JPH11227945A - Loading method and loading device of nuclear fuel compact to container for sintering - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make it easy to separate a fastened state of compacts with each other by forming an aligned group of the compacts and loading the compacts in a container for sintering of a box type by making them in a state of stacking them in a specified number of stages so that axes of the compacts in the vertical aligned groups become orthogonal with each other sequentially above the aligned groups of the compacts. SOLUTION: An aligned group 2 of a specified number of cylindrical compacts 1 end surfaces of which are arranged so as to be adjacent to each other mutually in parallel at the number of specified row is formed. Thereafter, the compacts 1 are filled in the inside of a container 3 for sintering by making an axis of each of the compacts 1 of the vertically stuck aligned groups 2 orthogonal with each other by alternately carrying out a process to carry out loading motion by turning an adsorption head 18 adsorbing the compact aligned group 2 by 90 deg. and a process without without turning of the adsorption head 18 adsorbing the compact aligned group 2. Consequently, side surfaces of the compacts 1 adjacent to each other in the vertical direction in the container 3 for sintering come to be point contact, fastening of the compacts 1 adjacent to each other vertically becomes slightly comparatively weak, and a fastening state can be easily separated.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for loading a nuclear fuel compact for loading a cylindrical compact formed by a powder compacting machine into a sintering vessel.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, when sintering a powder molded product,
A compact formed by a powder compacting press is filled in a sintering container, carried into a sintering furnace, and sintered therein.

[0003] By the way, a nuclear fuel molded body using uranium dioxide powder or a mixed powder of plutonium oxide and uranium oxide is liable to crack, and therefore needs to be handled carefully. In particular, when the compacts are piled up in a box-shaped sintering container, if the compacts come into contact with each other and the edges are cracked or cracked, cracks will occur from the cracks during sintering and the inspection will not be performed during the inspection. There is a problem that the result is acceptable and the yield is deteriorated.

Therefore, in order to load a columnar molded product such as the above-mentioned powder molded product into a container, the aligned molded body row or the group of aligned molded bodies in the upright posture or the overturned posture is lifted by vacuum suction and conveyed. It has been proposed to load into certain containers.

FIG. 5 is a view showing a method of stacking the compacts in the overturned posture in a box-shaped sintering container, wherein a predetermined number of compacts are formed so that the end faces of the compacts 1 are adjacent to each other. The moldings are arranged in one row, and the moldings are arranged in a predetermined number of rows at a predetermined pitch in parallel with the axis to form an alignment group 2 of the moldings 1. Containers 3 are stacked in parallel so that they touch each other vertically.
Load inside.

[0006]

In the above-described loading method, the end faces of the compacts are referred to as bale stacking from the cross-sectional shape viewed from the front. In this loading method, as shown by reference numeral 4 in FIG. Line contact is performed between the outer peripheral side surfaces of the formed body 1 in the vertical direction. Therefore, the contact pressure is always applied to each wire contact portion 4 by the stacking load, and the compact 1 in the sintering process is applied.
However, there is a problem that the wire contact portions adhere to each other in the process of turning the ceramic into a ceramic.

That is, in the case of loading by the above-described method, the compact is placed in the container 3 in a dense state, so that the atmosphere gas during sintering becomes insufficient around the compact, and the O / U ratio is reduced. Since the sintering is performed in a high state, the excess oxygen promotes the sintering, so that even a small pressing force tends to cause sticking between the compacts.

[0008] Therefore, in order to carry out a grinding process for keeping the diameter of the sintered compact constant, it is necessary to separate the adhered compacts from each other, and at the time of this separation, the circumferential surface is peeled off and the soundness of the cylindrical body is increased. There is a problem that the performance is impaired, the product cannot be commercialized, and the yield is reduced.

Since the portions where the end surfaces are in contact with each other in the vertical direction are in horizontal contact with each other, no contact pressure is applied due to the stacking load or the like. Because of this, the contact portions between the end surfaces are separated from each other, and the contact portions between the end surfaces do not usually adhere to each other.

In view of the foregoing, the present invention provides a nuclear fuel molded article which is easily separated even if the stacked cylindrical molded articles are fixed to each other, and which can prevent a reduction in the yield of the sintered molded article. It is an object of the present invention to obtain a loading method and a loading device.

