US3699638A - Method of fabricating a fuel rod having a porous plug - Google Patents

Method of fabricating a fuel rod having a porous plug Download PDF

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Publication number
US3699638A
US3699638A US879128A US3699638DA US3699638A US 3699638 A US3699638 A US 3699638A US 879128 A US879128 A US 879128A US 3699638D A US3699638D A US 3699638DA US 3699638 A US3699638 A US 3699638A
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US
United States
Prior art keywords
plug
fuel rod
layers
porous
jacket
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
US879128A
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English (en)
Inventor
Jean-Paul Laurent Van Dievoet
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
BELGE POUR L IND NUCLEAIRE SA
Soc Belge Pour L'ind Nucleaire Sa Belgonucleaire
Original Assignee
BELGE POUR L IND NUCLEAIRE SA
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by BELGE POUR L IND NUCLEAIRE SA filed Critical BELGE POUR L IND NUCLEAIRE SA
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Publication of US3699638A publication Critical patent/US3699638A/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G21—NUCLEAR PHYSICS; NUCLEAR ENGINEERING
    • G21C—NUCLEAR REACTORS
    • G21C3/00—Reactor fuel elements and their assemblies; Selection of substances for use as reactor fuel elements
    • G21C3/02—Fuel elements
    • G21C3/04—Constructional details
    • G21C3/06—Casings; Jackets
    • G21C3/10—End closures ; Means for tight mounting therefor
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G21—NUCLEAR PHYSICS; NUCLEAR ENGINEERING
    • G21C—NUCLEAR REACTORS
    • G21C3/00—Reactor fuel elements and their assemblies; Selection of substances for use as reactor fuel elements
    • G21C3/02—Fuel elements
    • G21C3/04—Constructional details
    • G21C3/041—Means for removal of gases from fuel elements
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
    • Y02E30/00—Energy generation of nuclear origin
    • Y02E30/30—Nuclear fission reactors
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
    • Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
    • Y10T29/00—Metal working
    • Y10T29/49—Method of mechanical manufacture
    • Y10T29/49826—Assembling or joining
    • Y10T29/49885—Assembling or joining with coating before or during assembling
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
    • Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
    • Y10T29/00—Metal working
    • Y10T29/49—Method of mechanical manufacture
    • Y10T29/4998—Combined manufacture including applying or shaping of fluent material
    • Y10T29/49982—Coating

Definitions

  • ABSTRACT Method of manufacturing a fuel rod having a jacket and a porous plug by forming a laminate, the layers of which have porous passages between them, cutting a plug for the fuel rod from the laminate so that some of the passages between the laminated layers are included in the plug, whereby a porous plug is obtained, and welding the resultant plug to the fuel rod jacket.
  • the present invention relates to fuel rods for nuclear reactors and more particularly to fuel rods used within fast neutrons reactors.
  • the rods are subjected during their irradiation inside of the reactor, to a constantly increasing pressure as a result of the build-up of fission gases, which causes a swelling of these rods and creates thus a supplementary loss of pressure for the coolant flowing alongside the rods.
  • Another proposed solution is to make porous the welding of the plug with the jacket; this solution must also be eliminated as the proposed weldings may no more insure the necessary mechanical resistance.
  • the present invention relates to a porous plug which may be welded on the jacket and affords a selective porosity for the fission gases.
  • the method of manufacturing the porous plug according to the invention is characterized in that the plug is cut out of a sectional metallic-based material containing impurities having undergone a preferential orientation of the metallic crystals by means of a plastic deformation.
  • This crystal orientation of metallic sectional irons may be obtained by different operations well known by the men skilled in the art, as, for instance, successive drawing, laminating, extrusion or a combination of these operations.
  • Such a plug as a result of its important mass compared to the jacket, has a sufficient mechanical resistance in spite of its porosity.
  • plugs having a metallurgic structure with a line-up orientation of the crystals can be obtained.
  • This structure confers to the plug a selective porosity which is very convenient for the release of fission gases, while the greatest part of the vapors and other products may be stopped by interposition of a conventional filter placed between the fuel and the plug of metallurgic porosity.
  • plugs can be manufactured with porous passages in different directions, according to the transversal or longitudinal direction of the cutting out of the laminated piece.
  • FIG. 1 a perspective view of a drawn rod
  • FIG. 2 a schematic section of the extremity of a rod provided with a plug cut out of the rod represented on FIG. 1;
  • FIG. 3 a perspective view of a thick laminated sheet-iron with a transversal outcut
  • FIG. 4 a schematic section of the extremity of a fuel rod provided with a plug cut out of the sheet-iron of FIG. 3.
  • FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a drawn rod partly split which will be cut into slices forming plugs. As the crystals will be oriented in the direction of the axis, it is possible to obtain discs with porous passages in this direction.
  • the rod of the FIG. 2 is composed of a jacket 1 filled up with fuel pellets 2 and provided with a plug 3 fixed on the jacket 1 by the welding 4.
  • the plug, made of a disc cut out of the rod shown on FIG. 1, will have porous passages represented by the arrows 5, through which the fission gases may be released.
  • the reference number 6 represents a classical filter.
  • FIG. 3 shows a representative view partly split from a thick laminated sheet-iron which may be cut out as it is shown by the outcut 7.
  • the rod of FIG. 4 includes the same elements as FIG. 2 but the plug is made of the cut out piece 7 shown on FIG. 3.
  • the rod shown on FIG. 1 and the sheet-iron shown FIG. 3 may be manufactured by any known means, either using metallic powders or spongy metals, or by winding or superposing thin sheet-metals oxidized on their surface.
  • the oxidation may be carried out for instance by a thermal treatment in an oxidizing atmosphere and the degree of porosity may then be regulated by the duration of the treatment or by the temperature.
  • the resulting rod is then cut into slices which constitute the porous plugs. These plugs, being tested, have shown a good porosity for xenon and krypton which are the principal elements of fission gases released during the irradiation of nuclear fuel.
  • the plug In the case of gas cooled fast reactors, the plug enables the balance of the pressures outside and inside of the rod.
  • the invention is in no way limited to the methods of execution described hereabove.
  • one may cut out the plug using a material which has been treated in another way.
  • the plug may be also cut out of the sheet-metal shown on FIG. 3, cutting whether in a parallel direction or in a perpendicular direction to the laminating process or in the plane of the latter.
  • Other means of orientation of the crystals well known by the men skilled in the art, may be used.
  • Method of manufacturing a fuel rod having a jacket of the assembly and a porous plug comprising superposing thin sheets of metal to form a layered assembly, pressing together layers of the assembly to form a laminate in which the layers are bonded together with directionally oriented porosities between said layers, cutting a plug for said fuel rod from said laminate said plug containing some of the porosities of the laminate, whereby a porous plug is obtained, and welding the resultant plug to the fuel rod jacket.

