Fuel assembly for a pressurized water reactor

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9390817-B2
Application number	US-2091808-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 28, 2008
Priority date	Jul 26, 2005
Publication date	Jul 12, 2016
Grant date	Jul 12, 2016

Abstract

A fuel assembly for a pressurized water nuclear reactor includes a multiplicity of fuel rods which extend in a longitudinal direction and are guided in a plurality of spacers that are spaced apart from one another axially. The spacers of an upper region have a lower flow resistance in a transverse direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, than the spacers of a lower region.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A fuel assembly for a pressurized water reactor, the fuel assembly comprising:
upper and lower adjoining regions as a whole extending over the entire fuel assembly;
a plurality of mutually axially separated spacers disposed in said upper region and a plurality of mutually axially separated spacers disposed in said lower region;
a multiplicity of fuel rods extended in a longitudinal direction and guided in said spacers; and
each of said spacers of said upper region having a lower flow resistance in a transverse direction perpendicular to said longitudinal direction than each of said spacers of said lower region.

2. The fuel assembly according to claim 1 , wherein said spacers have a lateral edge formed by edge webs, and said edge webs of said spacers of said upper region cover a smaller area than said edge webs of said spacers of said lower region, in said transverse direction.

3. The fuel assembly according to claim 2 , wherein said spacers include a plurality of intersecting inner webs, and said inner webs of said spacers of said upper region cover a smaller area than said inner webs of said spacers of said lower region, in said transverse direction.

4. The fuel assembly according to claim 2 , wherein only said spacers of said upper region have openings formed in said edge webs.

5. The fuel assembly according to claim 3 , wherein only said spacers of said upper region have openings formed in said edge webs.

6. The fuel assembly according to claim 2 , wherein said edge webs of all of said spacers have openings formed therein, and a total area of said openings in said edge webs of said spacers of said upper region is larger than a total area of said openings in said edge webs of said spacers of said lower region.

7. The fuel assembly according to claim 3 , wherein said edge webs of all of said spacers have openings formed therein, and a total area of said openings in said edge webs of said spacers of said upper region is larger than a total area of said openings in said edge webs of said spacers of said lower region.

8. The fuel assembly according to claim 3 , wherein only said spacers of said upper region have openings formed in said inner webs.

9. The fuel assembly according to claim 5 , wherein only said spacers of said upper region have openings formed in said inner webs.

10. The fuel assembly according to claim 7 , wherein only said spacers of said upper region have openings formed in said inner webs.

11. The fuel assembly according to claim 2 , wherein said spacers have inner webs, and only said spacers of said upper region have openings formed in said inner webs.

12. The fuel assembly according to claim 4 , wherein wherein said spacers have inner webs, and only said spacers of said upper region have openings formed in said inner webs.

13. The fuel assembly according to claim 6 , wherein wherein said spacers have inner webs, and only said spacers of said upper region have openings formed in said inner webs.

14. The fuel assembly according to claim 3 , wherein said inner webs of all of said spacers have openings formed therein, and a total area of said openings in said inner webs of said spacers of said upper region is larger than a total area of said openings in said inner webs of said spacers of said lower region.

15. The fuel assembly according to claim 5 , wherein said inner webs of all of said spacers have openings formed therein, and a total area of said openings in said inner webs of said spacers of said upper region is larger than a total area of said openings in said inner webs of said spacers of said lower region.

16. The fuel assembly according to claim 7 , wherein said inner webs of all of said spacers have openings formed therein, and a total area of said openings in said inner webs of said spacers of said upper region is larger than a total area of said openings in said inner webs of said spacers of said lower region.

17. The fuel assembly according to claim 8 , wherein said inner webs of all of said spacers have openings formed therein, and a total area of said openings in said inner webs of said spacers of said upper region is larger than a total area of said openings in said inner webs of said spacers of said lower region.

Assignees

• Stabel Jürgen
• Lippert Hans-Joachim
• Ren Mingmin
• Dressel Bernd
• Areva Gmbh

Inventors

• Stabel Jürgen
• Lippert Hans-Joachim
• Ren Mingmin
• Dressel Bernd

Classifications

• Y02E30/30

  Nuclear fission reactors · CPC title

• G21Y2004/302

  Physics · mapped topic

• G21Y2002/303

  Physics · mapped topic

• Y02E30/32

  Cross-Sectional Technologies · mapped topic

• G21Y2004/305

  Physics · mapped topic