Neutron emitter for a nuclear-fuel reactor
AssigneeCosmic Energy Power Inc.
InventorsWilliam E. Heary, Frederick M. Heary
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A breech-loading neutron gun providing neutrons to stimulate the release of energy from nuclear materials in a containment vessel in a regulated fashion includes a chamber among a plurality of chambers located in a breech where one or more of the plurality of chambers are configured and arranged to load with a neutron source, and a mechanism for controllably moving the breech or the chamber relative to an access cavity of the containment vessel and exposing the nuclear materials to neutrons from the chamber when the chamber containing the neutron source aligns with the access cavity.
Claims20
A breech-loading neutron emitter providing neutrons to stimulate the release of energy from nuclear materials in a containment vessel in a regulated fashion, comprising:
- a chamber among a plurality of chambers located in a breech, wherein one or more of the plurality of chambers are configured and arranged to load with a neutron source;
- a mechanism for controllably moving the breech or the chamber relative to an access cavity of the containment vessel and exposing the nuclear materials to neutrons from the chamber when the chamber containing the neutron source aligns with the access cavity;
- and
- one or more sensors operatively coupled to the mechanism for controllably moving the breech, wherein the one or more sensors measure one or more parameters among temperature, energy, or pressure within the containment vessel enabling control of the relative movement of the breech to the containment vessel.
A breech-loading neutron emitter providing neutrons to stimulate the release of energy from nuclear materials via an access cavity in a containment vessel containing the nuclear materials, comprising:
- a barrel of the emitter aligned and directly aimed at the access cavity of the containment vessel;
- a breech arranged and constructed to move relative to the barrel;
- multiple chambers located in the breech, wherein one or more of the chambers among the multiple chambers is configured and arranged to hold a neutron source;
- a controlled breech movement device coupled to the breech;
- one or more sensors for sensing one or more parameters within the containment vessel, wherein the one or more sensors measure one or more parameters among temperature, energy, or pressure within the containment vessel enabling control of the relative movement of the breech to the containment vessel;
- one or more processors operatively coupled to the one or more sensors;
- memory operatively coupled to the one or more processors;
- and
- computer code stored in the memory, wherein the computer code when executed by the one or more processors causes the controlled breech movement device to move the breech relative to the access cavity of the containment vessel enabling a controlled release of neutrons towards the nuclear materials within the containment vessel.
A nuclear power generating system using one or more breech-loading neutron emitters providing neutrons to stimulate the release of energy from nuclear materials via one or more access cavities in a containment vessel containing the nuclear materials, wherein each breech-loading emitter of the system comprises:
- a barrel of the emitter aligned and directly aimed at the one or more access cavities of the containment vessel;
- a breech arranged and constructed to move relative to the barrel;
- multiple chambers located in the breech, wherein one or more of the chambers among the multiple chambers is configured and arranged to hold at least a neutron source;
- a controlled breech movement device coupled to the breech;
- one or more sensors for sensing one or more parameters within the containment vessel, wherein the one or more sensors measure one or more parameters among temperature, energy, or pressure within the containment vessel enabling control of the relative movement of the breech to the containment vessel;
- one or more processors operatively coupled to the one or more sensors;
- memory operatively coupled to the one or more processors;
- and
- computer code stored in the memory, wherein the computer code when executed by the one or more processors causes the controlled breech movement device to move the breech relative to the access cavity of the containment vessel enabling a controlled release of neutrons towards the nuclear materials within the containment vessel.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.