U.S. patent application number 16/871432 was filed with the patent office on 2020-11-26 for nuclear fuel assembly top nozzle having in-core instrument insertion structure using upper core plate guide pin.
This patent application is currently assigned to KEPCO NUCLEAR FUEL CO., LTD.. The applicant listed for this patent is KEPCO NUCLEAR FUEL CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to Joo Hong CHUN, Kyong Bo EOM, Dong Geun HA, Sang Youn JEON, Ba Leum KIM, Jae Ik KIM, Jin Sun KIM, Seong Soo KIM, O Cheol KWON, Hak In LEE, Joo Young RYU, Su Pil RYU.
Application Number | 20200373030 16/871432 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 1000005019551 |
Filed Date | 2020-11-26 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20200373030 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
KIM; Seong Soo ; et
al. |
November 26, 2020 |
NUCLEAR FUEL ASSEMBLY TOP NOZZLE HAVING IN-CORE INSTRUMENT
INSERTION STRUCTURE USING UPPER CORE PLATE GUIDE PIN
Abstract
The present invention relates to a top nozzle and a nuclear
reactor in which an in-core instrument, which is supposed to be
inserted through a top head of a nuclear reactor, is inserted
through a guide pin for an upper core plate. In a nuclear reactor
including guide pins for aligning a top nozzle for a nuclear fuel
assembly with an upper core plate of a nuclear reactor, a guide
hole (210) is axially formed through the guide pins (200) and
in-core instruments (10) are inserted through the guide holes
(210).
Inventors: |
KIM; Seong Soo; (Daejeon,
KR) ; KIM; Jae Ik; (Daejeon, KR) ; JEON; Sang
Youn; (Daejeon, KR) ; EOM; Kyong Bo; (Daejeon,
KR) ; HA; Dong Geun; (Daejeon, KR) ; KIM; Jin
Sun; (Daejeon, KR) ; RYU; Joo Young; (Daejeon,
KR) ; KWON; O Cheol; (Daejeon, KR) ; RYU; Su
Pil; (Daejeon, KR) ; LEE; Hak In; (Daejeon,
KR) ; CHUN; Joo Hong; (Daejeon, KR) ; KIM; Ba
Leum; (Daejeon, KR) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
KEPCO NUCLEAR FUEL CO., LTD. |
Daejeon |
|
KR |
|
|
Assignee: |
KEPCO NUCLEAR FUEL CO.,
LTD.
Daejeon
KR
|
Family ID: |
1000005019551 |
Appl. No.: |
16/871432 |
Filed: |
May 11, 2020 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
15515132 |
Mar 28, 2017 |
10692613 |
|
|
PCT/KR2015/011224 |
Oct 22, 2015 |
|
|
|
16871432 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G21C 17/102 20130101;
Y02E 30/30 20130101; G21C 17/108 20130101; G21C 3/3315 20130101;
G21C 13/036 20130101 |
International
Class: |
G21C 17/108 20060101
G21C017/108; G21C 3/33 20060101 G21C003/33; G21C 17/10 20060101
G21C017/10; G21C 13/036 20060101 G21C013/036 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Dec 11, 2014 |
KR |
10-2014-0178532 |
Claims
1. A guide pin for aligning a top nozzle for a nuclear assembly
with an upper core plate of a nuclear reactor, wherein a guide hole
in which an in-core instrument is inserted is axially formed
through the guide pin.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a division of U.S. patent application
Ser. No. 15/515,132 filed on Mar. 28, 2017, which was a National
Stage application of PCT/KR2015/011224 filed on Oct. 22, 2015, and
claims the benefit of priority of Korean application No.
10-2014-0178532, filed on Dec. 11, 2014. The disclosures of these
prior U.S. and foreign applications are incorporated herein by
reference.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The present invention relates to a nuclear fuel assembly top
nozzle having an in-core instrument that is inserted through the
top head of a nuclear reactor using an upper core plate guide
pin.
BACKGROUND ART
[0003] An in-core instrument (ICI) is a device for measuring the
output of a nuclear reactor by measuring the density and
temperature of neutron flux in a core of the nuclear reactor.
