Apparatus for supporting radioactive fuel assemblies and methods of manufacturing the same
AssigneeHoltec International
InventorsKrishna P. Singh, Stephen J. Agace
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Apparatus for supporting radioactive fuel assemblies, such as spent nuclear fuel. In one aspect, the invention is an apparatus, which can be in the form of a fuel basket, fuel rack, or the like, in which hexagonal storage tubes are used not only for their internal cells but are also strategically patterned to create resultant cells with their outside surfaces. In another aspect, the invention is an apparatus having flux traps surrounding each cell wherein the size of the flux traps decrease with distance from the center of the storage grid.
Claims19
A fuel basket or fuel rack for supporting radioactive fuel assemblies comprising:
- a grid of cells for housing radioactive fuel assemblies, the grid formed by a plurality of tubes having inner surfaces that form the cells, the tubes arranged in an adjacent manner;
- each of the tubes formed by a plurality of tubular segments stacked in axial alignment, an interface formed between adjacent tubular segments of each tube;
- and
- wherein lengths of the tubular segments and a pattern in which the tubes are arranged to form the grid is such that none of the interfaces of adjacent tubes are aligned with one another.
A fuel basket or fuel rack for supporting radioactive fuel assemblies comprising:
- a bottom section comprising a plurality of bottom tubular segments of varying length, the bottom tubular segments arranged in an axially adjacent manner and in a pattern wherein no two adjacent bottom tubular segments are the same length, bottom edges of the bottom tubular segments being aligned;
- a middle section comprising a plurality of middle tubular segments of equal length, the middle section stacked atop the bottom section wherein the middle tubular segments are axially aligned with the bottom tubular segments and bottom edges of the middle tubular segments abut top edges of the bottom tubular segments;
- and
- a top section comprising a plurality of top tubular segments of varying length, the top section stacked atop the middle section wherein the top tubular segments are axially aligned with the middle tubular segments, bottom edges of the top tubular segments abut top edges of the middle tubular segments, and top edges of the top tubular segments are aligned.
A fuel basket for supporting radioactive fuel assemblies comprising:
- a plurality of tubes having an internal cavity for receiving a radioactive fuel assembly;
- the tubes arranged in a substantially vertical orientation and spaced from one another so that a flux trap space exists between all adjacent tubes, the tubes forming a storage grid having a central axis and a perimeter;
- a plurality of spacers positioned in the flux trap spaces for maintaining the existence of the flux trap spaces;
- and
- wherein the width of the flux trap space between adjacent tubes decreases with distance from the central axis of the storage grid.
A fuel basket or fuel rack for supporting radioactive fuel assemblies comprising:
- a bottom section comprising a plurality of bottom tubular segments of varying length, the bottom tubular segments arranged in an axially adjacent manner and in a pattern wherein no two adjacent bottom tubular segments are the same length, bottom edges of the bottom tubular segments being aligned;
- a plurality of middle sections comprising an uppermost middle section and a lowermost middle section, each of the uppermost and lowermost middle sections comprising a plurality of middle tubular segments of equal length, the lowermost middle section stacked atop the bottom section wherein the middle tubular segments of the lowermost middle section are axially aligned with the bottom tubular segments and bottom edges of the middle tubular segments of the lowermost middle section abut top edges of the bottom tubular segments;
- and
- a top section comprising a plurality of top tubular segments of varying length, the top section stacked atop the uppermost middle section wherein the top tubular segments are axially aligned with the middle tubular segments of the uppermost middle section, bottom edges of the top tubular segments abut top edges of the middle tubular segments of the uppermost middle section, and top edges of the top tubular segments are aligned.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.