The United States of America As Represented by the United States

Westinghouse Electric Corporation

The United States of America As Represented by the United States Energy

Arthur L Wineman

James E Gillett

Daniel C Garner

Clark E Swenson

William A Bencloski

Daniel J Racki

Thomas M Frick

Robert M Robey

Improvements in the design of internal components of J-shaped steam generators for liquid metal fast breeder reactors. Complex design improvements have been made to the internals of J-shaped steam generators which improvements are intended to reduce tube vibration, tube jamming, flow problems in the upper portion of the steam generator, manufacturing complexities in tube spacer attachments, thermal stripping potentials and difficulties in the weld fabrication of certain components.

Steam generator for liquid metal fast breeder reactor

A cutting apparatus includes a support table mounted for movement toward and away from a workpiece and carrying a mirror which directs a cutting laser beam onto the workpiece. A carrier is rotatably and pivotally mounted on the support table between the mirror and workpiece and supports a conduit discharging gas toward the point of impingement of the laser beam on the workpiece. Means are provided for rotating the carrier relative to the support table to place the gas discharging conduit in the proper positions for cuts made in different directions on the workpiece.

Cutting assembly

A jacking mechanism for raising the upper internals structure of a liquid metal nuclear reactor which jacking mechanism uses a system of gears and drive shafts to transmit force from a single motor to four mechanically synchronized ball jacks to raise and lower support columns which support the upper internals structure. The support columns have a pin structure which rides up and down in a slot in a housing fixed to the reactor head. The pin has two locking plates which can be rotated around the pin to bring bolt holes through the locking plates into alignment with a set of bolt holes in the housing, there being a set of such housing bolt holes corresponding to both a raised and a lowered position of the support column. When the locking plate is so aligned, a surface of the locking plate mates with a surface in the housing such that the support column is then supported by the locking plate and not by the ball jacks. Since the locking plates are to be installed and bolted to the housing during periods of reactor operation, the ball jacks need not be sized to react the large forces which occur or potentially could occur on the upper internals structure of the reactor during operation. The locking plates react these loads. The ball jacks, used only during refueling, can be smaller, which enable conventionally available equipment to fulfill the precision requirements for the task within available space.

Jacking mechanism for upper internals structure of a liquid metal

A positioning and locking device for fuel pin to grid attachment provides an inexpensive means of positively positioning and locking the individual fuel pins which make up the driver fuel assemblies used in nuclear reactors. The device can be adapted for use with a currently used attachment grid assembly design and insures that the pins remain in their proper position throughout the in-reactor life of the assembly. This device also simplifies fuel bundle assembly in that a complete row of fuel pins can be added to the bundle during each step of assembly.

Growing community of inventors

Greensburg, PA, United States of America

Arthur L Wineman