562results about "Fuel elements" patented technology

The present application relates to nuclear fuel claddings, and more particularly to zirconium alloy tubes with a ceramic covering. A first coating layer is applied to the ceramic covering. A second coating layer is over the first coating layer. The first coating layer includes Nb. The second coating layer includes Cr.

A loading system for a molten salt reactor system includes a slug loading assembly. The slug loading assembly includes an inert chamber having an entry port therein that is configured to receive a solid slug. The loading system further includes a chute having a pipe run extending from the entry port and elevationally below the slug loading assembly. The loading system further includes a terminal sieve fluidically coupled with the pipe run opposite the entry port and configured to receive the solid slug via the pipe run. The terminal sieve is positionable with a flow of a liquid molten salt for dissolution of the solid slug therein.

A system is described that includes a sputter target and a magnetic element array including multiple sets of magnets arranged to have a Hall-Effect region that extends along a length of the sputter target. The elongated sputtering electrode material tube is interposed between the magnetic array and an object to be deposited with a sputtered material from the sputter target. During a direct current high-power impulse magnetron sputtering operation, the system performs a depositing on a surface of the object by generating and controlling an ion and neutral particle flux by: providing a vacuum apparatus containing a sputter target holder electrode; first generating a high-power pulsed plasma magnetron discharge with a high-current negative direct current (DC) pulse to the sputter a target holder electrode; and second generating a configurable positive voltage kick pulse to the sputter target holder electrode after terminating the negative DC pulse.

The invention discloses a solid-state reactor core fuel assembly and a shielding system and belongs to the field of nuclear power. The solid reactor core fuel assembly comprises a base body with a fuel rod mounting hole, a fuel rod is arranged in the fuel rod mounting hole in a penetrating manner, a sealing section is formed between the fuel rod mounting hole and the end part of the fuel rod mounting hole, a deep hole end plug is arranged in the sealing section to seal the fuel rod in the fuel rod mounting hole, and end cover plates are fixed at two ends of the base body. According to the solid reactor core fuel assembly, multi-layer containing can be formed on reactor core radioactive substances, and the radioactive substances are sealed in the fuel rod mounting holes of the base body through the deep hole end plugs under the condition that a fuel rod cladding is damaged, so that the safety and reliability of a solid reactor core are improved. The invention also provides a solid reactor core shielding system.

A coupon sampler for a reactor system includes a lower assembly having an in-line portion configured to receive a flow of a molten salt, and a lower assembly pipe portion extending transverse from the in-line portion and defining a lower channel therethrough. The coupon sampler further includes an upper assembly fluidically coupled with the lower assembly. The upper assembly includes an upper assembly pipe portion defining an upper channel therethrough and cooperating with the lower channel to define a sampling channel of the coupon sampler. The coupon sampler further includes a coupon device disposed fully within the sampling channel. The coupon sampler further includes an actuation mechanism operatively coupled with the coupon device and configured to move the coupon device axially into and out of the flow of the molten salt.

Provided are a hollow radioactive containment fuel containing a burnable poison, a preparation method therefor and the use thereof. The hollow radioactive containment fuel containing a burnable poison comprises a hollow fuel area and a fuel-free protective layer covering the periphery of the fuel area; the hollow fuel area comprises a matrix, and a fuel element and a burnable poison which are distributed in the matrix, wherein the fuel element is an isotropic coated fuel particle, and the burnable poison is an isotropic coated burnable poison particle. The present invention can realize highly compact and safe radioactive containment of a reactor fuel, ensure that radioactive products, especially fission gas, are not released into the environment accidentally, stably provide a fission site for the core of a miniature nuclear power pile for a long period of time, effectively confine the radioactive fission products inside the fuel, and guarantee the safe and stable operation of a reactor.

Systems, structures, devices, and fabrication processes for ceramic matrix composites suitable for use in a nuclear reactor environment and other applications requiring materials that can withstand high temperatures and / or highly corrosive environments are disclosed. In one aspect, a ceramic composite structure is provided. The structure comprises a chamber including an external shell and a hollow space inside the external shell. The external shell includes an inner composite layer including a first composite structure, a middle composite layer placed outside of the inner composite layer, the middle composite layer including a second composite structure that is different from the first composite structure, and an outer monolithic layer that has a spatially uniform material property and placed outside of the middle composite layer.

