The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
May. 19, 2020
Filed:
Mar. 14, 2016
Global Nuclear Fuel - Americas, Llc, Wilmington, NC (US);
Jason B. Ingraham, Wilmington, NC (US);
Gerald Dean Kvaall, Jr., Wilmington, NC (US);
Paul E. Cantonwine, Wilmington, NC (US);
Michael W. Thomas, Wilmington, NC (US);
William C. Cline, Wilmington, NC (US);
Global Nuclear Fuel—Americas, LLC, Wilmington, NC (US);
Abstract
Fuel assemblies include an outer channel having a physical configuration optimized for a position of the fuel assembly within a core of a nuclear reactor. The position of the fuel assembly with respect to an employed control blade in the nuclear reactor determines if the outer channel may be thickened, reinforced, and/or fabricated of Zircaloy-4 or similar distortion-resistant material, so as to reduce or prevent distortion of the channel against the control blade, or thinned so as to increase water volume and enhance reactivity in the assembly. Reactor cores having configured fuel assemblies include fuel assemblies having different outer channels. Methods include determining operational characteristics of the fuel assembly, including likelihood of being placed directly adjacent to an employed control blade, and physically selecting or modifying the outer channel of the fuel assembly based thereon.