JPH01311297A - Facility and method for charging nuclear reactor fuel - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve productivity by eliminating need to stop the downstream facility of a charging facility while a filler is supplied to the operation system facility of a nuclear reactor fuel charging facility which has a nuclear fuel pellet supply facility, etc. CONSTITUTION:A filler store room 8 is provided on the extension of the line of a filler arraying facility 4 adjacently. When the filler 27 on an array disk 9 at a filler charging position can not be inserted into a fuel coating tube, this array disk 9 is moved to store the filler 27 on the array disk 9 in the store room 8. When the filler 27 is put back onto the array disk 9 in the facility 4, a storage block 17 in the store room 8 is moved through the run of a carriage 20 and the operation of a support 22 in the opposite direction from the reception of the filler and then a pusher 34 which moves forward and backward by a motor 31 through a screw nut 32 is put in operation. Consequently, when operation is restarted a certain time after daily nuclear reactor fuel charging operation, the charging facility is started speedily without being stopped and the productivity of nuclear reactor fuel rods is improved.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a nuclear reactor fuel alignment equipment and a nuclear reactor fuel filling method, and more specifically, to productivity when inserting fuel pellets into fuel cladding tubes. This invention relates to reactor fuel alignment equipment and reactor fuel filling method suitable for improvement.

[Conventional technology]

Roughly speaking, the process of manufacturing nuclear fuel rods involves arranging a plurality of nuclear fuel pellets to a predetermined length, pushing the plurality of nuclear fuel pellets 1- into a cladding tube with one end closed from the open side, and then inserting a spring into the cladding tube. After inserting the end plug in the next step, the contact area between the cladding tube and the end plug is welded.

The prior art related to the nuclear reactor fuel filling method is described in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 58-208697.

[Problem to be solved by the invention] The manufacturing process of nuclear reactor fuel rods is roughly as described above, and in the past, various studies have been made to improve the productivity of individual fuel rods. The reality is that no consideration has been given to the operating rate of the sorting equipment as a whole. In other words, conventionally, the daily operation of a fuel alignment facility begins with the supply of nuclear fuel pellets, springs, fuel cladding, end plugs, etc. from upstream equipment without any filler material in the alignment facility. When the fuel filling operation is completed, the filler material received in the sorting equipment is recovered to the upstream equipment. In the filler alignment equipment that inserts and fills nuclear fuel pellets, production operations cannot begin until the nuclear fuel pellets are aligned on the alignment tray and positioned in a position where the filler can be filled. . In particular, this waiting time has a factor determined by the handling time of the nuclear fuel pellets. In other words, for nuclear fuel pellets, the dimensions of the pellets, such as the outer diameter and length, are confirmed by press-forming the powder and then sintering it.
Confirm that there are no scratches or cracks.

This is because a lot of time is spent on the management process, such as checking the number and weight of pellets required for nuclear material management. Another problem in which the operating rate of the fuel sorting equipment as a whole decreases is due to the response when a failure or the like occurs in equipment subsequent to the fuel sorting equipment. In other words, if the equipment after the fuel alignment equipment stops due to a malfunction or other reason, for the purpose of radiation control, the nuclear fuel pellets located on the alignment tray in the alignment equipment will be collected in upstream equipment outside the fuel alignment equipment. There must be.

Thus, in the past, it must be said that the operating rate of the downstream equipment within the fuel sorting equipment is low, and if this point is improved, the operating rate of the fuel sorting equipment as a whole will improve.

An object of the present invention is to provide nuclear fuel pellets that are transported from upstream equipment of a fuel alignment facility to the alignment facility when resuming the filling operation after a period of time after completion of the nuclear fuel filling operation on day -1. During the transportation time of the fuel pellets, and also the supply time of the filler material, including the inspection and judgment of the nuclear fuel pellets received into the fuel alignment equipment as described above, the downstream equipment of the alignment equipment can be quickly started up without stopping. It is excellent in improving the productivity of reactor fuel rods, and even if the equipment after the fuel alignment equipment stops due to a failure etc., the filler once received in the alignment equipment can be returned to the upstream equipment.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a reactor fuel alignment equipment and a reactor fuel filling method that do not require complicated steps such as supplying filler material including inspection and determination of nuclear fuel pellets again.

