Patent Number: 048572624
Section: description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The apparatus for the singulizing of fuel rods shown in the above drawings is provided with a base plate 2 and a stand 4. A supporting table 6 for a fuel element 8 is attached to the stand 4 so as to be able to move in a vertical direction. The fuel element 8 is retained on the supporting table 6 in a position which can be determined by means of clamping jaws 10. Various mobile holders 12 are arranged in guides 11 at the top end of the stand 4 and serve as tool carriers. The drive mechanisms 14 for these holders 12 are arranged behind the stand 4. The fuel element 8 is provided with a foot piece and a head piece 19, 19', with a larger number of fuel rods 15 arranged between them and a smaller number of control rod guide tubes 15', which are retained by means of spacers 16 in a predetermined matrix arrangement in various planes at a distance from one another. In the fuel rod holder 12, grappling tools 20, 20' are arranged on both sides of each plane of spacers 18, which serve to maintain the rods in a defined position. A mobile cutting tool 24 is arranged on a separate mounting 22 between the grappling tools 20, 20'. At the lower end of this mounting 22, a cutting disk head 26 is arranged, which can be rotated over an angle of 90.degree.. Furthermore, a grappler 28 is arranged at the holder 22 of the cutting tool 24. Exposed fuel rods and control guide tubes are manipulated and deposited in a storage chamber 30 by means of this grappler 28. Operation of the fuel rod singularizer is as follows: As soon as the fuel element 8 is positioned in the right direction for the singulizing procedure and has been fixed in place by means of the clamping jaws 10, the foot piece and the head piece 19, 19' are simultaneously severed by means of the saw arrangement (not shown here), employing a state-of-the-art method. The fuel element is next decomposed or broken down layer by layer in the following manner. First of all, the outermost fuel rod in each spacer plane is firmly retained in the grappling tools. The outermost vertical spacer web of the spacer grid is then severed by means of the cutting tool at an angle of 45.degree.. The upper horizontal spacer web is then gripped in the corresponding grappler 28 and withdrawn upwards at an angle, as shown in FIG. 2. As a result, the next vertical spacer web becomes accessible to the cutting tool. After the second vertical spacer web has been severed, the third vertical spacer web can then be pulled into position by the grappler and thus be ready for cutting. All the vertical spacer webs in the first and uppermost layer of fuel rods can be severed in turn. In this way, the entire horizontal spacer structure in the first layer of fuel rods can be removed or bent upwards. In the next operation, the individual fuel rods can be lifted, in turn, inwards and out of the fuel element. This operation is accomplished with the help of the grappling tools 20, 20'. After being lifted inwards and out of this fuel element, the fuel rods are deposited in the storage chamber 30 in a compact, space-saving way. After the first layer of fuel rods has been dealt with, the above procedure is repeated for each subsequent plane of fuel rods, in turn, until the whole fuel element has been taken apart and all the fuel rods have been reshuffled. As stated above, each fuel element is provided with some more control rod guide tubes 32, 15'. See FIG. 3. The diameter of these tubes will generally exceed the diameter of the fuel rods, and this enables them to be identified by the grappling tools 20, 20' and stored in a separate chamber (not shown here). The remaining bent spacer grid and the head and the foot pieces are pressed in a special press and prepared for final storage (not shown here). The arrangement described here is suitable for use in reactor plants as well as in shielded cells. That is to say, the arrangement is suitable for operation in either dry or wet environments. This singularizing system can operate either horizontally or vertically, and it is operated entirely under remote control.