Westinghouse Electric Company LLC

John M Iacovino, Jr

William A Byers

David F McLaughlin

Thomas V Congedo

Arnold H Fero

Abdul R Dulloo

Frank H Ruddy

Brandon Damon Thomas

Jeffrey C Himler

Jeffery C Himler

John G Siedel

A sleeve assembly for refurbishing a fuel rack having cells in which fresh or spent nuclear fuel assemblies may be stored, in which the cells have elongate rack walls extending from a rack base plate and the rack base plate has flow holes communicating with the cells. The sleeve has at least one elongate wall extending from the topside of a sleeve base having an opposed bottom side. The sleeve base has a flow hole extending therethrough that communicates with one of the rack base plate flow holes. A pin assembly disposed in the sleeve base flow hole has resilient tabs extending beyond the bottom side of the sleeve base for extending into a rack base plate flow hole and resiliently engaging the rack base plate when the sleeve assembly is installed in one of the cells. The pin assembly resists horizontal and vertical movements of the sleeve assembly, permits water flow into the cell and permits sleeve assembly removal tools and inspection devices to access the pin assembly.

Sleeve assembly for nuclear fuel racks

Spent nuclear fuel assembly stacking method

Detectors are used to monitor the status of spent nuclear fuel storage containers non-invasively while they remain in storage casks. The detectors measure neutron flux and &ggr;-ray flux and may also measure temperature variations of the spent nuclear fuel. The measurements can be accomplished actively or passively, with minimal exposure of individuals to radiation fields or other hazardous conditions. Preferred neutron and &ggr;-ray detectors have a semiconductor active region that is resistant to neutron damage. Incipient structural failures may also be detected using measurements based on electrical continuity, with data being transmitted to an external pickup coil.

In-situ self-powered monitoring of stored spent nuclear fuel

Growing community of inventors

Murrysville, PA, United States of America

John M Iacovino, Jr