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:
Feb. 17, 2026
Filed:
Jul. 12, 2022
Terrapower, Llc, Bellevue, WA (US);
John E. Truax, Bellevue, WA (US);
Trevor R. Mcwilliams, Barnhart, MO (US);
TERRAPOWER, LLC, Bellevue, WA (US);
Abstract
A method of handling spent nuclear fuel assemblies immerses the spent nuclear fuel assemblies in water in a relatively short time period when compared to traditional methods. A spent nuclear fuel assembly is removed from a nuclear reactor core, inserted into a sodium removal machine having a receiver, a cleaning vessel, and an elevator. A cleaning fluid is applied to the cleaning vessel and fuel assembly, and the fuel assembly is flushed with water while in the cleaning vessel. The cleaning vessel is at least partially submerged in the spent fuel pool during cleaning to provide passive heat removal. The cleaning vessel is lowered by an elevator into the spent fuel pool. The fuel assembly may then be loaded into a rack and/or a cask for long-term storage.