• 专利附录
  • 专利说明
  • 权利要求
  • 类似技术
  • 同族专利
  • 引用文献
  • 法律状态
  • 优先权
    • 专利摘要:
    Nuclear fuel rods have a jacket or fuel with physical parameters that change significantly depending on the axial position of a fuel rod. The parameters include the inner and outer diameters or widths of the jacket and fuel, volume, mass, internal volume, thickness, rod width, etc. The parameters are selected and implemented on the basis of calculated operating conditions and / or desired fuel response at an axial position over the entire rod length and / or fuel collection position, including both zones with fuel and zones without fuel. Desired parameters can be achieved through manufacturing or later modifications. Parameter variations in relation to axial position and fuel collection position are intentional and achieve desired fuel properties and responses, such as optimized fuel mass, pressure drop, overpressure protection, etc. The fuel rods can be compatible with existing fuel types and thus replace conventional fuel rods.
    公开号:SE1351457A1
    申请号:SE1351457
    申请日:2013-12-06
    公开日:2014-06-15
    发明作者:Randall J Dunavant；David Grey Smith；Peter R Diller
    申请人:Global Nuclear Fuel Americas；
    IPC主号:
    专利说明:

    [1] Other axial zones 214b and 214c can be identified as zones which will be exposed to other operating conditions due to their position, such as less risk of damage to the jacket, interaction between fuel and jacket and / or they may for example use larger volumes of moderator and / or a minor pressure drop. Zone 214c may, for example, be part of a portion of fuel in fuel rod 214 according to the exemplary embodiment, while zone 214b may be an axial portion without fuel. Based on the identification of expected conditions in zones 214c and 214b, the jacket 220 can be designed to best suit these conditions. For example, the jacket 220 may be thinned in the axial zone 214b. The outer diameter d0c2 can be reduced in 214c while the inner diameter dic1 and the width of the fuel element dfl are kept uniform, by thinning the jacket in the axial zone 214c, for example during manufacture or by later outer etching. Similarly, the outer diameter d0c3 of the jacket may decrease with the axial height in 214b, and the inner diameter dic2 may increase. For example, d0c3 and / or 61002 can be reduced by about 7 to 140 mils relative to docl. Of course, other reductions can be used in the examples of embodiments.
    By varying the dimensions of the jacket and the outer diameter of the fuel rod between the axial zones 214a, b, and c on the basis of expected operating conditions at their respective positions - both axial and radial - safety margins and / or operating limits can be optimized. For example, the axial zones 214b and 214c may provide a smaller pressure drop for a liquid coolant / moderator which flows axially along the fuel rod 214 and / or provides better moderation, improved hydrodynamic performance and plant efficiency.
    Although the fuel rods 114 and 214 according to the examples of embodiments in FIG. 3 and 4 have been described with particular combinations of axial properties, it should be clear that any single property may be present in the exemplary embodiments and that other combinations may be present in an exemplary embodiment of the fuel rod with any number of axial zones. For example, an engineer wishing to use fuel rods according to the exemplary embodiments, with a constant outer diameter that matches the outer diameter of the shell of conventional fuel rods, so that fuel rods according to the exemplary embodiment can replace conventional fuel rods, can implement only the variation from zone 114c in FIG. 3 for 16 use in desired axial positions. In this way, the outer diameter docl can remain constant along an entire fuel rod according to the exemplary embodiment and mimic the geometry of conventional fuel rods, while providing optimization benefits through increased inner diameter and fuel mass. Or, a fuel manufacturer who, for example, wishes to use single element fuel elements for production compatibility and the module assembly may use fuel rod 214 according to the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 4, with a single, uniform design of the fuel elements 222, while hydrodynamic and other advantages are provided by reducing the outer diameter at specific axial positions.
    Furthermore, a nuclear fuel distributor can apply any or all of the modifications across several different axial zones and for different positions in the fuel unit to provide the desired response from the fuel rods. For example, a smaller outer and inner diameter dic2 / d0c3 from zone 214b in fuel rod 214 according to the exemplary embodiment may be used in a lower, fuel-free collection position, a larger inner diameter and fuel width dic3 / df2 from zone 114c in fuel rod 114 according to the exemplary embodiment may be used. in several axial positions where greater fuel supply is desired, based on the parameters of the fuel unit or reactor core, a smaller outer diameter d0c2 from zone 214c in fuel rod 214 according to the exemplary embodiment can be used in a higher zone where a lower pressure drop and larger moderator volume are desired. and inner diameter dic2 / dOc2 from zone 114b of fuel rod 114 according to the exemplary embodiment may be used in a final collection area without fuel to provide greater housing of fission products. Furthermore, the engineer can mix properties within the same zone, the inner diameter of the jacket can be increased and the outer diameter of the jacket can be reduced simultaneously for a particular zone, and combine a smaller pressure drop and a larger fuel volume in this zone.
