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:
Nov. 12, 2013
Filed:
Oct. 31, 2006
David Joseph Kropaczek, Wilmington, NC (US);
John Patrick Rea, Wilmington, NC (US);
Mehdi Asgari, Ammon, ID (US);
David Joseph Kropaczek, Wilmington, NC (US);
John Patrick Rea, Wilmington, NC (US);
Mehdi Asgari, Ammon, ID (US);
Global Nuclear Fuel-Americas, LLC, Wilmington, NC (US);
Abstract
In a method for improving the energy generating output of a nuclear reactor containing one or more fuel rods in one or more fuel rod bundles while satisfying a maximum subcritical banked withdrawal position (MSBWP) reactivity limit, enrichments of individual fuel rods in an axial cross-section of a lattice being evaluated at the top of the fuel bundle are ranked, and the fuel pins of the highest ranked rod location in the lattice are replaced with pins containing natural uranium. A core simulation is then performed to determine whether there is any margin to a MSBWP reactivity limit. For each lower ranked candidate rod position, the pin replacing and core simulation functions are repeated until no rod location violates the MSBWP reactivity limit, so as to achieve a desired lattice design for the top of the fuel bundle.