[0011]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a compact in which a predetermined number of columnar powder compacts are arranged in parallel with each other in a predetermined number of rows so that the end faces thereof are adjacent to each other. Are arranged in a box-shaped sintering container in a state of being stacked in a predetermined number of stages so that the axes of the molded bodies in the upper and lower alignment groups are orthogonal to each other in order above the aligned group of the molded bodies. A method for loading a nuclear fuel molded article into a sintering container, characterized in that:

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an alignment table for arranging a predetermined number of column-shaped powder compacts in parallel with each other in such a manner that end faces thereof are adjacent to each other, and an alignment table; A guide member disposed above the molding volume inclusion position and extending in the horizontal direction, and a suction head support block mounted on the guide member so as to be movable in the horizontal and vertical directions along the guide member, An apparatus for mounting a nuclear fuel molded body, comprising: a suction head mounted on the suction head support block and vacuum-sucking the molded body group on the alignment table and rotatable by 90 ° about a vertical axis. .

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 denotes an alignment table for a nuclear fuel molded article. On the upper surface of the alignment table 10, a plurality of V grooves 11 extending in the longitudinal direction are formed at a predetermined pitch. The compacts 1 molded by a powder compacting machine (not shown) are sequentially placed in the V-grooves 11 in an overturned posture to form a compact row in which the end faces of the compacts are arranged adjacent to each other. This is arranged in a predetermined number of rows corresponding to the number of rows of the V-grooves 11, so that an alignment group 2 of formed bodies in which a predetermined number of formed bodies are arranged in a predetermined row at a predetermined pitch on the alignment table 10. It is.

A shaping container 12 is provided near one end of the aligning table 10, and the sintering container 3 can be placed on the shaping container 12.

Incidentally, a guide member 13 extending horizontally is disposed above the alignment table 10 and the molding volume insertion portion 12, and the guide member 13 includes a guide member 13
The suction head traversing block 14 is mounted so as to be movable in the horizontal direction along the line. Absorption head traversing block 1
4, a suction head support block 15 is mounted so as to be movable only in the vertical direction, a motor 16 is mounted on the lower end of the suction head support block 15, and a suction head 18 is suspended from a shaft 17 of the motor 16. .

The suction head 18 is a closed hollow box having a size such that it can be inserted into a sintering container, and is connected to a suction hose 19 connected to a suction device (not shown). The inside of the closed hollow box can be decompressed. Also, on the lower surface of the suction head 18,
A concave groove 18a having the same pitch as that of the row of the molded bodies arranged on the alignment table 10 and capable of engaging with the molded body is formed, and the concave groove 18a communicates with the closed hollow box. Slits are provided. Further, the suction head 18 is operated by lowering the suction head 18 and bringing its lower surface into contact with the upper surface of the molded body 1 aligned on the alignment table 10 to stop the lowering of the suction head 18. A floor sensor 20 is provided.

At the same time that the compact is aligned at the predetermined position on the aligning table 10, the empty sintering container 3 is conveyed to the molding volume insertion portion and stopped at the predetermined position. Then, the suction head 18 is moved above the alignment group 2 of the compacts on the alignment table 10 by the horizontal movement of the suction head traversing block 14, then the suction head support block 15 is moved downward, and the suction head 18 is lowered. Is done. When the lower surface of the suction head 18 comes into contact with the upper surface of the molded body due to the lowering of the suction head 18, the landing sensor 20 operates to stop the lowering of the suction head 18, and the suction device operates to align the molded body. The group 2 is sucked on the lower surface of the suction head 18.

As described above, when the alignment group 2 of the formed bodies is sucked by the suction head 18, the suction head 18 is lifted upward by the upward movement of the suction head support block 15, and the movement of the suction head traversing block 14 is performed. As a result, the sintering container 3 is moved to a position above the sintering container 3 on the molding volume filling portion 12.

Then, the suction head 18 sucking the compact through the suction head support block 15 is lowered,
When the suction head 18 is lowered to a predetermined position in the sintering container 3, the suction by the suction device is stopped, the formed body is separated from the suction head 18, and the aligned group 2 of the formed body is placed in the sintering container 3. Is filled in.

When the first-stage compact is filled in the sintering container 3 in this way, the suction head 18 is raised and moved again above the group 2 of compacts on the alignment table 10. ,
In the same manner as described above, the alignment group 2 of the compacts is sucked to the suction head 18 by the downward movement of the suction head 18.

When the group 2 of compacts is sucked by the suction head 18, the suction head 18 is moved upward via the suction head support block 15, and the suction head traversing block 1 is further moved.
4, the motor 16 is operated during this horizontal movement, and the suction head 18 is rotated by 90 ° in a horizontal plane, as shown in FIG.

