ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 7 -- United States Patent no. 12,676,246, issued on July 7, was assigned to NuScale Power LLC (Corvallis, Ore.).
"Control rod damping system" was invented by Ross Douglas Snuggerud (Corvallis, Kan.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A damping area or "dash pot" on the upper ends of control rods absorb energy from dropped control rod assemblies without narrowing the diameter of guide tubes. As a result, coolant can freely flow through the guide tubes reducing boiling water issues. The dampening area reduces a separation distance between an outside surface of the control rod and an inside surface of the guide tubes decelerating the control rods when entering a top end of the g...