# US 2014/0190943 A1 · Automatic welding apparatus for end plug of nuclear fuel rod

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- Number: US 2014/0190943 A1
- Document ID: US20140190943A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 13/864,314
- Filed: 2013-04-17
- Published: 2014-07-10
- Earliest claimed: 2013-01-08
- Assignees: Kepco Nuclear Fuel Co., Ltd.
- Applicants: Kepco Nuclear Fuel Co., Ltd.
- Inventors: Young Choon CHO; Chang Hwan Hwang; Hung Soon Chang; Sang Pil Kong; Tae Hyung Na; Young Seok Yoon
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20140190943A1

## CPC

- G21C 21/02: Manufacture of fuel elements or breeder elements contained in non-active casings
- B23K 11/093: for curved planar seams
- B23K 37/047: moving work to adjust its position between soldering, welding or cutting steps (B23K37/053 takes precedence)
- Y02E 30/30: Nuclear fission reactors
- G21C: NUCLEAR REACTORS (fusion reactors, hybrid fission-fusion reactors G21B; nuclear explosives G21J)
- B23K: SOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; WELDING; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM
- Y02E: REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION

## Abstract

Disclosed is an automatic welding apparatus for an end plug of a nuclear fuel rod, which is used to perform resistance welding on a cladding tube and the end plug in a welding chamber. The automatic welding apparatus includes a welding chamber configured to perform resistance welding on an end plug and a cladding tube, a cladding tube transfer unit that has a cladding tube clamp fixedly clamping the cladding tube and a first servo motor for driving the cladding tube clamp in a horizontal direction and that horizontally transfers the cladding tube to the welding chamber, end plug welding electrodes gripping the end plug fed from an end plug feeder, an end plug transfer driver for driving the end plug welding electrodes toward the welding chamber in a forward/backward direction, and a position control module for controlling driving of the first servo motor and the end plug transfer driver.

## Claims

### Claim 1

An automatic welding apparatus for an end plug of a nuclear fuel rod, which is used to perform resistance welding on a cladding tube and the end plug in a welding chamber, comprising:
the welding chamber configured to perform the resistance welding on the end plug and the cladding tube;
a cladding tube transfer unit that has a cladding tube clamp fixedly clamping the cladding tube and a first servo motor for driving the cladding tube clamp in a horizontal direction and that horizontally transfers the cladding tube to the welding chamber;
end plug welding electrodes gripping the end plug fed from an end plug feeder;
an end plug transfer driver for driving the end plug welding electrodes toward the welding chamber in a forward/backward direction; and
a position control module for controlling driving of the first servo motor and the end plug transfer driver.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The automatic welding apparatus set forth in claim 1, wherein the end plug transfer driver includes a pressing cylinder for pressing and fixing the end plug to the cladding tube located in the welding chamber by driving the end plug welding electrodes in a forward/backward direction, and a second servo motor for driving the pressing cylinder in a forward/backward direction.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The automatic welding apparatus set forth in claim 1, further comprising a cladding tube origin setting unit, which sets an origin of the cladding tube on a transfer section of the cladding tube transferred to the welding chamber, at a leading end of the welding chamber.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The automatic welding apparatus set forth in claim 3, wherein the cladding tube origin setting unit includes a touch sensor that comes into contact with a leading end of the cladding tube to detect a position signal.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The automatic welding apparatus set forth in claim 1, wherein the position control module controls the first servo motor and the end plug transfer driver so that the end plug gripped by the end plug welding electrodes and the cladding tube clamped by the cladding tube clamp are introduced into the welding chamber at the same time.