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:
Aug. 02, 2022
Filed:
Jul. 03, 2019
Westinghouse Electric Company Llc, Cranberry Township, PA (US);
Edward J. Lahoda, Edgewood, PA (US);
Westinghouse Electric Company LLC, Cranberry Township, PA (US);
Abstract
A method for making an improved nuclear fuel cladding tube includes reinforcing a Zr alloy tube by first winding or braiding ceramic yarn directly around the tube to form a ceramic covering, then physically bonding the ceramic covering to the tube by applying a first coating selected from the group consisting of Nb, Nb alloy, Nb oxide, Cr, Cr oxide, Cr alloy, or combinations thereof, by one of a thermal deposition process or a physical deposition process to provide structural support member for the Zr tube, and optionally applying a second coating and optionally applying a third coating by one of a thermal deposition process or a physical deposition process. If the tube softens at 800° C.-1000° C., the structural support tube will reinforce the Zr alloy tube against ballooning and bursting, thereby preventing the release of fission products to the reactor coolant.