Fail-safe reactivity compensation method for a nuclear reactor

Title: Fail-safe reactivity compensation method for a nuclear reactor

The present invention relates generally to the field of compensation methods for nuclear reactors and, in particular to a method for fail-safe reactivity compensation in solution-type nuclear reactors. In one embodiment, the fail-safe reactivity compensation method of the present invention augments other control methods for a nuclear reactor. In still another embodiment, the fail-safe reactivity compensation method of the present invention permits one to control a nuclear reaction in a nuclear reactor through a method that does not rely on moving components into or out of a reactor core, nor does the method of the present invention rely on the constant repositioning of control rods within a nuclear reactor in order to maintain a critical state.

Inventors:: Nygaard, Erik T.; Angelo, Peter L.; Aase, Scott B.

Issue Date:: 2018-01-23

OSTI Identifier:: 1417852

Assignee:: BWX Technologies, Inc. (Charlotte, NC) NNSASC

Patent Number(s):: 9,875,818

Application Number:: 13/649,419

Contract Number:: FC52-09NA29596

Resource Relation:: Patent File Date: 2012 Oct 11

Research Org:: BWX Technologies, Inc., Charlotte, NC (United States)

Sponsoring Org:: USDOE

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

Subject:: 22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS

Full Text
View Full Text

Have feedback or suggestions for a way to improve these results? !

Save / Share this Record no
Export Metadata
- Endnote
- RIS
- Excel
- CSV
- XML
Send to Email

Send to Email

Email address:

Content:

Works referenced in this record:

Medical isotope production reactor
patent, January 1997

Ball, Russell
US Patent Document 5,596,611
URL: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect2=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&d=PALL&RefSrch=yes&Query=PN%2F5596611

Similar Records

Similar records in DOepatents and OSTI.GOV collections:

Fail-safe storage rack for irradiated fuel rod assemblies

Patent Lewis, Donald R.

A fail-safe storage rack is provided for interim storage of spent but radioactive nuclear fuel rod assemblies. The rack consists of a checkerboard array of substantially square, elongate receiving tubes fully enclosed by a double walled container, the outer wall of which is imperforate for liquid containment and the inner wall of which is provided with perforations for admitting moderator liquid flow to the elongate receiving tubes, the liquid serving to take up waste heat from the stored nuclear assemblies and dissipate same to the ambient liquid reservoir. A perforated cover sealing the rack facilitates cooling liquid entry and dissipation.
Full Text Available January 1993
Fail safe controllable output improved version of the Electromechanical battery

Patent Post, Richard F.

Mechanical means are provided to control the voltages induced in the windings of a generator/motor. In one embodiment, a lever is used to withdraw or insert the entire stator windings from the cavity where the rotating field exists. In another embodiment, voltage control and/or switching off of the output is achievable with a variable-coupling generator/motor. A stator is made up of two concentric layers of windings, with a larger number of turns on the inner layer of windings than the outer layer of windings. The windings are to be connected in series electrically, that is, their voltages add vectorially. Themore »« less
Full Text Available January 1999
Turbine vane segment and impingement insert configuration for fail-safe impingement insert retention

Patent Burdgick, Steven Sebastian ; Kellock, Iain Robertson

An impingement insert sleeve is provided that is adapted to be disposed in a coolant cavity defined through a stator vane. The insert has a generally open inlet end and first and second pairs of diametrically opposed side walls, and at least one fail-safe tab defined at a longitudinal end of the insert for limiting radial displacement of the insert with respect to the stator vane.
Full Text Available May 2003
Fail-safe designs for large capacity battery systems

Patent Kim, Gi-Heon ; Smith, Kandler ; Ireland, John ; Pesaran, Ahmad A. ; Neubauer, Jeremy

Fail-safe systems and design methodologies for large capacity battery systems are disclosed. The disclosed systems and methodologies serve to locate a faulty cell in a large capacity battery, such as a cell having an internal short circuit, determine whether the fault is evolving, and electrically isolate the faulty cell from the rest of the battery, preventing further electrical energy from feeding into the fault.
Full Text Available May 2016
Reactivity control assembly for nuclear reactor

Patent Bollinger, Lawrence R.

Reactivity control assembly for nuclear reactor comprises supports stacked above reactor core for holding control rods. Couplers associated with the supports and a vertically movable drive shaft have lugs at their lower ends for engagement with the supports.
Full Text Available January 1984