Bundles of parallel pin-, rod-, or tube-shaped fuel elements

Introduced: September 1968

Last revised: January 2006

Full Title

Reactor fuel elements or their assemblies; Selection of substances for use as reactor fuel elements > Assemblies of a number of fuel elements in the form of a rigid unit > Bundles of parallel pin-, rod-, or tube-shaped fuel elements

Classification Context

Section:: PHYSICS
Class:: NUCLEAR PHYSICS; NUCLEAR ENGINEERING
Subclass:: NUCLEAR REACTORS

Filing statistics

IPC G21C 3/32 belongs to the parent subclass G21C, which recorded 29,798 patent applications worldwide between 2013 and 2023. Annual filings declined from 2,773 in 2013 to 2,661 in 2023 (-4%), peaking at 3,001 applications in 2021. The most active applicants in class G21 are CHINA GENERAL NUCLEAR POWER CORPORATION (2,364 applications), CGN POWER COMPANY (1,899 applications) and CHINA NUCLEAR POWER ENGINEERING COMPANY (1,870 applications).

Source: EPO PATSTAT, worldwide filings

8 direct subcodes

Child Classifications

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G21C 3/322 Means to influence the coolant flow through or around the bundles
G21C 3/324 Coats or envelopes for the bundles
G21C 3/326 comprising fuel elements of different composition; Comprising, in addition to the fuel elements, other pin-, rod-, or tube-shaped elements, e.g. control rods, grid support rods, fertile rods, poison rods or dummy rods
G21C 3/33 Supporting or hanging of elements in the bundle; Means forming part of the bundle for inserting it into, or removing it from, the core; Means for coupling adjacent bundles
G21C 3/334 Assembling the bundles
G21C 3/335 Exchanging elements in irradiated bundles
G21C 3/336 Spacer elements for fuel rods in the bundle
G21C 3/34 Spacer grids

Top Applicants

Top 10 applicants by patent filingsfor class G21, 2013–2023, worldwide · Source: EPO PATSTAT

CHINA GENERAL NUCLEAR POWER CORPORATION 2,364
CGN POWER COMPANY 1,899
CHINA NUCLEAR POWER ENGINEERING COMPANY 1,870
NUCLEAR POWER INSTITUTE OF CHINA 1,517
KOREA ATOMIC ENERGY RESEARCH INSTITUTE KR 1,367
WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC CORPORATION US 1,295
KOREA HYDRO & NUCLEAR POWER COMPANY KR 1,196
CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 1,044
CHINA INSTITUTE OF ATOMIC ENERGY 1,011
HITACHI-GE NUCLEAR ENERGY 955