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US 2013/0329847 A1Published application
Nuclear control rod with flexure joint
AssigneeWestinghouse Electric Corp.
InventorsJeffrey M. McCarty, Leo J. Fanning
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A rod cluster control assembly having a control rod upper end plug formed in two parts and connected together with a flexible joint coupling located at or below a connecting finger on a spider vane. The upper portion of the upper control rod end plug is screwed into the connecting finger on the spider vane and lock welded between a lower portion of the finger and a shoulder on an abutting ledge of the upper portion of the end plug.
Claims11
A nuclear reactor control rod assembly comprising:
- a drive shaft for moving the control rod assembly relative to a core of a nuclear reactor;
- a control rod element connected to the drive shaft and insertable into the core of the nuclear reactor under a motive power of the drive shaft;
- and
- a transition assembly connecting the drive shaft to the control rod element through a finger attachment, wherein at least a portion of the transition assembly fits within a wall of a bore in a bottom of the finger attachment and wherein a connection between the finger attachment and the control rod element is through a flexible joint coupling within the transition assembly that is configured to enable lateral movement of the control rod element below the finger attachment which is not limited by the wall of the bore.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.