Bottom nozzle and fuel rod bottom endplug with integrated fuel rod retention and debris filtering features

An improved retention system for retaining fuel rods in a fuel assembly is disclosed. The retention system includes a plurality of first engagement surfaces on the bottom nozzle of a fuel assembly. There is at least one engagement surface for each fuel rod. A second engagement surface is formed on t...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors McCarty, Jeffrey M, Payne, Nathan J, Broach, Kirkland D
Format Patent
LanguageEnglish
Published 21.10.2018
Subjects
NUCLEAR ENGINEERING
NUCLEAR PHYSICS
NUCLEAR REACTORS
PHYSICS
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Summary:An improved retention system for retaining fuel rods in a fuel assembly is disclosed. The retention system includes a plurality of first engagement surfaces on the bottom nozzle of a fuel assembly. There is at least one engagement surface for each fuel rod. A second engagement surface is formed on the bottom end plug of each fuel rod. The first and second engagement surfaces are configured for engagement with each other for axially and laterally retaining each fuel rod within the fuel assembly. Debris deflectors may also be provided to deflect debris from coolant channels surrounding the fuel rods.
Bibliography:Application Number: SE20180050460