Areva Np Gmbh

Areva Gmbh

Jürgen Stabel

Mingmin Ren

Hans-Joachim Lippert

Hans-Peter Fuchs

Udo Borsdorf

Bernd Dressel

Horst-Dieter Kiehlmann

Hans-Peter Hübsch

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.

Fuel assembly for a pressurized water reactor

A fuel assembly for a pressurized water nuclear reactor contains a multiplicity of fuel rods which are guided in a plurality of axially spaced spacers which in each case form a square grid, composed of grid webs, with a multiplicity of cells arranged in rows and columns. In each case one control rod guide tube is guided through a number of these cells. At least one spacer is configured to be mechanically stronger in a first partial region than in a second partial region. In this second partial region, the spacer is provided with at least one resisting element which protrudes into a flow sub-channel formed between the fuel rods and increases the flow resistance. The resisting element counteracts a reduction associated with the mechanically weaker configuration, in the flow resistance in the second partial region and in this manner effects a homogenization of the hydraulic behavior of a spacer which is mechanically inhomogeneous on account of the varying mechanical configuration.

Fuel assembly for a pressurized-water nuclear reactor

The core of a pressurized water reactor is assembled in such a way that if the fuel elements on the edge of the core are bent, these fuel elements are oriented such that the bending of the fuel elements points outwards in a convex manner. When the reactor is in operation, forces arise which increase the size of small gaps between the fuel elements at the expense of greater gaps and counteract the bending effect of the fuel elements.

Method for assembling a pressurized water reactor core, and reactor core configuration

A fuel element for a pressurized water reactor has fuel rods guided through a number of axially spaced spacers. The spacers form a square grid with mesh openings arranged in rows and columns. Support tubes that do not contain fuel pass through a number of the mesh holes and are joined to the meshes . The support tubes are spread out in positions within the grid with a predetermined number of support tubes and a distribution thereof within the grid, which is rotationally symmetric about 90&#xb0; with regard to a rotation about the central axis of the spacer, the central axis is perpendicular to the grid plane, the number of rows and columns that do not contain any support tubes is minimal. Optionally, remaining inner rows and columns that do not contain any support tubes are not situated next to one another.

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Erlangen, Germany

Jürgen Stabel