Commissariat a L'energie Atomique

Jean Rousseau

Pierre Loriot

Michel Rendu

Georges Duret

Alain Samoel

Georges Place

Fuel and fertile rod for a nuclear reactor. It comprises a can, a column of fissile and/or fertile pellets within the can and end plugs welded to the two ends of the can. The column of pellets is held in place by two tubular spacers of limited thickness and with rounded edges abutting against the two ends of the fuel column and set with a fixed dimension to the can. The column of fissile and fertile pellets can also be held in place by a supplementary positioning setting of the fertile pellet column.

Method of setting a stop means inside of a tubular element

The present invention relates to an upper neutron protection device for a nuclear reactor assembly. This device comprises at least one container partly filled with a neutron-absorbing product and maintained within a wall located in the upper part of the assembly by at least one spacing plate. Application to fast neutron reactors.

Neutron protection device

Each fuel pin of the cluster is fitted with a spacer element wound in a coarse-pitch helix on the external surface of the fuel can and attached to end-caps of the can. The spacer element consists of a deformable tube having a constant initial cross-section, the tube being fitted internally with a reinforcement wire which is mounted within the tube with provision for a clearance space and extends over the entire length of the tube.

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Aix en Provence, France

Jean Rousseau