey & Pierce, P.L.C

20090135984 - Gamma thermometer axial apparatus and method for monitoring reactor core in nuclear power plant: A method for collecting data regarding the operating condition of a nuclear reactor core including: positioning a first linear array of gamma thermometer (GT) sensors in a first instrument housing, wherein the GT sensors are arranged asymmetrically along the first linear array; positioning a second linear array of GT sensors... Agent: Nixon & Vanderhye P.C.

20090135985 - Maintenance and repair device for structure inside nuclear reactor: A maintenance/repair device for reactor internal structure 6 of the present invention includes a device body 6a configured to be fixed on a reactor internal structure 49. Connected to the device body 6a is a welding-part repair mechanism 6b configured to repair a welding part 49a of the reactor internal... Agent: Oblon, Spivak, Mcclelland Maier & Neustadt, P.C.

20090135986 - Nuclear power installation and a method for its construction: In a nuclear power installation a nuclear reactor (R) and other parts or components which are hazardous because of radioactivity or other hazard factors are placed in a lower part (12) of the installation which is located at a level deep below the ground level, whereas a ground-level part (11)... Agent: Stites & Harbison PLLC

20090135987 - Fuel rod designs using internal spacer element and methods of using the same: Example embodiments may include a nuclear fuel rod and/or segment design using fuel element spacers. Fuel element spacers may be placed at intervals within fuel rods and/or segments in order to manipulate operating characteristics of the fuel rods and/or segments and/or decrease consequences of fretting of the fuel rod and/or... Agent: Harness, Dickey & Pierce, P.L.C

20090135988 - Fail-free fuel bundle assembly: A fuel bundle for a nuclear reactor core is provided. The fuel bundle may include a plurality of rods comprised of nuclear fuel rods and/or isotope production rods. Each rod includes a plurality of interconnected rod segments, wherein at least two of the rod segments of at least one rod... Agent: Harness, Dickey & Pierce, P.L.C

20090135990 - Placement of target rods in bwr bundle: Exemplary embodiments of the present invention are directed to the placement of one or more isotope production rods in a fuel bundle. The placement may be based on any one of, or a combination of, numerous factors such as relative location of core-monitoring equipment, the type of radioactive isotope being... Agent: Harness, Dickey & Pierce, P.L.C

20090135989 - Segmented fuel rod bundle designs using fixed spacer plates: Example embodiments are directed to a fuel rod design using segmented fuel rods that mechanically confine spacer plates to constant axial positions. Example embodiment spacer plates may be placed at axial connection points between fuel rod segments, and, when the fuel rod segments are mated, example embodiment spacer plates may... Agent: Harness, Dickey & Pierce, P.L.C

20090129527 - Refueling apparatus for sodium-cooled fast reactor and method for the same: A refueling apparatus for charging nuclear fuel in a reactor vessel, the refueling apparatus including: a refueling unit loading new nuclear fuel to a core or extracting spent nuclear fuel from the core; and a waveguide sensor unit including an ultrasonic wedge to form a Lamb wave, a waveguide with... Agent: Collard & Roe, P.C.

20090129528 - Method and apparatus for permissive control of a mast and grapple: A method and apparatus for the permissive control of a mast and fuel grapple to be used in the movement of reactor fuel components, including fuel assemblies, single blade and double blade guides, to be used in a Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) nuclear reactor. The Permissive Control System reduces the... Agent: Harness, Dickey & Pierce, P.L.C

20090129529 - Shipping container for shipping channeled fuel bundles: A shipping container is constructed for shipping channeled fuel bundle assemblies. The shipping container includes an outer container, an inner container sized to fit within the outer container, and shock absorbing material disposed at least between the outer and inner containers. The inner container is shaped to house at least... Agent: Nixon & Vanderhye P.C.

20090129530 - Passive emergency feedwater system: A power module assembly includes a reactor vessel containing a reactor core surrounded by a primary coolant. A containment vessel is adapted to be submerged in a containment cooling pool and to prohibit a release of the primary coolant outside of the containment vessel. A secondary cooling system is configured... Agent: Stolowitz Ford Cowger LLP

20090129531 - Submerged containment vessel for a nuclear reactor: A power module assembly includes a reactor core immersed in a coolant and a reactor vessel housing the coolant and the reactor core. An internal dry containment vessel submerged in liquid substantially surrounds the reactor vessel in a gaseous environment. During an over-pressurization event the reactor vessel is configured to... Agent: Stolowitz Ford Cowger LLP

20090129532 - Stable startup system for a nuclear reactor: A nuclear reactor module includes a reactor vessel containing coolant, a reactor core submerged in the coolant, and a heat exchanger configured to remove heat from the coolant. The nuclear reactor module further includes one or more heaters configured to add heat to the coolant during a startup operation and... Agent: Stolowitz Ford Cowger LLP

20090129533 - Nuclear fuel: This invention relates to a method of preparing nuclear fuel including the step of depositing at least two adjacent series of layers (16, 18) around a kernel (12) of fissile material, each series comprising a layer of pyrolytic carbon (16) contiguous with a layer of silicon carbide (18) and each... Agent: Morriss Obryant Compagni, P.C.

20090122940 - Low temperature fusion: Methods for low-temperature fusion are disclosed. In one embodiment, a symmetrical crystal lattice including a plurality of deuterons either absorbed or embedded in a heavy-electron material is selected. The method provides alternatives for initiating a vibration mode involving the deuterons on the crystal lattice that induces them to converge. The... Agent: Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P.