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  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Plasma & Fusion (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • High Energy & Nuclear Physics (AREA)
  • Monitoring And Testing Of Nuclear Reactors (AREA)
  • Pressure Welding/Diffusion-Bonding (AREA)
US879128A 1968-11-29 1969-11-24 Method of fabricating a fuel rod having a porous plug Expired - Lifetime US3699638A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
BE724655 1968-11-29

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US3699638A true US3699638A (en) 1972-10-24

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US879128A Expired - Lifetime US3699638A (en) 1968-11-29 1969-11-24 Method of fabricating a fuel rod having a porous plug

Country Status (5)

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US (1) US3699638A (en))
BE (1) BE724655A (en))
DE (1) DE1959509A1 (en))
FR (1) FR2024538B3 (en))
GB (1) GB1231129A (en))

Cited By (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3831248A (en) * 1972-05-31 1974-08-27 Westinghouse Electric Corp Nuclear reactor fuel rod splitter
US4500488A (en) * 1982-09-07 1985-02-19 The United States Of America As Represented By The United States Department Of Energy Encapsulated fuel unit and method of forming same
US5966980A (en) * 1994-09-29 1999-10-19 General Electric Company Method for fabricating end plugs for nuclear fuel rods
US20070133733A1 (en) * 2005-12-07 2007-06-14 Liviu Popa-Simil Method for developing nuclear fuel and its application
US20110091710A1 (en) * 2009-04-13 2011-04-21 Mirth David R Soft fiber insulation product

Families Citing this family (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE19917285A1 (de) 1999-04-16 2000-10-19 Clariant Gmbh Wäßrige Kunststoff-Dispersionen mit erhöhter Stabilität

Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3087879A (en) * 1961-02-06 1963-04-30 David E Walker Control rod
US3324540A (en) * 1963-06-17 1967-06-13 Adolphus L Lotts Method for making porous target pellets for a nuclear reactor
US3367021A (en) * 1964-07-31 1968-02-06 Euratom Process for welding composite metaloxide materials such as sintered aluminum powder
US3478412A (en) * 1965-07-17 1969-11-18 Cise Spa Method of welding sintered aluminum powder

Patent Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3087879A (en) * 1961-02-06 1963-04-30 David E Walker Control rod
US3324540A (en) * 1963-06-17 1967-06-13 Adolphus L Lotts Method for making porous target pellets for a nuclear reactor
US3367021A (en) * 1964-07-31 1968-02-06 Euratom Process for welding composite metaloxide materials such as sintered aluminum powder
US3478412A (en) * 1965-07-17 1969-11-18 Cise Spa Method of welding sintered aluminum powder

Cited By (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3831248A (en) * 1972-05-31 1974-08-27 Westinghouse Electric Corp Nuclear reactor fuel rod splitter
US4500488A (en) * 1982-09-07 1985-02-19 The United States Of America As Represented By The United States Department Of Energy Encapsulated fuel unit and method of forming same
US5966980A (en) * 1994-09-29 1999-10-19 General Electric Company Method for fabricating end plugs for nuclear fuel rods
US20070133733A1 (en) * 2005-12-07 2007-06-14 Liviu Popa-Simil Method for developing nuclear fuel and its application
WO2007120217A3 (en) * 2005-12-07 2008-10-23 Liviu Popa-Simil Method for developing nuclear fuel and its application
US20110091710A1 (en) * 2009-04-13 2011-04-21 Mirth David R Soft fiber insulation product

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
BE724655A (en)) 1969-05-02
FR2024538B3 (en)) 1975-12-12
DE1959509A1 (de) 1970-06-11
FR2024538A7 (en)) 1970-08-28
GB1231129A (en)) 1971-05-12

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