Brennelemente fuer neutronische Kernreaktoren

摘要

1,183,699. Fuel elements. UNITED STATES ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION. 17 Feb., 1969 [29 March, 1968], No. 8428/69. Heading G6C. A fuel element comprises a multiplicity of cylindrical fuel pins 1 disposed in a regular array to form a bundle, each of the fuel pins 1 being deformed at one end into a shape 2 having a rectangular transverse cross-section and being metallurgically bonded to at least one other of the fuel pins 1 along a face of the deformed shape 2. The fuel pins 1 are disposed in a plurality of adjacent rows and are metallurgically bonded, e.g. by brazing or electron beam welding, to each other along the smaller lateral sides of the deformed shapes 2, which sides are cut away to provide continuous passages 10 extending along the length of each row of fuel pins 1. The fuel pins 1 in the front row as shown in Fig. 7 are closed by the preferred method in which the larger lateral sides 3 of the shapes 2 are crimped toward each other and seam welded. In an alternative method, elongated caps 11 are inserted between the sides 3 and seam welded, as shown at the rear row of fuel pins 1 in Fig. 7. In practice, only one closure method is used in a single fuel element. An end fuel pin 13 of each row is not closed in the same manner as described above but is provided with a second deformed shape 14 oriented at right angles to the shape 2. The smaller end faces of the shapes 14 are joined together in the same manner as those of the shapes 2 and either of the above described methods is used to close the open ends of the shapes 14. One side face 41 of the shape 2 of each end fuel pin 13 is aperturod to provide fluid communication with the passages 10. The passage 15 formed through the shapes 14 acts as a collection manifold for gaseous fission products generated within individual fuel pins.