High temperature strength, corrosion resistant, accident tolerant nuclear fuel assembly grid

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10128004-B2
Application number	US-201314046012-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 4, 2013
Priority date	Oct 4, 2013
Publication date	Nov 13, 2018
Grant date	Nov 13, 2018

Abstract

The invention further pertains to a method of making the nuclear fuel assembly grid or a portion of a part of the grid, by employing a sintering process to sinter the composition containing one or more ternary compounds in powder form such that the resulting grid or a portion of or a part of the grid includes a plurality of sintered layers.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A fuel assembly for a nuclear reactor comprising:
a parallel, spaced array of a plurality of elongated nuclear fuel rods having an axial length;
a lower nozzle;
an upper nozzle,
wherein the plurality of elongated nuclear fuel rods is supported between the lower nozzle and the upper nozzle; and

a plurality of spaced grids arranged in tandem along the axial length of the fuel rods between the upper nozzle and the lower nozzle, each of the plurality of spaced grids or portions or parts thereof comprising:
a plurality of sequential layers sintered together, each of the sequential layers of the plurality of sequential layers comprising:
sintered powder, which comprises one or more ternary compounds of the general formula:
M n+1 AX n   (I)

wherein M is a transition metal, A is an element selected from the group A elements in the Chemical Periodic Table, X is selected from the group consisting of carbon and nitrogen, and n is an integer from 1 to 3,
wherein the sintered powder for each of the sequential layers of the plurality of sequential layers comprises the same one or more ternary compounds or different one or more ternary compounds, and
wherein the sequential layers remain discrete from each other after being sintered together.

2. The fuel assembly of claim 1 , wherein M is selected from the group consisting of titanium, zirconium and niobium.

3. The fuel assembly of claim 1 , wherein A is selected from the group consisting of aluminum, silicon and tin.

4. The fuel assembly of claim 1 , wherein the one or more ternary compounds are selected from the group consisting of Ti 2 AlC, Ti 3 AlC 2 , Ti 4 AlN 3 , Ti 2 SiC, Ti 3 SiC 2 , Ti 3 SnC 2 , Zr 2 AlC, Zr 2 TiC, Zr 2 SnC, Nb 2 SnC, Nb 3 SiC 2 , (Zr x Nb 1−x ) 2 AlC wherein x is greater than zero and less than 1.

5. The fuel assembly of claim 1 , wherein a molar ratio of M to A to X can be selected from the group consisting of 2:1:1, 3:1:2 and 4:1:3.

6. The fuel assembly of claim 1 , wherein the one or more ternary compounds each has a density of greater than 85% of its theoretical density.

7. The fuel assembly of claim 1 , wherein the one or more ternary compounds each has a density of greater than 95% of its theoretical density.

8. The fuel assembly of claim 1 , wherein the fuel assembly is employed in a water reactor selected from the group consisting of a pressurized water reactor, boiling water reactor and heavy water reactor.

Assignees

• Westinghouse Electric Co Llc

Inventors

• Xu Peng
• Lahoda Edward J

Classifications

• G21C3/34 Primary

  Spacer grids · CPC title

• G21C21/00

  Apparatus or processes specially adapted to the manufacture of reactors or parts thereof (in general section B, e.g. B23) · CPC title

• G21C3/3305

  Lower nozzle · CPC title

• G21C3/32

  Bundles of parallel pin-, rod-, or tube-shaped fuel elements · CPC title

• B23K1/0008

  specially adapted for particular articles or work · CPC title