The invention provides a fuel stub in-pile high-temperature irradiation test device and a manufacturing method thereof, and belongs to the technical field of high-temperature irradiation tests.The fuel stub in-pile high-temperature irradiation test device provided by the embodiment of the invention comprises a protection pipe, a test piece assembly and a first thermal resistance layer, and the first thermal resistance layer is additionally arranged outside a fuel stub; the first thermal resistance layer is arranged to increase the temperature gradient between the fuel stub and the inner cavity coolant, so that the high temperature of the stub cladding can be smoothly transited to the inner cavity coolant through the first thermal resistance layer, the fuel stub high-temperature irradiation test can be carried out in the low-temperature coolant, and the temperature upper limit of the irradiation test in the fuel stub pile can be improved.

The invention discloses a cold rolling die with a straight rib thin-wall cladding pipe, a production process and the cladding pipe, and relates to the technical field of reactor fuel cladding, the cold rolling die comprises a cold rolling outer die for controlling the forming of the outer contour of a pipeline and a cold rolling core head for controlling the inner diameter; the cold rolling outer die is a die with a hollow area inside, the hollow area comprises a pitch circle section and a fixed rib section, and the fixed rib section is provided with at least one section of rib groove; a pipeline forming die cavity is formed by hollow areas of the two cold rolling outer dies, and a roll gap is formed between the two cold rolling outer dies; when the cold rolling die is used for producing the cladding pipe, the requirement for room-temperature plasticity of cladding materials in the forming process is low, the quality of the surface of the cladding pipe cannot be affected in the forming process, the quality of a formed product is high, and the cold rolling die is simple in structure, low in manufacturing cost and suitable for popularization and application. The thin-wall cladding tube with the straight ribs produced by the cold rolling die is good in surface quality, and the ribs of the cladding tube are good in mechanical property.

A system is described that includes a sputter target and a magnetic element array including multiple sets of magnets arranged to have a Hall-Effect region that extends along a length of the sputter target. The elongated sputtering electrode material tube is interposed between the magnetic array and an object to be deposited with a sputtered material from the sputter target. During a direct current high-power impulse magnetron sputtering operation, the system performs a depositing on a surface of the object by generating and controlling an ion and neutral particle flux by: providing a vacuum apparatus containing a sputter target holder electrode; first generating a high-power pulsed plasma magnetron discharge with a high-current negative direct current (DC) pulse to the sputter a target holder electrode; and second generating a configurable positive voltage kick pulse to the sputter target holder electrode after terminating the negative DC pulse.

The utility model provides a heat conduction structure and a molten salt reactor cabin. The heat conduction structure comprises a first pipeline, a heat conduction layer and at least one heat pipe, the first pipeline is provided with a first end face and a second end face at two ends; the heat conduction layer is arranged on the periphery of the first pipeline from the first end face in the length direction of the first pipeline. The heat conduction layer is shorter than the first pipeline; a plurality of channels are formed in the end face of the side, away from the first end face, of the heat conduction layer in the axial direction of the heat conduction layer. Two ends of the heat pipe are closed; one end of each heat pipe is arranged in the channel, and the other end of each heat pipe faces the second end face, so that the part, located in the heat conduction layer, of each heat pipe serves as a condensation section, and the part, not located in the heat conduction layer, of each heat pipe serves as an evaporation section in the working state. Fused salt freezing blockage in the fused salt pipeline can be effectively prevented, and the temperature uniformity of the fused salt pipeline is improved; and the dismounting difficulty of the molten salt reactor cabin through-wall pipeline can be reduced, so that the heat conduction structure is easy to maintain, and the safety and the reliability of the molten salt reactor cabin are improved.

Disclosed in the present invention is a fuel rod for a water-cooled reactor. The fuel rod comprises a cladding tube, an upper end plug and a lower end plug that match at two opposite ends of the cladding tube, and fuel pellets stacked in the cladding tube, wherein the fuel pellets comprise at least one first pellet; the first pellet is formed by at least two pellet units connected in an enclosed manner in a circumferential direction; and a through hole penetrating two opposite ends of the first pellet is formed in the first pellet, and is filled with a filler containing burnable poison nuclides. In the fuel rod for a water-cooled reactor of the present invention, by means of providing a hole in a pellet and filling the hole with the filler containing the burnable poison nuclides, a gas generated by the pellet during the operation of the reactor can be absorbed, thereby reducing the internal pressure of the cladding tube, reducing the risk of fuel rod failure, preventing the leakage of radioactive substances, increasing the uranium utilization rate, and providing a relatively large design margin.

A fuel assembly (100) for a nuclear fission reactor system (110). The fuel assembly (100) may comprise a pressure tube (120) comprising an aluminium or aluminium alloy. The fuel assembly (100) may comprise a sleeve member (132), the sleeve member (132) extending along a radially inner surface (134) of the pressure tube (120). The fuel assembly (100) may comprise a fuel compact unit (136). The fuel compact unit (136) may be located within the sleeve member (132)) such that a clearance is maintained between a radially inner surface (139) of the sleeve member (132) and the fuel compact unit (136) to define a sleeve member flow passage (140).

