Patent Number: 047042478
Section: claims

1. Apparatus in combination with a fuel rod assembly containing nuclear fuel rods therein for compacting nuclear fuel rods in a fuel rod assembly for storage in a fuel rod storage canister, said apparatus including a fuel rod storage canister for storing compacted nuclear fuel rods, a fuel rod directing chamber having an entrance end defining a plurality of spaced apart openings for alignment with nuclear fuel rods of a first array of nuclear fuel rods in a fuel rod assembly, the spacing between fuel rods in the plurality of spaced apart openings ever decreasing from the entrance end of the fuel rod directing chamber to a discharge end thereof for merging by ever increasing the density of the fuel rods while moving through the directing chamber to the discharge end of said chamber, nuclear fuel rods emerging from the discharge end of said directing chamber forming a compacted second array of nuclear fuel rods for storage in said storage canister, and means to discharge nuclear fuel rods in the direction of their lengths from the fuel rod assembly, said fuel rod directing chamber being arranged in a tandem relation between said fuel rod assembly and said storage canister for confining a given nuclear fuel rod so that portions reside in said fuel rod assembly and said fuel rod directing chamber, and said storage canister and said fuel rod directing chamber while advanced by said means in the direction of the length thereof into said storage canister. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said means to discharge nuclear fuel rods include gripper number to engage said nuclear fuel rods of said fuel assembly. 3. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said fuel rod directing chamber includes spaced apart end walls connected by tapered side walls. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein each of the said openings at the entrance end of said fuel rod directing chamber is joined to an opening in said discharge end by means of a tube. 5. The apparatus according to claim 4 wherein each said tube merges toward others of the said tubes from said entrance end to said discharge end of said fuel rod directing chamber. 6. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the said compacted second array is an equilateral triangular array.