Support grid with integral vanes
AssigneeCombustion Engineering, Inc.
InventorStephen C. Hatfield
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A fuel element support grid for supporting a plurality of nuclear fuel elements intermediate their ends has at least some of the pairs of intersecting and slottedly interlocked strips including pairs of intersecting integral fluid flow directing vanes along at least one adjacent edge of each of the strips of the pair. Welds attach the pair of vanes to each other thereby providing welded attachment of the strips. The welds may be at the intersection of the vanes remote from their areas of integral attachment to their respective strips or they may be adjacent to their areas of integral attachment to their respective strips.
Claims6
In a fuel element support grid for supporting a plurality of nuclear fuel elements intermediate their ends in spaced relation for fluid flow therebetween, said grid including a polygonal perimeter and a plurality of fuel element compartments defined by pairs of first and second intersecting and slottedly interlocked grid-forming strips attached to said perimeter and to each other, the improvement comprising:
- at least some of said compartments defined by two pairs of intersecting and slottedly interlocked strips and said compartments each including two pairs of intersecting and welded together integral fluid flow directing vanes along adjacent edges of each of the strips of the two pairs with each of the adjacent integral fluid flow directing vanes curved from the planes of their respective strips and intersecting with the adjacent vane of an intersecting strip to form a substantially continuous smooth surface.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.