When the suction head 18 reaches a fixed position just above the sintering vessel 3, the suction head 18 is lowered via the suction head support block 15 and inserted into the sintering vessel 3. . Therefore, the lower surface of the suction head 18
When it comes into contact with the molded body of the step, the landing sensor 20 operates,
The lowering of the suction head support block 15 is stopped, and the suction operation by the suction device is stopped.
8 is released, and the second compact is placed on the first compact.
The first-stage molded bodies are stacked so as to be orthogonal to the axis of the first-stage molded body.

When the second-stage molded body is released from the suction head 18, the suction head 18 is moved again above the alignment table 10, and as shown in FIG. The motor 16 is rotated 90 ° in the opposite direction,
The suction head 18 rotates 90 ° in the horizontal plane and is restored to the initial state, and is ready for the loading operation of the third-stage molded body alignment group.

In this manner, one cycle is completed as the stacking operation of the compacted body alignment group, and the 90 ° rotation of the suction head 18 is not performed when loading the third-stage compacted body alignment group.
They are stacked in the same shape as the first stage.

In the same manner, the step of rotating the suction head 18 holding the formed body alignment group by 90 ° to perform the stacking operation and the step of not rotating the suction head 18 in the same manner are alternately performed, as shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the sintering vessel 3 is filled so that the axes of the formed bodies of the aligned group stacked vertically are orthogonal to each other.

The compacts thus filled in the sintering vessel are stacked so that the axes of the compacts adjacent to each other in the vertical direction are orthogonal to each other. As shown in FIG. 4A, the side surfaces of the compacts to be formed are in point contact with each other, and the fixation between the vertically adjacent compacts in the sintering process is relatively weak. It can be done easily.

[0028]

As described above, according to the present invention, the molded bodies are stacked in the sintering container in a state where the molded bodies are stacked so that the axes of the molded bodies in the upper and lower arranged groups are orthogonal to each other. Therefore, the adhesion between the vertically adjacent moldings is relatively weak, without impairing the soundness of the moldings.
The adhered state can be easily separated by hand and the next grinding can be performed, so that the yield of the formed body can be improved. In addition, by allowing the suction head to be rotatable by 90 ° about the vertical axis in the loading device, the vertically adjacent moldings can be easily loaded such that their axes are orthogonal to each other, as described above. It is possible to automate the work of filling the inside of the joining container.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a nuclear fuel molded article loading device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an operating state of an adsorption head in the nuclear fuel molded article loading device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a view showing a loading method according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a view showing a state of contact between vertically adjacent molded bodies.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a conventional loading method.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state of contact between vertically adjacent molded bodies in molded bodies stacked by a conventional method.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Molded body 2 Alignment group of molded bodies 3 Sintering container 10 Alignment table 11 V groove 12 Molding volume inclusion part 13 Guide member 14 Suction head traversing block 15 Suction head support block 16 Motor 18 Suction head 19 Suction hose 20 Landing sensor

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An array of compacts in which a predetermined number of cylindrical powder compacts are arranged in parallel with each other in a predetermined number of rows of compacts in which the end faces are adjacent to each other. It is characterized by being stacked in a box-shaped sintering container in a state of being stacked in a predetermined number of stages such that the axes of the molded bodies in the upper and lower alignment groups are orthogonal to each other sequentially above the alignment group,
A method for loading a nuclear fuel compact into a sintering vessel. 2. A sintering container according to claim 1, wherein said group of formed bodies is alternately rotated by 90 ° in a horizontal plane for each stage and sequentially loaded in the sintering container. How to load the nuclear fuel molded article into the tank. 3. An alignment table in which a predetermined number of columnar powder compacts are arranged in parallel with each other in a predetermined number of rows of compacts arranged such that their end faces are adjacent to each other, and the aligning platform and a molding volume including position. A guide member disposed above and between the guide members and extending in the horizontal direction; a suction head support block mounted on the guide member so as to be movable in the horizontal and vertical directions along the guide member; And a suction head mounted on the block and capable of vacuum-suctioning the group of formed bodies on the alignment table and rotatable by 90 ° about a vertical axis. 4. The nuclear fuel molded article loading apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a motor is mounted on the suction head support block, and the suction head is suspended from a shaft of the motor. 5. A suction head supporting block, wherein a traversing block mounted so as to traverse along said guide member,
The nuclear fuel molded article loading device according to claim 3, wherein the loading device is mounted so as to be movable in a vertical direction.