WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC SWEDEN AB Patent applications |
Patent application number | Title | Published |
20160055923 | FUEL CHANNEL FOR A NUCLEAR POWER BOILING WATER REACTOR - 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. | 02-25-2016 |
20140251960 | METHOD OF LASER WELDING A NUCLEAR FUEL ROD - A method of welding a fuel rod includes the following steps. An end plug and a cladding tube of the fuel rod are brought together to abut each other, and welded by applying a laser beam directed to a welding zone to melt material of the end plug and the cladding tube. The welding is sensed by sensing radiation within a first wavelength range, which includes the wavelength of the laser beam coming from reflections from the welding zone, sensing radiation within a second wavelength range different from the first wavelength range, which includes infrared radiation from melted material, and sensing radiation within a third wavelength range different from the first and second wavelength ranges, which includes radiation from plasma. The welding and melting of material is monitored by monitoring the sensed radiations. | 09-11-2014 |
20140246050 | DEVICE AND METHOD FOR CLEANING SURFACES - A device for submersibly cleaning surfaces inside a nuclear reactor includes a pump and a nozzle connected to said pump. The nozzle is arranged to face surfaces to be cleaned. The device includes cleaning means capable of removing debris on surfaces to be cleaned. The device includes adjustable flotation means, capable of adjusting the flotation capability of the device depending on a type of cleaning application. | 09-04-2014 |
20140153687 | FUEL COMPONENT AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING OF A FUEL COMPONENT - The invention relates to a fuel component and a method for manufacturing of a fuel component. The fuel component is adapted to be used in fission reactors. The fuel component comprises a core consisting of a first material, and a layer consisting of a second material. The layer encloses at least partly the core. The first material comprises a fissile substance. The fuel component comprises an intermediate layer between the core and the layer. The intermediate layer has a material gradient that comprises a decrease of the concentration of the first material from the core to the layer and an increase of the concentration of the second material from the core to the layer. | 06-05-2014 |
20140016735 | SPACER AND A FUEL UNIT FOR A NUCLEAR PLANT - A spacer for holding fuel rods includes cells formed by a sleeve having an upper edge and a lower edge and a number of abutment surfaces. The lower edge has a wave shape with wave peaks aligned with a respective one of the abutment surfaces, and wave valleys located between two adjacent ones of the abutment surfaces. The upper edge has a wave shape with wave peaks, which are aligned with a respective one of the abutment surfaces, and wave valleys located between two adjacent ones of the abutment surfaces. Each of the abutment surfaces extend from a respective one of the wave peaks of the upper edge to a respective one of the wave peaks of the lower edge. The sleeves abut each other in the spacer along respective connection areas to make the abutment surfaces rotatable with respect to a center point of the connection area. | 01-16-2014 |
20130133781 | DEVICE TO CAPTURE PARTICLES DETACHED FROM AN OBJECT BEING PROCESSED BY A TOOL - The present invention relates to a device designed to capture the detached particles from an object being processed by the tool. The device comprises an inlet opening to an internal space. The device comprises guiding means configured to lead particles, which is detached during a machining process, the inner space of the container via the inlet opening and the inner space comprises a first materials that has a consistency such that it has the ability to receive and retain detached particles, which are led into the inner space during the machining process. | 05-30-2013 |
20130058449 | FUEL ASSEMBLY, A GUIDE THIMBLE DEVICE AND USE OF THE GUIDE THIMBLE DEVICE - The invention refers to a fuel assembly comprising a lower end structure, an upper end structure including a top nozzle ( | 03-07-2013 |
20130051513 | REACTOR COMPONENT - Reactor component adapted to be used in fission reactors comprising a core ( | 02-28-2013 |
20130051510 | CONTROL ROD FOR A NUCLEAR POWER LIGHT WATER REACTOR - The invention concerns a control rod configured for a nuclear power light water reactor of the BWR or PWR kind. The control rod contains absorber material. At least 50%, with respect to weight, of the absorber material that is in the control rod is in the form of hafnium hydride. The invention also concerns the use of such a control rod during operation in a nuclear power light water reactor of the BWR or PWR kind. | 02-28-2013 |
