Storage frame for nuclear reactor fuel assemblies

A storage frame for nuclear reactor fuel assemblies, comprising:

• a) a base plate;
• b) a plurality of shafts standing erect on and being secured to said base plate, said shafts each having a substantially rectangular cross section and being disposed diagonally opposite one another in a checkerboard-type configuration, and said shafts having mutually parallel side walls and having longitudinal edges adjacent one another with an offset defining a gap therebetween;
• and
• c) at least two connecting elements joining at least some of said diagonally opposite shafts together along said longitudinal edges by spanning said gap;
• d) said at least two connecting elements including at least one first connecting element bridging a respective pair of said longitudinal edges of two of said shafts, said first connecting element being a sheet-metal strip and being welded to a first pair of said mutually parallel side walls of said two diagonally opposite shafts;
• and
• e) said at least two connecting elements including at least one second connecting element bridging the respective pair of said longitudinal edges of said two diagonally opposite shafts, said second connecting element being a sheet-metal strip and being welded to a second pair of mutually parallel side walls of said two diagonally opposite shafts;
• f) said first connecting element having a relatively higher rigidity in a first direction and a relatively lower rigidity in a second direction, said second connecting element having a relatively higher rigidity in the second direction and a relatively lower rigidity in the first direction, said first direction being defined by a horizontal transverse force acting substantially parallel to flat side of said first connecting element, and said second direction being defined by a horizontal transverse force acting substantially parallel to flat side of said second connecting element.