A nuclear fuel cell cladding that includes a zirconium-carbon covetic material. The zirconium-carbon covetic material has a carbon component associated with the surface of zirconium particles. The amount of carbon present in the zirconium-carbon covetic material is in a range of greater than 0.1 wt % to about 25 wt % of the zirconium-carbon covetic material. The carbon component may include carbon nanotubes, carbon nanomaterials, graphene, or graphene nanoplatelets. The carbon component may be uniformly distributed within the zirconium matrix. The zirconium-carbon covetic material may be formed from a zirconium alloy. The zirconium-carbon covetic material may be configured for use in various types of nuclear reactors. The synthesis of the cladding involves a process of plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. The resulting nuclear fuel cell cladding offers improved performance and reliability for nuclear reactor applications.

The invention discloses a double-layer cladding nuclear fuel rod and a preparation method thereof.The preparation method comprises the steps that S1, a metal cladding with one closed end is loaded into a SiC composite cladding tube with one closed end, and the outer surface of the metal cladding is in close fit with the inner surface of the SiC composite cladding tube; s2, loading the nuclear fuel pellet and the first pressure spring into the metal cladding; s3, a metal end plug is connected to the open end of the metal cladding in a sealed mode, and a metal fuel rod is formed; s4, a second pressure spring and a heat insulation block are arranged in the SiC composite cladding tube to abut against the metal fuel rod; and S5, the SiC end plug is sealed at the open end of the SiC composite cladding tube in a matched mode. The double-layer cladding nuclear fuel rod disclosed by the invention has the characteristics of corrosion resistance and high air tightness, can effectively resist a hydrothermal corrosion environment under a normal operation working condition and an accident working condition, and meanwhile, effectively reduces the risk of releasing fission gas; the overall reliability of the fuel rod is high.

The invention discloses a small liquid-solid dual-fuel molten salt reactor core loaded with a cross spiral fuel, and relates to the technical field of nuclear reactor engineering. The reactor core of the small liquid-solid dual-fuel fused salt reactor loaded with the cross spiral fuel comprises two parts, namely an active area and a control drum, the control drum comprises a reflecting layer and a control drum absorbing material, the reflecting layer is made of beryllium oxide, and the control drum absorbing material is boron carbide with the boron 10 enrichment degree of 100%; the active area is composed of a fuel element and a fluoride salt coolant, and the whole active area is packaged in a shell made of Zr-4; the fuel element is in a cross spiral shape and is arranged in a regular hexagon shape, the fuel element is composed of an axial reflecting layer, fuel, a He cavity and an Re absorber, and the fuel is UC solid fuel with the U-235 enrichment degree being 45.684 wt.%; the material of the fluoride salt coolant is 7LiF-KF-UF4 (49.55 to 49.55 to 0.9 mol%), wherein the enrichment degree of U-235 in the UF4 is 30 percent by weight. According to the invention, the reactor core power density is further improved and the fuel peak temperature is effectively reduced while the reactor core heat is ensured to be discharged in time.

The invention discloses a nuclear fuel mechanism and an assembling method thereof, the nuclear fuel mechanism comprises a fuel rod lower end plug, a lower pipe seat assembly and an adjusting assembly, and the nuclear fuel mechanism can reduce flow-induced vibration of the fuel rod lower end plug in the horizontal direction. The connecting piece can be driven to move through the adjusting piece, so that the foreign matter preventing plate horizontally moves relative to the seat body, and at the moment, the central axis of the restraining through hole of the foreign matter preventing plate and the central axis of the restraining counter bore of the seat body are staggered, so that the limiting part of the fuel rod lower end plug is limited below the foreign matter preventing plate; the limiting part of the lower end plug of the fuel rod is limited between the foreign matter prevention plate and the seat body, so that the axial movement of the fuel rod is limited, and when the clamping force of the positioning grillwork is lost, the fuel rod is prevented from axially moving under the action of hydraulic lifting force or when the fuel assembly bears axial impact load; aggravation of fretting abrasion of the grillwork and the fuel rod is avoided, and failure of the fuel rod caused by the fact that the fuel rod falls and impacts the lower pipe base is avoided.

