Spacers with deflection-limited peripheral springs for nuclear fuel assemblies and methods of making the same

A nuclear fuel assembly comprising:

• a plurality of nuclear fuel rods;
• an outer channel surrounding the plurality of nuclear fuel rods;
• and
• a plurality of fuel spacers through which the nuclear fuel rods extend at various axial levels within the channel, wherein,
• the fuel spacers include an outer perimeter band, wherein
• the outer perimeter band includes at least one specialized bathtub on an outer face of the perimeter band, wherein the specialized bathtub includes,
• an elastic resistive member extending to the outer channel, and
• a corresponding deflection limiter not extending to the outer channel, wherein the elastic resistive member moves elastically in a transverse direction, and wherein the corresponding deflection limiter is rigid in the transverse direction, wherein a difference between a transverse length of the elastic resistive member and a transverse length of the corresponding deflection limiter is a length of a plastic deformation threshold of the elastic resistive member so that the elastic resistive member cannot undergo plastic deformation due to contact between the outer channel and the deflection limiter.