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Abstract

Nuclear fuel rods are processed to remove moisture in an oven which is evacuated. Measurement of the moisture content in each of a plurality of nuclear fuel rods (typically 44) is carried out by condensing the vapor derived from one randomly-selected control rod in a nitrogen-liquid cooled trap, collecting the condensed vapor in magnesium perchlorate, and determining the weight of the collected moisture. Moisture from the one fuel rod is condensed, collected and has its weight determined repeatedly in increments until the difference between the weight of a last increment and of a just preceding increment is less than 1 mg. (The permissible content is 6 mg. or less.) The rods have small perforations through which the vapor can escape. The evacuating system includes a main evacuating channel connected directly to the oven and a branch channel connected to the one fuel rod through the cold trap. The temperature of, and the vacuum in, the one fuel rod is the same as for the other rods and the residual moisture content after processing must be the same.

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First Claim