Patent Number: 059490837
Section: claims

1. A process for forming a container for nuclear fuel assemblies, comprising the steps of: obtaining a thick shell of forged steel having a circular cross section and outer and inner walls;  lathe-turning the outer and inner walls coaxially to produce a cylindrical body having a circular cross section;  grinding the outer wall of the lathe-turned body to produce at least one flat surface on the outer wall along its entire height; and  mounting at least one crescent shaped section having a cross section which comprises an arc of a circle with a radius identical to that of the inner wall subtended by a chord against the inner wall, said at least one flat surface being parallel to the chord. 2. A process according to claim 1, wherein said grinding produces an even number of flat surfaces disposed in pairs opposite to each other. 3. A process according to claim 2, wherein said grinding produces 2, 4 or 6 flat surfaces which are disposed symmetrically around the circular cross section, and wherein 2, 4 or 6 crescent-shaped sections are mounted against the inner wall, each crescent-shaped section having a chord mounted parallel to a flat surface. 4. A process according to claim 1, wherein the crescent shaped sections are mounted to the inner wall by screwing. 5. A process according to claim 1, additionally comprising spray coating the inner wall and crescent-shaped sections. 6. A process according to claim 5, wherein the spray coating comprises an Al-Zn deposit effected by a Schoop's metal spraying process.