    Fuel rods according to the examples of embodiments can be used in different reactor variants and types of fuel units. Fuel rods according to the examples of embodiments may be designed for use in the units 10 of FIG. 1 and replace conventional rods 14 in fuel units. Individual fuel rods according to the examples of embodiments include axial variations based on expected reactor operating conditions and an appropriate response thereto. Several fuel rods according to the examples of embodiments in a unit can thus have axial properties which are designed on the basis of the expected placement of the rod bundles as well as of each other's effects on the operating conditions. In this way, fuel rods according to the examples of embodiments allow a core designer to better fine-tune the core response and operating characteristics and potentially achieve improved fuel utilization, fuel life, operating and safety margins and / or improved plant efficiency. With respect to exemplary embodiments and methods that have been described, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that exemplary embodiments may be varied and replaced by routine experimentation, which still falls within the scope of the following claims. For example, although some examples of embodiments have been described with only fuel-free areas in the axial position at the top and with modular fuel structures, it should be understood that fuel rods according to the examples of the embodiment may include any combination of fuel and fuel-free zones. as well as different types, shapes and enrichments for fuel elements. Furthermore, it is clear that examples of embodiments and methods can be used in connection with any type of fuel and reactor where fuel rods are used, including BWR and PWR reactors, heavy water reactors, fast spectrum, graphite moderation, etc. All values for jackets and fuel sizes listed above are examples and in no way limit the independent claims. Such variations should not be construed as a departure from the scope of the following claims. 19
    权利要求:
    Claims (10)
    [1]
    A fuel rod (114) for use in a nuclear fuel unit (10), the fuel rod comprising: a nuclear fuel element (122) and a jacket (120) having an inner diameter defining an impermeable interior space in which the nuclear fuel element (122) is contained, wherein the jacket (120) extends in an axial direction perpendicular to the inner diameter, and the inner diameter intentionally varies along the axial direction.
    [2]
    The fuel rod (114) of claim 1, wherein the nuclear fuel element (122) includes a first fuel pellet (122a) and a second fuel pellet (122b) stacked axially in the interior space, and wherein the first fuel pellet (122a) and the second fuel pellet ( 122b) intentionally has a different volume.
    [3]
    The fuel rod (114) of claim 2, wherein the first (122a) and second fuel pellets (122b) are cylindrical and intentionally have different diameters based on the inner diameter of the jacket (120). 20
    [4]
    The fuel rod (114) of claim 1, wherein the jacket (120) is cylindrical and includes an outer diameter, and wherein the outer diameter is constant such that a thickness of the jacket (120) varies along the axial direction.
    [5]
    The fuel rod (114) of claim 1, wherein the interior space comprises a zone (114b) without fuel, in which fission products can accumulate, and wherein the inner diameter is larger in the zone (114b) without fuel than in a zone (114a, b) with fuel.
    [6]
    The fuel rod (114) of claim 5, wherein the jacket (120) is cylindrical and comprises an outer diameter, the outer diameter being larger in the zone (114b) without fuel than in the zone (114a, b) with fuel and the zone (114a, b) without fuel is in a terminating axial position where the fuel rod (114) is designed for attachment to an anchor plate.
    [7]
    The fuel rod (114) of claim 1, wherein the inner diameter intentionally varies depending on a radial position of the fuel rod (114) in a nuclear fuel unit (10) and in a reactor core. 21
    [8]
    A fuel rod (214) for use in a nuclear fuel unit (10), the fuel rod comprising: a nuclear fuel element (222) and a jacket (220) having an outer diameter and an inner diameter defining an impermeable inner space in which the nuclear fuel element (222) ), the jacket (220) extending in an axial direction perpendicular to the inner and outer diameters, and the outer diameter deliberately varying along the axial direction, so that at least two different thirds of the zone (214a, c) with fuel of the rod have completely different outer diameters.
    [9]
    The fuel rod (214) of claim 8, wherein the inner space comprises a zone (214b) without fuel, in which fission products can accumulate, and wherein the outer diameter is smaller in the zone without fuel than in the zone (214a, 214c) with fuel.
    [10]
    The fuel rod (214) of claim 13, wherein the inner diameter is larger in the zone (214b) without fuel than in the zone (214a, 214c) with fuel, so that a thickness of the jacket (220) is smaller in the zone (214b) without fuel than in the zone (214a, 214c) with fuel. 22
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    同族专利:
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    ES2468548A2|2014-06-16|
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    JP2014119454A|2014-06-30|
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    法律状态:
    2021-08-03| NUG| Patent has lapsed|
    优先权:
    申请号 | 申请日 | 专利标题
    US13/715,905|US20140169516A1|2012-12-14|2012-12-14|Fuel rods with varying axial characteristics and nuclear fuel assemblies including the same|
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