Nuclear fuel assembly
US4119490A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 22, 1976 |
| Grant date | Oct 10, 1978 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 22, 1996 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY02E30/30
- WIPO fieldEngines, pumps, turbines
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A fuel assembly for a light-water or heavy-water reactor or for a fast reactor comprises a bundle of clad fuel pins disposed on a uniform lattice and maintained in parallel relation by means of separate spacer grids fitted with resilient members for applying the grids against the fuel pins. A rigid support structure is formed by two parallel end-plates braced by tie-rods having the same diameter as the fuel pins and disposed at uniform intervals at the lattice nodes. The fuel-pin bundle is associated with a single support grid rigidly fixed at the mid-point of the tie-rods, the other grids being uniformly spaced in the vertical direction on each side so that elongation of the fuel pins takes place upwards and downwards from the support grid.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.