The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Feb. 03, 1987
Filed:
Jun. 20, 1985
Anoop Kapoor, Murrysville Boro, PA (US);
Westinghouse Electric Corp., Pittsburgh, PA (US);
Abstract
A fuel rod-loading fixture for expediting the loading of fuel rods in an empty skeleton of a fuel rod assembly is disclosed herein. The fuel rod-loading fixture generally comprises a square array of non-radioactive 'dummy' rods which are all connected at their top ends to a top guide plate. When the rods of the fixture are lowered through the rod-receiving apertures of the grids in the fuel assembly skeleton, they effectively obstruct every other set of mutually aligned, rod-receiving apertures in the grids of the skeleton. The top guide plate includes a plurality of apertures which will automatically register with the remaining sets of mutually aligned apertures in the grids, in order that fuel rods may be inserted through the top guide plate and into the remaining sets of apertures in the grids. The non-radioactive 'dummy' rods not only prevent the fuel rods from being threaded through a non-aligned set of grid apertures, but also provide a positive, cage-like guide for these rods as they are extended through the apertures in the grids in the fuel assembly skeleton. In the method of the invention, the fixture is removed after a first set of fuel rods is inserted into every other set of mutually aligned, rod-receiving apertures in the grids of the skeleton, and a second set of fuel rods is inserted into the remaining set of apertures to complete the loading. The invention greatly expedites the loading of a set of long and relatively flimsy fuel rods throughout the support skeleton of a nuclear fuel rod assembly.