Patent Number: 041938437
Section: description

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows a storage pool 1 for fuel assemblies. A separating gate 2 is removed so that the same water level exists in the fuel storage pool 1 and in the flooding canal 3. The removal and replacement of fuel assemblies is performed in a known way using a telescoping grapple tool 4 suspended from a hoist 5 which removes the fuel assembly 6 vertically from the reactor vessel 7. The test apparatus 9 is attached to the mast 8 through support 10 of the hoist making it possible to identify defective fuel rods while the fuel assembly 6 is still hanging over the reactor vessel, during the transportation to the storage pool 1 or when the fuel assemblies 6a are stored in the storage pool. The test apparatus consists of a main support 10 which is attached to the mast 8. Vertical support members 11 are attached to the main support 10 and a support plate 12 is connected at the bottom of the members 11. A carriage 13 with comb-like arranged fingers slides along rails of the support plate 12. Ultrasonic transducer heads are attached to the free ends of the fingers. The members 11 can be moved vertically by means of a telescoping device. The main support 10 can be rotated around the mast 8 to permit access to a fuel assembly from all sides. The carriage 13 with the ultrasonic transducer heads is moved in the direction of the arrow 14 in the region of the lower fuel rod ends and perpendicularly to the fuel rod axis. From FIG. 2, which schematically represents a single fuel rod 24, it can be seen that above and below the stack of fuel pellets 15 there is an upper empty space 16 and lower empty space 17, respectively. A spring 18 is located to bear on the end caps of the fuel rods and serves to support the fuel pellets and maintain them in proper position. When the reactor is shutdown, the water which leaked into the defective fuel rods collects in the empty space 17. Therefore, the testing will be performed mainly in the region of the lower fuel rod ends. FIG. 3 shows the testing device in contact with the first row of fuel rods of the fuel assembly. A fuel assembly with 5.times.5 fuel rods is shown for simplicity. The device can also be used for fuel assemblies with 17.times.17 fuel rods. The carriage 13 is provided with fingers 26 which at their free ends (26a) have ultrasonic transducer heads 22 attached by adhesive means. The distance between fuel rods of a pressurized water reactor is about 2 to 3 mm. The fingers are therefore made of thin metal strips of a cross section of 1.times.20 mm. The ultrasonic transducing head is a vibrating crystal of about 1 mm thickness obtainable from the pertinent industry. A small wavy strip spring 25 is attached, e.g. by rivets or spot welding, in a depression 27 of the finger 26 opposite of the ultrasonic head. During the insertion of the device between the fuel rods 24 the hump 19 of the spring is depressed and the fuel rod is locked between the humps 19 and 20 of the spring, so that the ultrasonic test head 22 is pressed against the opposite fuel rod. The water surrounding the fuel assemblies serves as the coupling medium between the ultrasonic transducer and the fuel rod. The ultrasonic head 22 which induces vibration is connected through electronic wiring to instrumentation and the resonance of the ultrasonic waves is conducted to an instrument (not shown) for evaluation. The signals from the various fuel rods can be compared which permits a determination of the amount of water that leaked-in or the size of the crack. The testing of a single row of fuel rods requires about 20 seconds, so that a fuel assembly consisting of 17.times.17 rods can be tested in about 6 minutes. Since electronic transducers are used the number of fuel rods in the assembly is of minor significance. A special spring 23 is used to provide the required pressure on the outer fuel elements in each row. FIG. 4 shows a single finger 26 with the ultrasonic head 22. This figure represents a section along line 4--4 of FIG. 3. It can be seen that the ultrasonic head 22 is arranged at the free end 26a of the finger. The distance "a" between the head and the beginning of the comb-like fingers is long enough to permit insertion to the last row of fuel rods 28 (FIG. 3). FIG. 5 shows an example of the guide rails for the carriage 13 on the support plate 12 which is in the form of flat slides. The movement of the carriage in the direction of the arrows 14 can be accomplished by hydraulic, pneumatic or electric drive means (not shown). A special design of the fingers and the ultrasonic transducer heads is shown on FIG. 6. The ultrasonic head 22 is inserted into the body of the carriage 13a. The ultrasonic impulses are transmitted to the tested fuel rod through an ultrasonic wave conductor of low absorption losses such as aluminum, which is used to form the finger 26. For this purpose it is necessary to provide the free end of the finger with a forty-five degree end surface 21 to obtain a ninety degree deflection of the sound waves towards the fuel element. In this arrangement, the known good sound wave conductance of aluminum is advantageously utilized. The method of this invention is not to be limited to water cooled reactors, but may be applied to reactors cooled by any fluid.