Westinghouse Electric Corporation

Roger J Wiggins

Ralph W Kalkbrenner

Ralph W Kugler

Eugene S Boyko

Joseph Campbell

A pellet turning apparatus for facilitating surface inspection of nuclear fuel pellets includes a pellet turner assembly and a pellet supply tray interface assembly. The pellet turner assembly includes a pellet turner deck and a swivel mechanism supporting the deck. The pellet turner deck is composed of a base frame mounted on the swivel mechanism, a plurality of elongated laterally-spaced pellet channel-defining members extending between and mounted at the opposite ends of the frame, a pellet rolling plate supported on the frame below the pellet channel-defining members, and an actuating mechanism coupled to the pellet rolling plate for moving the plate in oscillatory direction substantially perpendicular to the pellet channels for producing in situ turning of the pellets. The interface assembly is mounted to a pellet loading end of the pellet turner deck. The interface assembly is operable for disposing a pellet transfer end of a pellet supply tray at a desired elevation relative to the pellet loading end of the pellet turner deck. The interface assembly includes a tray elevating mechanism having engaging elements for coupling to the transfer end of the pellet supply tray, and an actuating cam mechanism coupled for moving the elevating mechanism to raise or lower the engaging elements and thereby raise or lower the transfer end of the supply tray respectively above or below the loading end of the pellet turner deck.

Nuclear fuel pellet turning apparatus and method

A nuclear-fuel assembly has an end plug and is sealed except for a small diameter axial bore in the plug. A welding electrode of the same material as the plug has an end ground to a point. The tapered end is then inserted into the bore. Before the bore is sealed the assembly is filled with an inert-gas at high pressure. An electric welding current is then directed through the electrode and the plug to seal the bore.

Growing community of inventors

Columbia, SC, United States of America

Roger J Wiggins