Patent ID: 7577229

Claim:
A method for limiting maintenance loads applied to a fuel assembly of a nuclear reactor in order to compensate for hydraulic thrust of cooling water passing through the fuel assembly during operation in the nuclear reactor, comprising: providing a configuration for limitation of maintenance loads in a nuclear reactor, the configuration comprising the fuel assembly comprising a framework that contains a cluster of fuel rods parallel with each other and that is closed at ends by transverse end pieces that are perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of the fuel assembly in which the cooling water flows, each of the end pieces comprising at least two axial centering through-holes that are intended each to receive a centering pin of one of a lower core support plate and an upper core plate, wherein a resilient bush is configured for frictionally engaging the centering pin, for at least one centering hole, of at least one of the end pieces of the fuel assembly, the resilient bush comprising an annular member having a fixing portion which is in contact with the centering hole of the end piece, over a portion of an axial length thereof, at least two flexible arms that are separated from each other by at least two apertures of axial direction over another portion of the axial length of the resilient bush, between the fixing portion thereof and a free end of the bush, the portion of the bush comprising the flexible arms having an outer diameter smaller than the diameter of the centering hole and an annular supporting surface that projects radially inside the bush in the free end portion of the flexible arms that have an inner diameter that is smaller than the diameter of the centering pins wherein the centering hole of the at least one end piece of the fuel assembly is constructed to have a diameter that is substantially equal to the outer diameter of the fixing portion of the resilient bush, and wherein the resilient bush is fixed in the through-hole of the at least one end piece.