20090122941 - Device for producing an atmospheric pressure plasma: The invention relates inter alia to a device (10) for producing an atmospheric pressure plasma (20, 20a, 20b, 20c, 20d), especially for treating a substrate, said device comprising a unit (11, 11a, 11b, 11c) produced from a piezoelectric material. Said unit has at least one primary region (12, 12a, 12b,... Agent: K.f. Ross P.C.

20090122942 - Apparatus for ultrasonic inspection of reactor pressure vessel: An object of the present invention is to provide an inspection apparatus for inspecting weld zones in a reactor pressure vessel, the inspection apparatus comprising: an ultrasonic probe 6 for emitting an ultrasonic wave; a probe holding unit 60 for holding the ultrasonic probe 6 such that a ultrasonic wave... Agent: Mattingly, Stanger, Malur & Brundidge, P.C.

20090122943 - Electricity and steam generation from a helium-cooled nuclear reactor: Disclosed herein is a method comprising heating helium in a core of a nuclear reactor; extracting heat from the helium; superheating water to steam using the heat extracted from the helium, expanding the helium in a turbine; wherein the turbine is in operative communication with an electrical generator; and generating... Agent: General Electric Company Global Research

20090122944 - Fast breeder reactor type nuclear power plant system: One or more bending parts are formed on at least the pipe of primary loop coolant of the pipes, and a part of the bending part on a downstream side is provided with a flow path having a non-circular sectional configuration wherein the negative side of the bending part is... Agent: Mattingly, Stanger, Malur & Brundidge, P.C.

20090122945 - Fuel assembly for a pressurized-water nuclear reactor: A fuel assembly for a pressurized water nuclear reactor contains a multiplicity of fuel rods which are guided in a plurality of axially spaced spacers which in each case form a square grid, composed of grid webs, with a multiplicity of cells arranged in rows and columns. In each case... Agent: Lerner Greenberg Stemer LLP

20090122946 - Rod assembly for nuclear reactors: A rod assembly for a fuel bundle of a nuclear reactor may include an upper end piece, lower end piece and a plurality of rod segments attached between the upper and lower end pieces and to each other so as to form an axial length of the rod assembly. The... Agent: Harness, Dickey & Pierce, P.L.C

20090122947 - Joining structure between top nozzle and guide thimbles in nuclear fuel assembly: Disclosed herein is a joining structure between a top nozzle and guide thimbles in a nuclear fuel assembly, which can prevent a rotation of inner insertion tube bodies when the top nozzle is separated from the nuclear fuel assembly and promote convenience in assembling and disassembling the top nozzle and... Agent: Sughrue Mion, PLLC

20090122948 - Method of determining at least one technological uncertainty factor for nuclear fuel elements, and corresponding methods of designing, fabricating, and inspecting nuclear fuel elements: The invention relates to a method of determining at least one technological uncertainty factor in respect of nuclear fuel elements (23) as a function of variations in the production parameters of the elements (23) in relation to nominal values. The inventive method comprises a step involving the use, for at... Agent: Davidson, Davidson & Kappel, LLC

20090116604 - Machine for producing flow of isotopic fuel through a material: A machine for producing flow of isotopic fuel through a material with a wire or rod anode which does not corrode, such as platinum, a solution, such as deuterium oxide (D2O), in which are immersed the electrodes, anode and cathode, which will provide the isotopic fuel (hydrogen or deuterons) and... Agent: Mitchell R. Swartz, Scd, Ee, Md

20090116605 - Nuclear reactor rod control mechanism control system: The control system comprises an independent removable power module for each coil of a rod control mechanism equipped with three operating coils supplied from a three-phase current source. The power module is connected in series with the corresponding coil and comprises a rectifier circuit with three thyristors controlled in phase... Agent: Oliff & Berridge, PLC

20090116606 - Joint tong apparatus for radiation shielding facility: A joint tong apparatus for a radiation shielding facility. A spherical ball has a through-hole. An inner spherical socket and an outer spherical socket are installed in a hole formed in a partition between a radiation-shielded room and a control room so as to enclose the spherical ball on inner... Agent: Bachman & Lapointe, P.C.

20090116607 - Passive cooling and arresting device for molten core material: An apparatus for passively cooling and retaining molten core material discharged from a damaged reactor vessel during a severe accident in the nuclear plant including: a molten core material retention tank to retain molten core material; a compressed gas tank storing high-pressure inert gas; a cooling water storage tank being... Agent: The Webb Law Firm, P.C.

20090116608 - Natural circulation type boiling water reactor: A natural-circulation type boiling water reactor according to the present invention includes a plurality of divided chimneys provided above a reactor core and a number of fuel assemblies are charged in the reactor core. The natural-circulation type boiling water reactor is provided with a pressure equalization structure arranged on rectangular-columnar... Agent: Oblon, Spivak, Mcclelland Maier & Neustadt, P.C.

20090116609 - Method for operating a nuclear reactor and use of a specific fuel rod cladding alloy in order to reduce damage caused by pellet/cladding interaction: A method for operating a nuclear reactor in order to produce electricity, such that the reactor is controlled so that, during a transient power occurrence for at least one of: a linear power density of the nuclear fuel rod remains lower than a limit linear power density, the limit linear... Agent: Davidson, Davidson & Kappel, LLC