Control drum assembly and associated nuclear reactors and methods
AssigneeBattelle Energy Alliance, LLC
InventorAnthony L. Crawford
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A control drum assembly may include a control drum and a control assembly coupled to the control drum through a drive shaft. The control drum assembly may also include a cage assembly. The cage assembly may include one or more structural supports and one or more modular platforms coupled to the one or more structural supports. The one or more modular platforms may be configured to support one or more components of the control assembly. The cage assembly may also include a base configured to be coupled to a surface of a core and to locate the cage assembly relative to the core.
Claims20
A control drum assembly comprising:
- a control drum;
- a control assembly coupled to the control drum through a drive shaft;
- a cage assembly comprising one or more structural supports and one or more modular platforms coupled to the one or more structural supports, the one or more modular platforms configured to support one or more components of the control assembly.
A nuclear reactor comprising:
- a core;
- a control drum positioned within the core;
- a control assembly coupled to the control drum through a drive shaft;
- a cage assembly supporting the control assembly, the cage assembly comprising a base, the base including at least one platform configured to be coupled to a surface of the core and the at least one platform including a protrusion configured to locate the cage assembly relative to the core.
A method of returning a control drum to a fail-safe position, the method comprising:
- releasing a control drum from an angular position that is substantially different from a fail-safe angular position;
- lowering the control drum through a threaded interface, configured to cause the control drum to rotate as the control drum is lowered;
- stopping the control drum through a stop collar coupled to the control drum, wherein the stop collar is configured to stop a downward motion of the control drum at a position when the control drum is in the fail-safe angular position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.