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US 11,404,176 B2Granted
Nuclear fuel assembly support feature
AssigneeWestinghouse Electric Corp.
InventorsNathan J. Payne, Jeffrey M. McCarty
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A nuclear fuel assembly having lateral support provided by a bimetallic spring that extends from a side of the fuel assembly under certain core conditions to pressure against an adjacent component and withdraws under other core conditions, such as shutdown, to enable the nuclear fuel assembly to be aligned or withdrawn from the core and repositioned.
Claims17
A nuclear fuel assembly having an elongated dimension and comprising:
- a plurality of interconnected components wherein at least some of the interconnected components comprise:
- a top nozzle;
- a bottom nozzle;
- a plurality of guide thimbles extending between the top nozzle and the bottom nozzle;
- a plurality of fuel rods extending between the top nozzle and the bottom nozzle;
- and
- a plurality of grids arranged in a tandem spaced relationship that extends between the top nozzle and the bottom nozzle along the elongated dimension, with each of the grids having a plurality of cells some of which support fuel rods and others through which the guide thimbles respectively pass and attach to the plurality of grids;
- wherein at least one grid of the plurality of grids comprises a peripheral surface area that extends in a plane a distance along the elongated dimension;
- and
- wherein the at least one grid of the plurality of grids comprises a bimetallic spring that moves between a first and second position relative to the plane as the fuel assembly transitions from a reactor core shutdown temperature to a reactor core operating temperature, with the second position placing the bimetallic spring in contact with a corresponding grid of an adjacent nuclear fuel assembly located in a reactor core.
7 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.