The Babcock & Wilcox Company

Jeffrey G Larson

Lewis A Walton

Raymond A King

An end fitting for a fuel assembly. A lower plate having a pin extending perpendicular thereto at each corner slidably receives a main body portion on the pins. Stop washers or nuts on the pins prevent the main body portion from sliding off the pins. A hairpin shaped spring along each side of the main body portion is positioned between the plate and main body portion to resiliently bias them apart. The end of the spring against the lower plate is offset from the end of the plate to preload the spring tension.

Two piece end fitting with hairpin springs

In nuclear reactor fuel assembly of the floating grid type, a spacer grid insert positioned concentrically about the central instrument guide tube prevents damage to instrument guide tube saddles caused by axial load, while permitting limited movement of the spacer grids.

Spacer grid insert

A spacer grid for a nuclear fuel assembly wherein hangup between diagonally adjacent fuel assemblies in the reactor core during loading and unloading is essentially precluded by providing an inclined plane deflection surface at each corner of the spacer grid.

Growing community of inventors

Rustburg, VA, United States of America

Jeffrey G Larson