초록 ▼

Disclosed is an interlocking egg-crate hexagonal grid for supporting a nuclear fuel pin in a hexagonal array. The grid is formed from strips bent at an angle of about 120°at each vertex. Over some faces of each hexagonal cell the strips are coplanar but are arranged, by stacking and interlocking, to

Disclosed is an interlocking egg-crate hexagonal grid for supporting a nuclear fuel pin in a hexagonal array. The grid is formed from strips bent at an angle of about 120°at each vertex. Over some faces of each hexagonal cell the strips are coplanar but are arranged, by stacking and interlocking, to avoid any double thickness of metal in that plane. Springs and dimples are formed in the faces of each cell to hold the fuel pin substantially centered.

대표청구항 ▼

A spacer grid assembly for supporting a plurality of nuclear fuel pins in a closely-spaced array, comprising: (a) a first grid strip comprising a plurality of segments, disposed at an angle to each other with alternate segments being substantially parallel to each other, each of said segments carryi

A spacer grid assembly for supporting a plurality of nuclear fuel pins in a closely-spaced array, comprising: (a) a first grid strip comprising a plurality of segments, disposed at an angle to each other with alternate segments being substantially parallel to each other, each of said segments carrying at least one dimple for contacting said fuel pins; (b) a second grid strip comprising a plurality of segments disposed at an angle to each other with alternate segments being substantially parallel to each other, each alternate segment of said second strip carrying a resilient contact for contacting said fuel pins; (c) a third grid strip comprising a plurality of segments disposed at an angle to each other with alternate segments being substantially parallel to each other, each of said segments of said third strip carrying at least one dimple for contacting said fuel pins; and (d) interlocking means formed on said grid strips for interlocking said first and third grid strips with said second grid strip to form an array of grid cells having a hexagonal cross section and said segments of said first and third grid strips are substantially coplanar, and wherein said interlocking means includes first tabs positioned on alternate segments of said first and third grid strips for interlocking with first slots formed on other alternate segments of said second grid strips that do not carry said resilient contacts.