BWR nuclear fuel assembly

A boiling water reactor nuclear fuel assembly having a predetermined overall length for placement in a nuclear reactor core, comprising:

• (a) an upper tie plate;
• (b) a lower tie plate comprising:
• (A) a fuel rod support plate adapted to have an aperture for receiving a fuel rod end cap of nuclear fuel rod;
• (B) an inlet nozzle into which coolant/moderator enters the fuel assembly;
• the fuel rod support plate and the inlet nozzle defining a transition zone from the inlet nozzle to the fuel rod support plate for distributing the coolant moderator which enters the inlet nozzle before passing through the fuel rod support plate, said transition zone having a predetermined height;
• (c) a plurality of spaced apart nuclear fuel rods having an active portion containing fissionable material, at least one of the plurality of nuclear fuel rods having an end cap disposed at a lower end and extending axially outward therefrom for being positioned within the aperture in the fuel rod support plate;
• wherein the position of the fuel rod support plate is lowered into the transition zone thereby decreasing the height of the transition zone, and the length of at least one of the plurality of nuclear fuel rods is increased by extending the length of the active portion of at least one of the plurality of nuclear fuel rods into the transition zone that had been occupied by the fuel rod support plate.