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:
Dec. 26, 1995
Filed:
Aug. 30, 1994
Edmund E DeMario, Columbia, SC (US);
Charles N Lawson, Columbia, SC (US);
Raymond G Zakrzwski, Columbia, SC (US);
Ivan Klima, Columbia, SC (US);
Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Pittsburgh, PA (US);
Abstract
An expandable top nozzle for a nuclear fuel assembly having zircaloy thimble tubes has a cylindrical barrel and an assembly slidable in the barrel which includes a hub and a thin rod ejection plate fixed in spaced relation to the hub by support tubes through which the control rods extend. The support tubes extend through the hub and a spring retainer plate biased against an annular shoulder in the barrel by helical compression springs concentrically mounted with the support tubes in counterbores in the hub and spring retainer plate. A centrally located instrument guide robe has a spring loaded plunger which extends through the spring retainer plate and sets the height of an RCCA below the top of the barrel despite expansion and compression of the nozzle with changes in thimble robe length relative to the other internals. The top nozzle is removably attached to a fuel assembly by tubular inserts fixed to the thimble robes and having collapsed fingers with an annular outward bulge adjacent the free end. With the collapsed fingers inserted in the apertures in the rod ejection plate, lock tubes are pushed through the support tubes to spread the collapsed fingers of the inserts into engagement with circumferential grooves in the apertures.