Global Nuclear Fuel - Americas, LLC

Gerald Dean Kvaall, Jr

William Charles Cline

Paul Everett Cantonwine

Michael W Thomas

Jason B Ingraham

David Joseph Kropaczek

Steven Barry Sutton

Christian Carlos Oyarzun

Mehdi Asgari

Anthony P Reese

Lukas Trosman

Roland Otto Jackson

John Christopher Hannah

The fuel assembly includes at least one fuel rod and an outer channel with four sidewalls surrounding the fuel rod, the outer channel having a configuration based on a position of the fuel assembly within a core of the nuclear reactor, wherein at least a first select sidewall, of the four sidewalls of the outer channel, is a reinforced sidewall, the remaining sidewalls of the outer channel, other than the at least a first select sidewall, are non-reinforced sidewalls, the at least a first select sidewall being in a controlled location that faces and is directly adjacent to a control blade that is to be utilized in the nuclear reactor, wherein an entirety of the reinforced sidewall as a whole is at least one of thicker and made from a material that is more resistant to radiation-induced deformation as compared to an entirety of the non-reinforced sidewalls.

Fuel assembly with outer channel including reinforced sidewall and non-reinforced sidewall

The method includes assessing operational characteristics of the fuel assembly, the assessing including determining if the fuel assembly is to be placed in a controlled location in the reactor core, a controlled location being positioned adjacent to a control blade that is to be utilized, and configuring the sidewalls of the outer channel by making at least a first select sidewall of the outer channel a reinforced sidewall, the remaining sidewalls of the outer channel, other than the at least a first select sidewall, being non-reinforced sidewalls. The entirety of the reinforced sidewall as a whole is at least one of thicker and made from a material that is more resistant to radiation-induced deformation as compared to an entirety of the non-reinforced sidewalls.

Method of configuring sidewalls of an outer channel of a fuel assembly

Fuel assemblies include an outer channel having a physical configuration optimized for a position of the fuel assembly within a core of a nuclear reactor. The position of the fuel assembly with respect to an employed control blade in the nuclear reactor determines if the outer channel may be thickened, reinforced, and/or fabricated of Zircaloy-4 or similar distortion-resistant material, so as to reduce or prevent distortion of the channel against the control blade, or thinned so as to increase water volume and enhance reactivity in the assembly. Reactor cores having configured fuel assemblies include fuel assemblies having different outer channels. Methods include determining operational characteristics of the fuel assembly, including likelihood of being placed directly adjacent to an employed control blade, and physically selecting or modifying the outer channel of the fuel assembly based thereon.

Optimized fuel assembly channels and methods of creating the same

A moderating fuel rod for a boiling water reactor may include a nuclear fuel section; a neutron moderator section including a metal hydride; and a threaded connector joining the nuclear fuel section and the neutron moderator section. By including one or more moderating fuel rods in a fuel bundle, the neutron moderation within the fuel bundle may be improved, thereby allowing energy to be more efficiently extracted from the entire length of the fuel bundle.

Moderating fuel rods including metal hydride and methods of moderating fuel bundles of boiling water reactors using the same

Disclosed are a fuel rod and a fuel bundle using the fuel rod. The fuel rod may include first enriched uranium in a boost zone of the fuel rod, wherein the boost zone may be arranged directly at a bottom of the fuel rod. The fuel rod may also include second enriched uranium in a second zone of the fuel rod, wherein the second zone is arranged over the boost zone. The fuel rod may also include natural uranium in a third zone of the fuel rod, wherein the third zone is arranged over the second zone. In this fuel rod, a percent of enrichment of the enriched uranium in the boost zone is at least one percent.

Exposure boost zone for boiling water reactor nuclear bundles

A method of evaluating constraint functions, the evaluation being based at least in part on a control blade movement criteria.

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Wilmington, NC, United States of America

Gerald Dean Kvaall, Jr