BWR nuclear fuel assembly with lengthened fuel rods

摘要

A BWR fuel assembly comprises an array of fuel pins (52) extending between an upper tie plate and a lower tie plate (54), an apertured lower fuel pin support plate (54c) and a coolant inlet nozzle. The fuel pin support plate (54c) and the inlet nozzle form a transition zone (54f) having a predetermined height for distributing the coolant. The fuel pin support plate (54c) extends further into the transition zone (54f) than prior art fuel assemblies to enable the length of the fuel pins (52) to be increased.