Patent Number: 060211709
Section: description

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the figures of the drawings in detail and first, particularly, to FIG. 1 thereof, there is seen an essentially annular or cylindrical holding structure 4 disposed in a reactor pressure vessel 2 and fixed to the reactor pressure vessel through lateral supports 6. The holding structure 4 has a pocket or orifice 8 below this lateral support 6. The holding structure 4 illustrated in the exemplary embodiment is a remainder or remnant which has remained in the reactor pressure vessel from an old core barrel. A lower part 10 of a new core barrel 12 rests on the holding structure 4. For this purpose, a downwardly open U-shaped groove 14 is disposed on an outer periphery of the lower part 10, parallel to the longitudinal direction of the latter. The lower part 10 is pushed onto the cylindrical holding structure 4, and is secured against slipping laterally, through the use of the groove 14. A plurality of segments 16 which are disposed on the lower part 10 have a reduced wall thickness and are constructed as a continuation of a side wall at the groove 14. Due to their reduced wall thickness, the segments 16 have an elastically resilient property. The segments 16 are each provided, at their free end, with a hook-like projection 18 which engages under the holding structure 4 in the region of the orifice 8. A wedge-like gap 20 between the projection 18 and the holding structure 4 tapers toward an inner wall surface of the reactor pressure vessel 2. A wedge 24 is introduced into this gap 20 through a bore 22 in the segment 16. A screw 26 is screwed into the bore 22. The screw 26 exerts pressure force on an end surface of the wedge 24 and braces the latter in the gap 20. The hook-like projection 18 has a beveled surface 28 facing away from the gap 20. This measure and the elastically resilient structure of the segment 16, permit the core barrel 12 to simply be pushed onto the holding structure 4. This is because the segment 16 is pressed away inward by the bevel of the projection 18 when the core barrel 12 is guided onto the holding structure 4. In the enlarged fragmentary view according to FIG. 2, it can be seen that a polygon socket screw is provided as the screw 26. The head of the screw 26 is provided with a retaining ring 30 which can be pressed into pockets correspondingly worked into the segment 16, as a device for securing the screw 26 against rotation.