The invention relates to a multi-stage reinforced connection method for an accident-resistant SiC / SiC fuel cladding tube and a SiC end plug. The connecting method comprises the following steps: (1) grinding, polishing, ultrasonically cleaning and drying the joint of the SiC / SiC fuel cladding tube and the SiC end plug; (2) fully mixing SiC whiskers, SiC powder, a ceramic precursor, a catalyst, a binding agent and a solvent to obtain a paste packaging agent; and (3) uniformly smearing the paste packaging agent on the connecting surface of the SiC / SiC fuel cladding tube and the SiC end plug, placing the SiC / SiC fuel cladding tube and the SiC end plug in a chemical vapor deposition system, and sequentially carrying out ceramization and densification on a connecting layer, so as to finally obtain the accident-resistant multi-stage reinforced connecting layer of the SiC / SiC fuel cladding tube and the SiC end plug.

The utility model discloses an indirect heating type fuel rod simulation piece which comprises a cladding tube and an electric heating element, and the cladding tube is a corrosion product deposition test surface; the electric heating element is arranged in the cladding tube and is used for simulating heat generated by a nuclear fission reaction of the fuel pellet; high-purity helium is filled between the cladding tube and the electric heating element, and sealing of the fuel rod simulation piece is achieved through end plug welding at one end of the cladding tube and circumferential welding between the cladding tube and the electric heating element. According to the utility model, the actual structural characteristics and surface material properties of the fuel element are retained to the greatest extent while the surface thermal load state of the pressurized water reactor fuel element is simulated, so that the authenticity of corrosion product deposition test simulation and the reliability of obtaining test data are improved; and the method can also be used for experimental research on scale-caused accelerated corrosion after deposition of surface corrosion products.

Insulated fuel assembly core with plurality of fuel monoliths, exhaust support plate, exhaust shield assembly, and insulation layer in which the plurality of fuel monoliths are located axially along a longitudinal axis and each of the plurality of fuel monoliths has a shape of an eccentric cylinder and a composition including a fissionable fuel component. Channels in the exhaust support plate are oriented so that propellant gas flow through the exhaust support plate does not impinge the exhaust shield assembly. The insulated fuel assembly core is manufactured by forming a tensioned fuel monolith stack mandrel assembly using mandrels spacers and internal tensioning components and forming an insulation layer on an outer surface of the tensioned fuel monolith stack mandrel assembly by mandrel winding. The insulated fuel assembly core can be incorporated into a fuel assembly of nuclear propulsion fission reactor structure of, for example, a nuclear thermal propulsion engine.

A fuel assembly 100 for a nuclear fission reactor system comprises: a pressure tube 120 comprising aluminium or an aluminium alloy; a sleeve member 132 located inside the pressure tube 120; and a fuel compact unit 136 located within the sleeve member (132). A clearance gap 137 is maintained between the sleeve member 132 and the fuel compact unit 136 to define a sleeve member flow passage 140. The sleeve member and / or fuel compact unit may comprise silicon carbide. There may be an insulation gap between the pressure tube 120 and the sleeve member 132. The fuel compact unit may define at least one flow passage. The fuel assembly may form part of a nuclear fission reactor system in which a working fluid flows through the sleeve member flow passage and the fuel compact flow passage. The working fluid may comprise nitrogen and water vapour.

The utility model discloses a SiC cladding fuel element. The SiC cladding fuel element comprises a SiC cladding, at least one metal foil and at least one fuel pellet, at least one fuel pellet is packaged in the metal foil to form a packaged pellet unit; and the packaging core block unit is arranged in the SiC cladding. According to the SiC cladding fuel element, the fuel pellet is packaged in the metal foil, and the metal foil can contain fission gas, so that the airtightness maintaining capability of the SiC cladding is improved, and the risk that the fission gas of the SiC cladding fuel element leaks is reduced.

The invention relates to the technical field of heat transfer science and fluid mechanics, in particular to a novel spiral ribbed fuel element heat transfer enhancement method, a fuel element and an assembly. The enhanced heat exchange method comprises the steps that anticlockwise spiral fins and clockwise spiral fins are sequentially arranged on a fuel element body, and the anticlockwise spiral fins and the clockwise spiral fins are arranged in a twisted mode, so that the whole fuel element is covered with the inlet effect, and the heat exchange efficiency is improved; the adjacent fuel element bodies are arranged at intervals according to the rule that the initial spiral directions of the special-shaped fins are different, coolant stirring and mixing between the sub-channels are enhanced, it is ensured that the surface temperature of the fuel element bodies is evenly distributed, the overall heat exchange efficiency of the fuel assembly is improved, and the heat exchange enhancing effect is achieved. The heat exchange area of the fuel element can be increased through different numbers of special-shaped fins and different sizes of sectional areas.

