Fuel rod holder, at nuclear reactor, has spacers as fuel rod cells with tongues cut from cell walls to project inwards as holding springs against rods and be pushed back into walls by inserted rods

摘要

A spacer (2), to hold the fuel rods (6) in a nuclear reactor, is a fuel rod cell (4a, 4b) with walls (8) to contain them. Tongues are cut in the walls, to extend into the interior of the fuel rod cell as springs (12a-12d), to lie against the fuel rods. The inserted fuel rods bear against the spring tongues so that they are pushed back wholly into their wall openings.