Patent Number: 048448605
Section: claims

1. In a fuel element support grid for supporting a plurality of nuclear fuel elements intermediate their ends in spaced relation for fluid flow therebetween, said grid including a polygonal perimeter and a plurality of fuel element compartments defined by pairs of first and second intersecting and slottedly interlocked wavy grid-forming strips attached to said perimeter and to each other, the improvement comprising: at least some of said compartments defined by pairs of first and second intersecting and slottedly interlocked strips, and some of said pairs of first and second strips including a pair of perimeter edge to perimeter edge matingly intersecting smoothly contoured integral fluid flow directing vane portions curving from the planes of their respective strip portions along at least one adjacent edge of each of the strips of the pair and said strips having bends at at least some intermediate points between strip intersections. 2. The fuel element support grid of claim 1 which includes means for attaching said pair of vane portions to each other, thereby attaching said first and second intersecting and slottedly interlocked strips of said pair of strips together. 3. The fuel element support grid of claim 1 in which the means for attaching said pair of vane portions to each other is a fusion bond. 4. The fuel element support grid of claim 3 in which the fusion bond is a weld. 5. The fuel element support grid of claim 1 in which all of the integral fluid flow directing vanes are on the downstream edges of the strips relative to the direction of fluid flow between the fuel elements. 6. The fuel element support grid of claim 2 in which the means for attaching said pair of vane portions to each other includes welds at the intersections of the edges of a plurality of pairs of the integral fluid flow directing vane portions remote from the areas of integral attachment of the vane portions to their respective strips. 7. The fuel element support grid of claim 2 in which the means for attaching said pair of vane portions to each other includes welds at the intersections of the edges of a plurality of pairs of the integral fluid flow directing vane portions adjacent to the areas of integral attachment of the vanes to their respective strips. 8. The fuel element support grid of claim 2 in which the means for attaching said pair of vane portions to each other includes welds at the intersections of the edges of a plurality of pairs of the integral fluid flow directing vane portions both remote from and adjacent to the areas of integral attachment of the vane portions to their respective strips. 9. The fuel element support grid of claim 2 in which the bends act as integral fuel arches within the profile of the wavy strip. 10. The fuel element support grid of claim 1 in which said bends include means for contacting a fuel element, said means lying within the profile of the strip presented to the flow of fluid through the grid.