The invention relates to the field of nuclear reactor fuel elements, in particular to an integrated splicable fuel element which comprises base bodies and fuel bodies arranged in the base bodies, each base body is internally provided with at least one fuel body, the multiple fuel bodies are evenly distributed in the base bodies, the base bodies are provided with multiple connecting structures, and the connecting structures are arranged on the base bodies. The multiple base bodies can be spliced in the longitudinal direction and the transverse direction through the connecting structures. The fuel element has the advantages that in order to eliminate negative effects caused by the fact that a clamping system needs to be introduced into a rod-shaped structure, the application scene of the fuel element is expanded to meet the requirement of a solid reactor core.

Carbide-based fuel assembly includes outer structural member of ceramic matrix composite material, the interior surface of which is lined in higher temperature regions with an insulation layer of porous refractory ceramic material. A continuous insulation layer extends the length of the fuel assembly or separate insulation layer sections have a thickness increasing step-wise along the length of the fuel assembly from upper (inlet) section towards bottom (outlet) section. Fuel element positioned inward of the insulation layer and between support meshes has a fuel composition including HALEU and the form of a plurality of individual elongated fuel bodies or one or more fuel monolith bodies containing coolant flow channels. Fuel assemblies are distributively arranged in a moderator block, with upper end of the outer structural member attached to an inlet for propellant and lower end of the outer structural member operatively interfaced with a nozzle forming a nuclear thermal propulsion reactor.

A coupon sampler for a reactor system includes a lower assembly having an in-line portion configured to receive a flow of a molten salt, and a lower assembly pipe portion extending transverse from the in-line portion and defining a lower channel therethrough. The coupon sampler further includes an upper assembly fluidically coupled with the lower assembly. The upper assembly includes an upper assembly pipe portion defining an upper channel therethrough and cooperating with the lower channel to define a sampling channel of the coupon sampler. The coupon sampler further includes a coupon device disposed fully within the sampling channel. The coupon sampler further includes an actuation mechanism operatively coupled with the coupon device and configured to move the coupon device axially into and out of the flow of the molten salt.

The invention relates to cladding comprising a tube (14) that extends along a longitudinal axis and a tubular inner lining (18) housed inside the tube (14), wherein the tube (14) comprises at least one reinforced layer (16) made of a composite material that comprises a ceramic matrix reinforced with ceramic reinforcing fibres, and wherein the thickness of the tube (14) is between 280 µm and 600 µm.

Additive manufacturing compositions include low-absorbing particles or non-absorbing particles that have an absorbance for wavelengths of 300 nm to 700 nm that is equal to or greater than 0 Au and is less 1.0 Au, such as 0.001 Au ≤ absorbance ≤ 0.7 Au. Slurries including such particles and an uranium-containing particle and that are used in additive manufacturing processes have an increased penetration depth for curative radiation. Removal of low-absorbing particles or non-absorbing particles during post-processing of as-manufactured products results in pores that create porosity in the as-manufactured product that provide a volume accommodating fission gases and / or can enhance wicking of certain heat pipe coolant liquids. Low-absorbing particles or non-absorbing particles can be functionalized for improved properties, for example, with fissionable material for improved ceramic yields, with burnable poisons or stabilizers for increased homogeneity, with stabilizers for localized delivery of the stabilizer, or with combinations thereof.

The embodiment of the invention relates to the field of processes specially used for manufacturing a reactor or parts thereof, in particular to an assembling and charging testing method of a reactor using bulk nuclear fuel and the reactor comprising the bulk nuclear fuel. According to the method, loading test is carried out on the reactor by using the test facility after assembly, so that the backup reactivity of the reactor core can be determined, safe assembly and safe criticality of the reactor are realized, and the safety of experimenters is ensured; by gradually adding the partitioned side reflecting layers outside the reactor core formed by the bulk nuclear fuel, the reactor gradually reaches the critical value, the operation risk is reduced, and meanwhile, the critical point can be accurately obtained; after the critical loading of the reactor core is determined, the partitioned side reflecting layers are replaced by the complete side reflecting layers with the same value, so that the influence of gaps existing between the partitioned side reflecting layers can be avoided, and the reaction efficiency of nuclear fuel is improved. The reactor assembled according to the method has high neutron economy and low critical risk.

A mechanical device for grasping an object that includes a receiver, an actuator, a rotatable sleeve, a pilot, and a grasping device. The receiver includes a distal end shaft having an internal bore. The internal bore defines a recessed track. The actuator is slidably engaged with the receiver. The rotatable sleeve is disposed within the internal bore of the receiver and is coupled to the actuator. The rotatable sleeve includes at least one protrusion. The protrusion is disposed within the recessed track of the receiver. The pilot is secured to a distal end portion of the receiver. The grasping device is mounted to the pilot.