NUCLEAR REACTOR FUEL ASSEMBLY (ALTERNATIVES)

• Main Authors: V'JALITSYN V.V, KOBELEV S.N, PONOMARENKO G.L, DEMIN E.D, RYZHOV S.B, VASIL'CHENKO I.N
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; Russian
• Published: 10.02.2005
• Edition: 7
• Subjects: GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; NUCLEAR ENGINEERING; NUCLEAR PHYSICS; NUCLEAR REACTORS; PHYSICS; REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGYGENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS; TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINSTCLIMATE CHANGE

FIELD: nuclear power engineering; fuel assemblies for pressurized-water reactors. ^ SUBSTANCE: proposed fuel assembly manufactured using prior-art technology and characterized in enhanced in-service bending stiffness has fuel element bundle, spacer grids disposed through height of fuel assembly, top and bottom nozzles joined together by means of added-stiffness elements connected to spacer grids and bottom nozzle. Added-stiffness elements are made in the form of tubes or cylindrical rods and substitute at least one fuel element in other-than-peripheral line of fuel element bundle. As an alternative, fuel element may have added-stiffness elements made in the form of tubes or cylindrical rods substituting one of fuel elements on each edge of peripheral line of fuel element bundle. There is still another alternative in which added-stiffness elements substitute central fuel element on each other-than-adjacent edge of fuel element bundle. Added-stiffness elements may be joined with top nozzle for longitudinal displacement. ^ EFFECT: enhanced stability of thermomechanical behavior of reactor core in promising cycles, facilitated transport and in-process handling. ^ 4 cl, 7 dwg