G21C 3/00
Reactor fuel elements and their assemblies
Official title: Reactor fuel elements and their assemblies; Selection of substances for use as reactor fuel elements
G21C3/00 (Reactor fuel elements and their assemblies) appears on 2,776 US grants and 1,606 published applications in this corpus.
Search patents in G21C- Granted patents
- 2,776
- Published applications
- 1,606
- Assignees
- 574
- Inventors
- 4,199
- Latest grant
- 29 Sep 2026
Filings by year
| Year | Granted patents | Published applications |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | 78 | 0 |
| 1977 | 73 | 0 |
| 1978 | 65 | 0 |
| 1979 | 30 | 0 |
| 1980 | 46 | 0 |
| 1981 | 54 | 0 |
| 1982 | 42 | 0 |
| 1983 | 35 | 0 |
| 1984 | 31 | 0 |
| 1985 | 60 | 0 |
| 1986 | 76 | 0 |
| 1987 | 151 | 0 |
| 1988 | 83 | 0 |
| 1989 | 83 | 0 |
| 1990 | 68 | 0 |
| 1991 | 81 | 0 |
| 1992 | 71 | 0 |
| 1993 | 112 | 0 |
| 1994 | 100 | 0 |
| 1995 | 64 | 0 |
| 1996 | 55 | 0 |
| 1997 | 39 | 0 |
| 1998 | 57 | 0 |
| 1999 | 51 | 0 |
| 2000 | 25 | 0 |
| 2001 | 41 | 9 |
| 2002 | 26 | 21 |
| 2003 | 32 | 33 |
| 2004 | 29 | 26 |
| 2005 | 17 | 25 |
| 2006 | 11 | 34 |
| 2007 | 11 | 41 |
| 2008 | 15 | 43 |
| 2009 | 18 | 65 |
| 2010 | 29 | 81 |
| 2011 | 26 | 82 |
| 2012 | 30 | 60 |
| 2013 | 51 | 70 |
| 2014 | 59 | 74 |
| 2015 | 51 | 53 |
| 2016 | 47 | 63 |
| 2017 | 72 | 80 |
| 2018 | 63 | 80 |
| 2019 | 61 | 55 |
| 2020 | 72 | 105 |
| 2021 | 82 | 86 |
| 2022 | 67 | 110 |
| 2023 | 68 | 92 |
| 2024 | 69 | 91 |
| 2025 | 54 | 60 |
| 2026 | 45 | 67 |
By publication year. Applications have been published since 2001. 2026 runs to 8 Oct.
Subgroups
Granted patents
- G21C 3/30Assemblies of a number of fuel elements in the form of a1,560
- G21C 3/02Fuel elements1,037
- G21C 3/42Selection of substances for use as reactor fuel558
- G21C 3/40Structural combination of fuel element with thermoelectric element for direct production of18
- G21C 3/38Fuel units consisting of a single fuel element in a supporting sleeve13
Recent patents
- TRISO architecture for palladium and silicon carbide interaction mitigation29 Sep 2026US 12,749,588 B2UT-Battelle, LLC
- Nuclear reactor core with rotating fuel modules and related systems15 Sep 2026US 12,738,386 B2Jacksonville University
- Heat pipe fuel element and fission reactor incorporating same, particularly having phyllotaxis spacing pattern of heat pipe fuel elements, and method of manufacture8 Sep 2026US 12,731,700 B2BWXT Advanced Technologies LLC
- Nuclear reactors having liquid metal alloy fuels and/or moderators4 Aug 2026US 12,700,513 B2
- Fuel element with multi-smear density fuel4 Aug 2026US 12,700,514 B2TerraPower, LLC
- Sintering additives for improved microstructure control8 Oct 2026US 2026/0308070 A1UT-Battelle, LLC
- Nuclear reactor loading system and methods of use thereof8 Oct 2026US 2026/0311901 A1Abilene Christian University
- Methods for fabricating articles having different materials through hot isostatic pressing and additive manufacturing, methods for fabricating nuclear fuel assemblies through hot isostatic pressing and additive manufacturing, and related nuclear fuel assemblies1 Oct 2026US 2026/0295669 A1Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC
- Use of oxidation resistant coatings to increase thin walled cladding tensile strength to increase uranium loadings1 Oct 2026US 2026/0301977 A1Westinghouse Electric Corp.
- Molten fuel reactor thermal management configurations24 Sep 2026US 2026/0290630 A1c/o TerraPower, LLC
Most cited
By later US patents
- Laser machining system167US 4,541,055 AWestinghouse Electric Corp. · 1985
- Lower tie plate cast frame59US 5,282,231 ASiemens Power Corporation · 1994
- Nuclear fuel assembly58US 4,560,532 AWestinghouse Electric Corp. · 1985
- Lower tie plate strainers having double plate with offset holes for boiling water reactors58US 5,345,483 AGeneral Electric Company · 1994
- Fuel assembly bottom nozzle with integral debris trap56US 4,684,495 AWestinghouse Electric Corp. · 1987