Spacer grid with mixing vanes and nuclear fuel assembly employing the same
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United States of America Patent
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Jun 16, 2009
Grant Date -
Sep 13, 2007
app pub date -
Mar 9, 2006
filing date -
Mar 9, 2006
priority date (Note) -
Expired
status (Latency Note)
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Abstract
A spacer grid having tunable mixing vanes for optimizing coolant flow is provided for a nuclear fuel assembly. The mixing vanes include an upper piece and a lower piece, which are coupled to a middle ligament that is coupled to the top or downstream portion of one or more of the grid straps forming the spacer grid. The upper piece, lower piece, and middle ligament are bent, rotated, and/or twisted into various positions to more effectively mix the coolant and affect the coolant's flow as it moves upwards through the fuel assembly. For example, in one embodiment, the mixing vane has an “S” shape wherein the middle ligament is positioned parallel to the longitudinal axes of the fuel rods of the fuel assembly, the upper piece bends towards one of the fuel rods, and the lower piece bends away from the fuel rod. In this manner, optimized even and sustained mixing of the coolant is provided.
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