Patent Number: 046719202
Section: claims

1. A method of maintaining ice baskets associated with a nuclear reactor system and disposed in an array of plural such ice baskets, supported in generally vertically oriented and parallel relationship by a lattice support structure which extends between the individual ice baskets and includes lateral supports adjacent the tops of the comprising: selecting an ice basket of the array requiring replenishment of the ice therewithin due to sublimation voids within the ice charges in the basket;  isolating the selected ice basket;  drilling a hole downwardly through the ice charges in the ice basket in general parallel axial relationship with respect to the cylindrical sidewall of the ice basket, utilizing a rotary drill bit connected through an auger to a rotary drive means;  maintaining the rotary drive means in a fixed axial position and reversing the direction of rotation thereof for driving the auger in reverse rotation; and  supplying ice in particulate form to the vicinity of the auger and conveying the particulate ice through the drilled hole by continued, reverse rotation of the auger so as to fill the sublimated voids in communication with the drilled hole, from the lowest and through successively higher such voids in the ice charges within the ice basket, and withdrawing the auger from the drilled hole as the voids are filled.  disposing inflatible plastic bags about the outer circumference of the generally cylindrical sidewall of the selected ice basket; and  inflating the inflatible bags thereby to closely surround the sidewall of the selected ice basket.  rotatably driving, in individual succession, a first auger section and successive, plural auger sections axially downwardly through a substantial portion of the length of each thereof until only a top end portion of each such section remains exposed above the ice basket; and, for each such section:  continuing the supply of particulate ice to the auger until sublimation voids of a given level within the ice basket adjacent the lowermost end of the auger are filled; and  detecting the filling of the given level of sublimation voids by detecting a tendency of the rotary speed of the reverse rotating auger to decrease.  detecting the tendency of the rotary speed of the reverse rotating auger to decrease, and thereupon raising the auger to expose an upper end portion of a given section and the entire successive section currently connected to the rotary drive means;  removing the entirely exposed, successive section; and  repeating the ice conveying operation by connecting the rotary drive means to the exposed upper end portion of the given section, rotating same in reverse, and raising the auger through the aforesaid path of travel, for each such successive, and the initial auger section, until sublimation voids throughout the height of the ice basket are filled. 2. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the selecting step is performed by weighing an ice basket and determining thereby the content of ice therein. 3. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the step of isolating is performed by: 4. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the auger is formed of selectively connectable, plural sections, and wherein said hole drilling step comprises: 5. A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising: 6. A method as recited in claim 5, further comprising: