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:
Jan. 18, 1994
Filed:
Sep. 25, 1992
William J Bryan, Granby, CT (US);
Combuation Engineering, Inc., Windsor, CT (US);
Abstract
A method for coating the inside surface (18) of tubular components (16) of a nuclear fuel assembly, including the steps of supporting the component within a vacuum chamber (12), positioning a source rod (20) having a field emitter structure (22) within the component, the structure being formed of material to be coated on the surface, and inducing an electrical current flow (26) through the rod sufficient to evaporate at least a portion of the emitter structure, whereby the evaporated material of the emitter structure is deposited on and adheres to the surface as a coating. Optionally, the vacuum chamber is backfilled with a reactive gas (38), and the material evaporated from the emitter structure chemically reacts with the gas before adhering to the surface. The reactive gas can be one of nitrogen, oxygen, or carbon plasma and the coating adhered to the component can be one of a nitride, oxide, or carbide, respectively.