A neutron absorbing insert for use in a fuel rack. In one aspect, the insert includes: a plate structure having a first wall and a second wall that is non-coplanar to the first wall; the first and second walls being formed by a single panel of a metal matrix composite having neutron absorbing particulate reinforcement that is bent into the non-coplanar arrangement along a crease; and a plurality of spaced-apart holes formed into the single panel along the crease prior to bending.

A nuclear power plant includes: a nuclear reactor; a steam turbine that is driven by main steam that has been generated by the nuclear reactor; and a gland steam supply device that supplies gland steam to a gland of the steam turbine. The gland steam supply device includes a gland steam generator that heats external water, and generates the gland steam. The external water is independent of the main steam and condensate of the main steam.

A method of disassembling a steam generator including a body portion, a water chamber, a tube plate and a plurality of heat transfer tubes, the method includes: a step of obtaining a disassembly target including the tube plate and a part of the heat transfer tubes; a step of specifying the heat transfer tube fixed to the tube plate; a step of releasing fixation between the part of the heat transfer tube and the tube plate; and a step of pulling out the part of the heat transfer tube from the through-hole, in the step of releasing the fixation, the TIG heating head is inserted from the primary region side, and in the step of releasing the fixation, the TIG heating head is moved to a plurality of streaks only in a direction from the primary region side to the secondary region side.

Power conversion systems for converting thermal energy from a heat source to electricity are disclosed. In one exemplary embodiment, the power conversion system may include a substantially sealed chamber having an inner shroud having an inlet and an outlet and defining an internal passageway between the inlet and the outlet through which a working fluid passes. The sealed chamber may also include an outer shroud substantially surrounding the inner shroud, such that the working fluid exiting the outlet of the inner shroud returns to the inlet of the inner shroud in a closed-loop via a return passageway formed between an external surface of the inner shroud and an internal surface of the outer shroud. The power conversion system may further include a source heat exchanger disposed in the internal passageway of the inner shroud, the source heat exchanger being configured to at least partially receive a heat transmitting element.

The invention relates in particular to a solid metallic component. This component (1) is particularly notable in that it comprises a core (5) and an external shell (3) which surrounds said core (5) in all directions, this core (5) and this shell (3) being made of different grades of steel, the steel of said core (5) having martensite and bainite critical cooling rates lower than those of the steel or steels of said shell (3).

The purpose of the present invention is to effectively reduce the corrosion fatigue of an evaporating tube in a boiler which occurs in association with a corrosive environment or repeated application of stress due to the presence of scales. A method for reducing the corrosion fatigue of an evaporating tube in a boiler, in which each of the concentration of chloride ions and the concentration of sulfate ions in the boiler water is managed at 10 mg/L or less. It is preferred to manage each of the concentration of chloride ions and the concentration of sulfate ions in boiler water by subjecting boiler feed water to a desalination treatment with an ion exchange device, a reverse osmosis membrane device or an electrodeionization device or by increasing the collection rate of boiler condensed water.

In some aspects, a computer-implemented method of reducing a rate of fouling in a recovery boiler system is provided. A computing device receives boiler operating information for a period of time. The boiler operating information includes boiler operating parameters and a rate of fouling for the period of time. The boiler operating parameters include one or more boiler input parameters. The computing device performs a regression analysis to determine at least one correlation between the boiler operating parameters and the rate of fouling. The computing device causes at least one boiler input parameter to be adjusted based on the at least one correlation to minimize the rate of fouling. In some aspects, a system configured to perform such a method is provided. In some aspects, a computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon that cause a computing device to perform such a method is provided.

A neutron absorbing insert for use in a fuel rack. In one aspect, the insert includes: a plate structure having a first wall and a second wall that is non-coplanar to the first wall; the first and second walls being formed by a single panel of a metal matrix composite having neutron absorbing particulate reinforcement that is bent into the non-coplanar arrangement along a crease; and a plurality of spaced-apart holes formed into the single panel along the crease prior to bending.

Methods of fabricating structures, such as parts for use in nuclear power generation systems, are described herein. A representative method of fabricating a part for a nuclear reactor system includes coating a plurality of particles of a powder of a first material with a second material, and then pressing and/or heating the coated powder into a monolithic structure. The second material can be substantially solidly insoluble with the first material such that, after pressing and/or heating, the particles of the first material define grains of the monolithic structure and the second material substantially encapsulates the grains in the monolithic structure. The first material can be susceptible to corrosion by a select process, and the second material can be resistant to corrosion by the select process such that the bulk first material of the monolithic structure is resistant to corrosion by the select process.

Steam generator systems including tubesheet assemblies, such as for use in nuclear reactor systems, and associated devices and methods are described herein. A representative steam generator system can be installed in a nuclear reactor vessel positioned to house a primary coolant. The steam generator system can include a tubesheet assembly defining a plenum and comprising a tubesheet and a flexible connection portion coupling the tubesheet to the reactor vessel. The tubesheet can include a plurality of perforations fluidly coupled to the plenum. The steam generator system can further comprise a plurality of heat transfer tubes fluidly coupled to the perforations and configured to receive a flow of a secondary coolant. The connection portion can be more flexible than the tubesheet and the reactor vessel to reduce stresses on the tubesheet and the connections (e.g., tube-to-tubesheet (TTS) welds) between the tubes and the tubesheet during operation of the nuclear reactor system.