[Means to solve the problem]

The above objective is basically achieved by maintaining the nuclear fuel pellets, springs, etc. that are in the middle of the process in the reactor fuel alignment equipment in the position they were at when the equipment was stopped or the work was completed. However, it is undesirable to leave radioactive materials dispersed over a wide area within the fuel alignment equipment.The important thing is that
The purpose of this invention is to adopt means and methods that satisfy both radiation control and improvement of the operating rate of the reactor fuel alignment equipment. This is accomplished by storing the fuel in storage within the fuel alignment facility in close condition.

To describe this more specifically, the above purpose is to provide a nuclear fuel pellet supply facility, a filling S< material supply facility other than nuclear fuel pellets, a fuel cladding tube supply facility, a filler alignment facility,
This is achieved by providing a filler storage in the operating system equipment in a nuclear reactor fuel sorting facility having a filler sorting facility.

In addition, end plug welding equipment and decontamination equipment may be added as the same operation system equipment within the above-mentioned filler operation system equipment, or these end plug welding equipment and decontamination equipment may be
It may be separated from the above-mentioned filler handling system equipment and installed as a subsequent separate equipment.

The above object also provides a method for filling a nuclear reactor fuel by arranging a plurality of fuel pellets to a predetermined length and pushing the plurality of fuel pellets through an open end of a cladding tube whose one end is closed. A plurality of fillers arranged in the alignment equipment are sequentially carried into a filler storage warehouse provided in the reactor fuel equipment. This is accomplished by transporting the filler material to the alignment facility in the reverse order as described above.

[Effect]

Therefore, the nuclear fuel pellets supplied to the entrance side of the nuclear fuel pellet supply equipment in the reactor fuel alignment equipment are
After completing management inspections such as dimensions, measurements, and appearance inspections,
The filling materials are arranged in the order of filling on an arrangement tray provided on the conveyor of the filling material arrangement equipment. On the other hand, the springs that are inserted into the fuel cladding tubes in the filler alignment equipment are supplied to the component supply equipment (parts supply equipment), and after completion of dimension inspection, appearance inspection, etc., they are also arranged on the alignment pan of the filler alignment equipment. Once all the nuclear fuel pellets and springs have been aligned on the alignment tray of the filler alignment equipment, this alignment function is transferred to the filler filling position by the conveyor, and then the fuel is removed by the filler alignment equipment. The fuel cladding tube is inserted into the cladding tube and filled, and after the fuel cladding tube has been filled, the fuel cladding tube passes through a transfer device, has an end plug welded by an end plug welding equipment, and is transported to the next process such as various inspection equipment.

Here, when the reactor fuel filling operation at the - port is completed, or when the equipment after the fuel alignment equipment is stopped due to a failure, etc., the nuclear fuel pellets, springs, etc. on the filler alignment equipment are transferred via the transfer device. It is stored and stored in a filler storage in the fuel sorting equipment, and as described above, in the present invention, by providing the filler material storage in the fuel sorting equipment, when restarting the fuel filling operation afterwards, During the transportation time of nuclear fuel pellets being transported from the upstream equipment of the fuel alignment equipment to the alignment equipment concerned, and also during the supply time of the filler material, including the inspection and judgment of the nuclear fuel pellets received into the fuel alignment equipment as described above. , by discharging the filler in the filler storage, the equipment on the downstream side of the alignment equipment can be started up quickly without stopping, thereby contributing to improving the productivity of reactor fuel rods. In particular, the loss time of fuel filling operations that are performed almost every day accumulates and greatly affects the operating rate of fuel rod manufacturing, but according to the present invention, this loss time can be minimized as much as possible.

In addition, in the present invention, a plurality of fillers arranged in the filler alignment equipment are sequentially carried into a filler storage warehouse provided in the reactor fuel equipment, and the reactor fuel filling operation is resumed. At this time, multiple filling materials brought into the storage warehouse are
By carrying out the fuel to the alignment equipment in the reverse order to the above, the rising effect of the teeth provided on the downstream side in the fuel alignment equipment described above can be made even more effective.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained with reference to FIG.
To explain based on one embodiment of the drawings, Fig. 1 is a planar equipment layout diagram of the reactor fuel alignment equipment according to the present invention, Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line AA in Fig. 1, and Fig. 4 is an FIG. 2 is a partial vertical cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of a reactor fuel rod.

In FIG. 4, which shows the internal structure of a nuclear reactor fuel rod, the lower end frame 10 and the fuel cladding tube 11 are welded in advance in a separate process prior to the fuel filling operation.

Nuclear fuel pellets 12 and springs 13 are filled into fuel cladding tube 11 in a fuel filling process.

Thereafter, the welded portion 15 between the second end plug 14 and the fuel cladding tube 11 is welded to complete the reactor fuel rod.

