Tag gas capsule with magnetic piercing device
AssigneeThe United States of America as represented by the United States Energy Research and Development Administration
InventorIra V. Nelson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An apparatus for introducing a tag (i.e., identifying) gas into a tubular nuclear fuel element. A sealed capsule containing the tag gas is placed in the plenum in the fuel tube between the fuel and the end cap. A ferromagnetic punch having a penetrating point is slidably mounted in the plenum. By external electro-magnets, the punch may be caused to penetrate a thin rupturable end wall of the capsule and release the tag gas into the fuel element. Preferably the punch is slidably mounted within the capsule, which is in turn loaded as a sealed unit into the fuel element.
Claims2
In a fuel element for a nuclear reactor comprising a substantially nonmagnetic fuel tube, an end cap closing one end of said fuel tube, a multiplicity of stacked fuel pellets disposed within said tube and spaced from said end cap to form a plenum, the improvement comprising a substantially nonmagnetic sealed capsule fitting within said plenum with one end adjacent said end cap and containing an isotopic mixture of gases, said capsule having at said one end a thin, rupturable diaphragm spaced inwardly from said end cap of said fuel tube, and a ferromagnetic punch having a sharp-pointed penetrator on at least one end, freely slidably movable longitudinally within said capsule, said punch having a length much less than that of said capsule and said penetrator being on the end of said punch pointed toward said diaphragm whereby said punch can be driven against said rupturable diaphragm in response to an external magnetic field induced around said fuel tube so that said rupturable diaphragm is breached by said penetrator and said isotopic mixture of gases is released from said sealed capsule into said fuel element.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.