Elias Plaza-Meyer

Title: Innovations of Elias Plaza-Meyer in Nuclear Reactor Technology

Introduction

Elias Plaza-Meyer is a notable inventor based in Wilmington, NC, who has made significant contributions to the field of nuclear reactor technology. With a total of two patents to his name, his work focuses on enhancing the safety and efficiency of nuclear reactors through innovative materials and processes.

Latest Patents

Plaza-Meyer's latest patents include groundbreaking advancements in zirconium-based alloys. The first patent, titled "Zirconium-based two-phase alloys for hydride resistant nuclear reactor," discloses a method for creating zirconium-based components that incorporate rare earth or other metals. These metals preferentially absorb hydrogen when in contact with zirconium, and are dispersed as a second phase throughout a zirconium-based matrix. This innovative approach minimizes the effects of occluded hydrogen by controlling the morphology and distribution of the internal hydrogen-absorbing particles, which are provided as spherical particles.

The second patent, "Control of differential growth in nuclear reactor components by control," outlines a process for achieving different irradiation growth rates between cladding tubes made of anisotropic metals. This process involves tailoring the fabrication of each tube to produce a crystalline structure in a desired energy state. By regulating the size of the final cold-work reduction and the time and temperature of heat treatment, Plaza-Meyer’s method ensures substantially equivalent irradiation growth between fuel rods and water rods, with a focus on alloys of zirconium.