In FIG. 1, which is a planar equipment layout diagram of a nuclear reactor fuel alignment equipment, nuclear fuel pellets are supplied to the corrugated dish of the nuclear fuel pellet supply equipment 1 from its upstream equipment. In the nuclear fuel pellet supply equipment 1, the outer diameter, length, weight, and appearance inspection of the pellets are performed, and only those that pass are filled into the fuel cladding tube onto the corrugated alignment tray 9 of the filler alignment equipment 4. Arrange the supplies in order. From the filling material supply equipment 2,
After the springs are supplied and inspected for dimensions, appearance, etc., only those that pass are also supplied and arranged on the alignment pan 9 of the filler alignment equipment 4. When all the nuclear fuel pellets and springs to be filled into one fuel cladding tube are supplied and arranged on the alignment plate 9 of the filler alignment equipment 4, the alignment plate 9 is moved by the conveyor of the filler alignment equipment 4. The person is moved from the person position to the B position.

The B position is a filler filling position, and at this B position, the fuel cladding tube supplied from the cladding tube supply equipment 6 is taken into the filler alignment equipment 3, so that the filler material at the B position is filled into the fuel cladding tube. Ru. The fuel cladding tubes that have been filled with the filler material are transported in the order indicated by the arrows in the figure, and after welding the upper end plug in the end plug welding equipment 5, they are decontaminated in the decontamination equipment 7, and then downstream transported to inspection equipment, etc.

The filler storage 8 is provided adjacent to position C on the extension of the filler alignment equipment 4, and is used to insert the filler on the alignment pan 9 at position B, that is, the filler filling position, into the fuel cladding tube. If filling is not possible, move this alignment tray 9 to position C.
The filling material on the alignment tray 9 is stored in the filling material storage 8 using the transfer device provided at the position C section. Therefore, in FIG. 2, which is a sectional view taken along the line A-A in FIG. 1, there is a filler 27 at position C in FIG. A state in which the filling material 27 on the alignment plate 9 that has been placed is stopped is shown.

In FIG. 2, 20 is a truck having wheels 19 driven by a motor 18; 22 is a support on the truck 20;
Reference numeral 1 denotes a motor that moves the support 22 up and down using a worm and a worm wheel (not shown), and a filler storage block 17 is placed on the support 22. The filler storage block 17 is provided with round holes 23 at the same pitch as the wave groove pitch of the alignment plate 9. and,
When the bottom of the round hole 23 is stopped so as to match the bottom of the wave groove of the alignment plate 9, and the button 26, which is reciprocated by the motor 24 via the pole screw 25, is moved to the left,
The filler 27 is transferred into the round hole 23 of the filler storage block 17. In order to transfer the filling material on the next alignment plate following the empty alignment plate 9 to the filler storage block 17, it is necessary to transfer the filling material on the next alignment plate following the empty alignment plate 9 to the filling material storage block 17 until the bottom of the next round hole in the storage block 17 matches the corrugated bottom of the alignment plate. Raising the sabots 1 to 22 is carried out by driving the motor 24 and moving the pole screw 25 in the same manner as described above.

The filler storage block 17 with the filler 27 inserted into the round hole 23 enters the filler storage 8 by moving the cart 20, and then lowers the support 22 to remove the block inside the storage. 28, and the trolley 20
After moving to the right, the cylinder 29 closes the door 30 to safely store the filler in the filler storage 8.

When resuming fuel filling work, in order to return the filler stored in the filler material storage 8 onto the alignment tray 9 of the filler material alignment equipment, the storage block 17 in the filler material storage 8 is moved to the stands 11j, 2.
0 and the operation of the support 22, the bushing 34 is moved in the opposite direction to the case of receiving the filling material described above, and then the bushing 34 is moved forward and backward by the motor 31 via the screw nut 32.
After the button 34 is moved to the filler pushing position 35 by the cylinder 33,
By rotating the motor 31, each filling material can be placed on a predetermined alignment plate 9.

In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the case where the filler storage 8 is provided on the downstream side of the filler alignment equipment 3 has been exemplified, but in the embodiment shown in FIG. A case is illustrated in which a filler storage 8 is provided upstream of the alignment equipment 3.

