Patent Number: 052672913
Section: abstract

In a fuel bundle for a boiling water nuclear reactor, modification of the spacers at the peripheral spacer band is made to maintain a more uniform spacing of the peripheral fuel rods from the channel walls to avoid critical power limitations. The conventional fuel bundle construction include a plurality of side-by-side sealed vertically disposed nuclear fuel rods in a square array supported at a lower tie plate, at least some of the fuel rods fastened to an upper tie plate, and held in designed spaced apart relation as a unitary mass by intermittent vertically placed spacers. A square sectioned channel surrounds the upper tie plate, the lower tie plate, and the fuel rods and spacers therebetween. The square sectioned channel functions to confined fluid flow interior of the fuel bundle between the tie plates and through the fuel rods. At the same time, the channel separates a core bypass region exterior of the channel having high moderator density from the flow path interior of the fuel bundle. The spacers are modified at their peripheral band to prevent the spacer confined group of fuel rods closing on the channel wall due to overall migration of the fuel rods as a group held together by the spacers. According to the invention, two adjacent spacer sides are formed with at least two protrusions--typically in the form of bubble like projections, these protrusions occupying the entire interval necessary to maintain the fuel rods adjacent the sides at their full optimal spacing from the interior channel walls. Similarly, the remaining two adjacent spacer sides are formed with protrusions--again in the form of bubble like projections, these protrusions occupying a sufficient interval to prevent inadvertent closing of the fuel rods to the channel sides beyond a worst case limit. This worst case limit is chosen to provide the peripheral fuel rods with adequate clearance to avoid critical power limitation and yet leave sufficient clearance between the peripheral band and the channel so that the channel may be conveniently assembled to the fuel bundle. On these two remaining sides of the peripheral spacer band, leaf springs are added. These leaf springs are preferably vertical in their longitudinal dimension, fastened to the band at one end, bulged outwardly toward the channel in the middle, and bent inwardly and bearing in sliding relation on the band at the opposite end. In operation, the leaf springs are given sufficient force to bias the fuel rod matrix at the spacer away from the channel wall. Such biasing registers the full dimension protrusions to the channel wall at the opposite sides of the spacer and uniformly spaces the peripheral fuel rods with respect to the channel. Bundle critical power is enhanced.