20130039454 | CONTROL ROD - A control rod for a nuclear boiling water reactor is described. The control rod has a longitudinal centre axis and control rod blades, each control rod blade having a first and a second side and being substantially parallel to the longitudinal center axis. Each control rod blade comprises an absorber material which extends from a first absorber end to a second absorber end, the distance between the first absorber end and the second absorber end defining an active length. The control rod blades are provided with distance means on the first and second sides of the control rod blades, the distance means extending a distance of at least a third of the active length of the control rod blade. | 02-14-2013 |
20120199161 | APPARATUS AND A METHOD FOR CLEANING OF A NUCLEAR FUEL ELEMENT - The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for cleaning a nuclear fuel element in a liquid filled space. The fuel element comprises an inner space with an opening. The apparatus comprises a connecting element, which is adapted to be connected to a portion of the fuel element, which comprises said opening and flow means, which is adapted to create, at least during a part of a cleaning process of the fuel element, a liquid flow through inner space of the fuel element via said opening. | 08-09-2012 |
20120014496 | FUEL ASSEMBLY - A fuel assembly for a nuclear boiling water reactor is provided. The reactor comprises a plurality of such fuel assemblies and a plurality of control rods. Each control rod is insertable between the fuel assemblies. The fuel assembly has a longitudinal center axis and includes a plurality of elongated fuel rods and an elongated channel box. The channel box has inner sides, facing the fuel rods, and outer sides. Each inner and outer side has a longitudinal center line extending in parallel with the center axis and along the length of the channel box. A number of protrusions are distributed along the center line of at least two of the outer sides. The protrusions are configured to ensure a minimum distance between the outer side and an adjacent control rod and to enable the control rod to easily slide over and on top of the protrusions. | 01-19-2012 |
20110206174 | NUCLEAR FUEL, A FUEL ELEMENT, A FUEL ASSEMBLY AND A METHOD OF MANUFACTURING A NUCLEAR FUEL - The invention refers to a nuclear fuel, a fuel element, a fuel assembly and a method of manufacturing a nuclear fuel. The nuclear fuel is adapted for use in a water cooled nuclear reactor, including light water reactors LWR, such as Boiling Water Reactors BWR and Pressure Water Reactors PWR. The nuclear fuel comprises an uranium-containing compound consisting of UN. The uranium content of the uranium-containing compound comprises less than 10% by weight of the isotope | 08-25-2011 |
20110164716 | METHOD COMPRISING MEASUREMENT ON FUEL CHANNELS OF FUEL ASSEMBLIES FOR NUCLEAR BOILING WATER REACTORS - The invention concerns a method comprising measurement on a fuel channel ( | 07-07-2011 |
20110064185 | SPACER GRID - The invention relates to a final, ready to use, spacer grid for a nuclear boiling water reactor. The final spacer grid comprises: i) a spacer grid structure made of an alloy that has been formed and assembled such that it constitutes a spacer grid, and ii) an outer oxide coating on the surface of the spacer grid structure. Said alloy is a Ni base alloy that consists of the following: (table) The invention also relates to a method of manufacturing the final spacer grid according to the invention. | 03-17-2011 |
20110058636 | METHOD OF AND AN APPARATUS FOR MONITORING THE OPERATION OF A NUCLEAR REACTOR - The invention concerns a method of monitoring the operation of a reactor of a nuclear plant. The reactor is operated at a given total reactor power during a normal fuel operation cycle. The radioactivity level in the off-gas stream is continuously measured to detect a possible release of fission gases from the fuel rods as a consequence of a fuel leakage due to a defect on the cladding of any of the fuel rods in any of the fuel assemblies. An instantaneous power distribution is regularly established in the core and a power distribution pattern over time is established based on the instantaneous power distributions. The release of fission gases and the established power distribution pattern are then combined and correlations between changes in the release of fission gases and in the power distribution pattern are observed in order to determine a position of the defect. | 03-10-2011 |