〔Effect of the invention〕

The present invention is as described above, and as is clear from the description of the illustrated embodiments, according to the present invention, when the nuclear reactor fuel filling operation at the -head is completed, or when the equipment after the fuel alignment equipment breaks down, etc. When the fuel alignment equipment is stopped, the nuclear fuel pellets, springs, etc. on the fuel alignment equipment are stored in the fuel storage warehouse in the fuel alignment equipment via the transfer device. By providing a filler storage in the fuel alignment equipment, when resuming fuel filling work, the transport time of the nuclear fuel pellets transported from the E flow equipment of the fuel alignment equipment to the alignment equipment, as well as the above-mentioned During the filling material supply time, which includes the inspection and determination of the nuclear fuel pellets received into the fuel sorting equipment as described above, the equipment on the downstream side of the said sorting equipment is stopped by discharging the filling material in the filling material storage. This system contributes to improving the productivity of nuclear reactor fuel rods by quickly starting up the reactor fuel rods. However, according to the present invention, this loss time can be minimized as much as possible.

In addition, in the present invention, a plurality of fillers arranged in the filler alignment equipment are sequentially carried into a filler storage warehouse provided in the J'JK sub-reactor fuel equipment, and the reactor fuel is filled. When work is restarted, the multiple fillers that have been carried into the storage warehouse are delivered to the sorting equipment in the reverse order to the above, thereby making the rising effect of the downstream equipment in the fuel sorting equipment more effective. It can be assumed that there is.

In summary, according to the present invention, when resuming the filling operation after a period of time after the completion of the reactor fuel filling operation at the - port, the filling operation is carried out from the upstream equipment of the fuel alignment equipment.
! During the transportation time of the nuclear fuel pellets being transported to the second equipment, as well as the filling material supply time, which includes the inspection and judgment of the nuclear fuel pellets received into the fuel alignment equipment as described above,
By discharging the filler in the filler storage, the cloth AN H(( Even if the equipment after the fuel alignment equipment is stopped due to a malfunction, the filling material once received by the alignment equipment will be returned to the upstream equipment, and the complicated process of supplying the filling material, including the inspection and judgment of nuclear fuel pellets, will be carried out again. It is possible to provide a reactor fuel alignment facility and a reactor fuel filling method that do not require any steps.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 and 2 show an embodiment of the reactor fuel alignment equipment according to the present invention, with FIG. 1 being a planar layout of the equipment, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a planar layout diagram showing another embodiment of the reactor fuel alignment equipment according to the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a partial longitudinal sectional view showing the internal structure of the reactor fuel rod. 1... Nuclear fuel pellet supply equipment, 2... Filling member supply equipment, 3... Filler alignment equipment, 4... Filler alignment equipment, 5... End plug welding equipment, 6... Fuel Cladding tube supply equipment, 7... Decontamination equipment, 8... Filling material storage.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of nuclear fuel pellets arranged in a predetermined length,
What is claimed is: 1. A nuclear reactor fuel filling facility having an operation system for filling a cladding tube by pushing the fuel into the cladding tube from the open end thereof, the first end of which is closed, the reactor fuel filling facility comprising a filler storage in the system. 2. In a nuclear reactor fuel filling facility that has a nuclear fuel pellet supply facility, a filling material supply facility other than nuclear fuel pellets, a fuel cladding tube supply facility, a filler alignment facility, and a filler filling facility, within the above operating system equipment. A nuclear reactor fuel filling facility characterized by being equipped with a filler storage. 3. In a nuclear reactor fuel filling facility having a nuclear fuel pellet supply facility, a filling material supply facility other than nuclear fuel pellets, a fuel cladding tube supply facility, a filler alignment facility, a filler filling facility, and an end plug welding facility. , A nuclear reactor fuel filling facility characterized by comprising a filler storage in the operation system equipment. 4. A nuclear power plant that has nuclear fuel pellet supply equipment, filling material supply equipment other than nuclear fuel pellets, fuel cladding pipe supply equipment, filler alignment equipment, filler filling equipment, end plug welding equipment, and decontamination equipment. A reactor fuel filling facility, characterized in that the above-mentioned operation system equipment is provided with a filler storage. 5. In the invention according to any one of claims 2 to 4, a reactor fuel filling facility in which a filler storage is adjacent to the filler alignment facility. 6. In a reactor fuel filling method in which a plurality of fuel pellets are arranged to a predetermined length and filled by pushing the plurality of fuel pellets into a cladding tube whose one end is closed through an open end, the plurality of fuel pellets are arranged in a filler alignment equipment. Sequentially, the multiple filling materials
The filler materials are carried into the filler storage located within the reactor fuel equipment, and when restarting reactor fuel filling work, the multiple fillers that have been carried into the storage are transported to the alignment equipment in the reverse order of the above. A nuclear reactor fuel filling method characterized by: