| 摘要 |
<p>An end plug is welded to a nuclear fuel rod tube (20) by a girth weld (35) having a melt-zone (42) arcuately extending through the tube wall and into the plug (32), wherein the melt-zone (42) and the end of the tube are separated by a predetermined distance (L). The distance (L) is chosen such that heat is dissipated from the weld-zone to prevent damage to the rod and to prevent damage to the weld end stop. This weld enables the use of a substantially solid cylindrical end plug having a first end (46) disposed inside the tube, a second end (48), and a hollow cavity (44) extending to the second end (48) for axially aligning the cylinder (43) and fuel rod (20) with a frictionally engaging weld stop (36) during formation of the girth weld.</p> |
