Appts. for withdrawing and compacting spent reactor fuel rods - comprises storage container and fuel rod assembly and gripping appts. for moving fuel rods between assembly and storage container

摘要

Nuclear fuel handling system comprises a storage container, a fuel assembly with array of fuel rods and a gripper appts. to move the fuel rods between the fuel assembly and the storage container. The gripper appts. includes a combination of grippers supported by a frame to engage or release diametrically opposite sides of fuel rods, and a reciprocating arrangement for moving the grippers between spaced gripping and release positions to advance the spent fuel rods in an axial direction relative to the storage container. The gripper arrangement has elongated gripper elements which comprise an active gripper at each of opposite sides of passive grippers. The active grippers have an elastically deformable section displaceable toward passive grippers to grip fuel rods passed between them. All fuel rods are withdrawn concurrently, and merged in a tighter array within a transition funnel, to emerge as a bundle which is advanced to a storage container.