20100158185 | METHOD AND APPARATUS OF ESTIMATING DRYOUT PROPERTIES IN A NUCLEAR LIGHT WATER REACTOR - The invention concerns a method of estimating when dryout may occur in a nuclear light water reactor of the boiling water reactor kind. The method includes the use of a formula which expresses the local dryout property of the nuclear reactor. The formula includes at least a first and a second factor. The first factor is a first function that describes how the dryout property depends on the flow of the cooling medium through the nuclear fuel arrangement. The second factor is a second function that describes how the dryout property depends on the axial power profile of the nuclear fuel arrangement. The first and the second functions describe said flow dependence and said axial power profile dependence independently of each other. The invention also concerns a nuclear energy plant, a computer program product ( | 06-24-2010 |
20100142667 | DEVICE FOR HANDLING A FUEL ASSEMBLY - The invention refers to a device and a method for handling a fuel assembly ( | 06-10-2010 |
20090071579 | FUEL BOX IN A BOILING WATER NUCLEAR REACTOR - A method for manufacturing a sheet metal for use in a boiling water nuclear reactor and such a sheet metal. The method includes providing a material of a zirconium alloy that includes zirconium, and whose main alloying materials include niobium. The material is annealed so that essentially all niobium containing secondary phase particles are transformed to β-niobium particles. | 03-19-2009 |
20090060115 | METHOD, USE AND DEVICE CONCERNING CLADDING TUBES FOR NUCLEAR FUEL AND A FUEL ASSEMBLY FOR A NUCLEAR PRESSURE WATER REACTOR - A method of producing a cladding tube for nuclear fuel for a nuclear pressure water reactor includes forming a tube which at least principally consists of a cylindrical tube component of a zirconium-based alloy, where the alloying element, except for zirconium, which has the highest content in the alloy is niobium, wherein the niobium content in weight percent is between about 0.5 and about 2.4 and wherein no alloying element, except for zirconium and niobium, in the alloy, has a content which exceeds about 0.2 weight percent. The cladding tube is then annealed such that the tube component is partly but not completely recrystallized. The degree of recrystallization in the tube component is higher than about 40% and lower than about 95%. A fuel assembly for a nuclear pressure water reactor also has a plurality of such cladding tubes. | 03-05-2009 |
20080278155 | System and Use Concerning Under Water Eddy Current Measurements on Components for Nuclear Reactors - The invention concerns a system suited for carrying out eddy current measurements on components for nuclear reactors when these components are located in water. The system comprises a control unit, a measurement probe and a first cable suited to constitute at least a part of the connection between the control unit and the measurement probe. The system also comprises a switching unit, suited to be located in water and arranged to be connected with said first cable, and to be connected with the measurement probe. The switching unit has a switching device which can assume at least a first and a second state. In the first state, the first cable is connected with the measurement probe. In the second state, the first cable is not connected with the measurement probe. The invention also concerns the use of the system. | 11-13-2008 |
20080267339 | Spacer and a Fuel Unit for a Nuclear Plant - The invention refers to a spacer for holding a number if elongated fuel rods intended to be located in a nuclear plant and to a fuel unit having such spacers. The spacer encloses a number of cells, which each has a longitudinal axis and is arranged to receive a fuel rod in such a way that the fuel rod extends in parallel with the longitudinal axis. Each cell is formed by a sleeve-like member. Each sleeve-like member is manufactured in a sheet-shaped material that is bent to the sleeve-like shape. | 10-30-2008 |
20080232536 | Spacer and a Fuel Unit for a Nuclear Plant - The invention refers to a spacer for holding a number of elongated fuel rods intended to be located in a nuclear plant, and a fuel unit with such spacers. The spacer encloses a number of cells for receiving a respective fuel rod extending in parallel to a longitudinal axis of the respective cell. Each cell is formed by a sleeve-like member having an upper edge and a lower edge. The sleeve-like member includes a number of abutment surfaces projecting inwardly towards and extending substantially in parallel with the longitudinal axis for abutment to the fuel rod the cell. The lower edge and the upper edge have, seen transversely to the longitudinal axis, a wave-like shape with wave peaks, aligned with a respective one of said abutment surfaces, and wave valleys located between two adjacent ones of said abutment surfaces. | 09-25-2008 |