Patent ID: 11887741
Assignee: GLOBAL NUCLEAR FUEL-AMERICAS, LLC
Field: Engines, pumps, turbines (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC G  Y | IPC G

Claim 0:
1. A fuel assembly for use in a nuclear reactor, the fuel assembly comprising:
at least one fuel rod; and
an outer channel with four sidewalls surrounding the fuel rod, the outer channel having a configuration based on a position of the fuel assembly within a core of the nuclear reactor,
at least one first select sidewall, of the four sidewalls of the outer channel, being a reinforced sidewall, at least one second sidewall, of the four sidewalls, being a non-reinforced sidewall, the reinforced sidewall being configured to be in a controlled location that faces and is directly adjacent to a control blade that is to be utilized in the nuclear reactor,
an entirety of the reinforced sidewall as a whole being at least one of a first uniformly constant thickness that is thicker than a second uniformly constant thickness of an entirety of the non-reinforced sidewall as a whole or uniformly made from a material that is more resistant to radiation-induced deformation as compared to an entirety of the non-reinforced sidewall.