[0004] In the related art, in-core instruments were inserted into a
core through the bottom of a reactor vessel, but there was a
problem that the substances in the core of a reactor may leak
through the hole formed through the bottom of the reactor
vessel.
[0005] In order to solve this problem, all in-core instruments have
been disposed close to a core through a hole at the top of a
reactor vessel instead of the way of inserting them through the
bottom of a reactor vessel.
[0006] The in-core instruments that are inserted through the top
head of a nuclear reactor may interfere with a control rod assembly
that is inserted over a fuel rod disposed at the center of the
nuclear reactor.
RELATED ART DOCUMENT
[0007] 1. Korean Patent No. 10-0984018 (registered on Sep. 17,
2010)
[0008] 2. Korean Patent Application Publication No. 10-2011-0103392
(published on Sep. 20, 2011)
DISCLOSURE
Technical Problem
[0009] An object of the present invention is to provide a top
nozzle having a structure that can guide an in-core instrument,
which is supposed to be inserted through a top head of a nuclear
reactor, within a predetermined path using a guide pin that aligns
the top nozzle of a nuclear fuel assembly and the upper core plate
of a nuclear reactor.
Technical Solution
[0010] In order to achieve the objects of the present invention,
there is provided a nuclear reactor including: guide pins for
aligning a top nozzle for a nuclear fuel assembly with an upper
core plate of the nuclear reactor, in which guide holes are axially
formed through the guide pins and in-core instruments are inserted
through the guide holes.
[0011] In the present invention, the guide pins may be inserted in
aligning holes formed at corners of the top nozzle.
[0012] Further, a guide pin for aligning a top nozzle for a nuclear
assembly with an upper core plate of a nuclear reactor according to
the present invention each have a guide hole axially formed therein
for insertion of an in-core instrument.
Advantageous Effects
[0013] According to a nuclear reactor of the present invention, a
guide hole is axially formed through guide pins for aligning a top
nozzle for a nuclear fuel assembly with an upper core plate of the
nuclear reactor and in-core instruments are inserted through the
guide holes.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0014] FIG. 1 is a plan view of a top nozzle of a nuclear fuel
assembly.
[0015] FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional side view of the top
nozzle equipped with guide pins that align an upper core plate for
guiding an in-core instrument according to the present
invention.
BEST MODE
[0016] Specific structures and functions stated in the following
embodiments of the present invention are exemplified to illustrate
embodiments according to the spirit of the present invention and
the embodiments according to the spirit of the present invention
can be achieved in various ways. Further, the present invention
should not be construed as being limited to the following
embodiments and should be construed as including all changes,
equivalents, and replacements included in the spirit and scope of
the present invention.
[0017] Further, in the specification, terms including "first"
and/or "second" may be used to describe various components, but the
components are not limited to the terms. The terms are used to
distinguish one component from another component, and for instance,
a first component may be referred to as a second component, and
similarly, a second component may be referred to as a first
component without departing from the scope according to the spirit
of the present invention.
[0018] It should be understood that when one element is referred to
as being "connected to" or "coupled to" another element, it may be
connected directly to or coupled directly to another element or be
connected to or coupled to another element, having the other
element intervening therebetween. On the other hand, it is to be
understood that when one element is referred to as being "connected
directly to" or "contact directly with" another element, it may be
connected to or coupled to another element without the other
element intervening therebetween. Expressions for describing
relationships between components, that is, "between", "directly
between", "adjacent to", and "directly adjacent to" should be
construed in the same way.
[0019] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be
described hereafter in detail with reference to the accompanying
drawings.
[0020] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a top nozzle 100 includes a
rectangular fastening plate 110 to which a guide tube is fixed at
the bottom and an enclosure 120 that protrudes upward along the
edge of the fastening plate 110. Slabs 121 and 122 are disposed at
the corners of the enclosure 120, in which two slabs 121
orthogonally facing each other have an aligning hole 121a and the
other two slabs 122 orthogonally facing each other are provided as
spring clamps each fixing a pressing spring unit 211a.
[0021] In particular, guide pins 200 that are fixed in alignment
with an upper core plate (not shown) of a nuclear reactor are
inserted in the aligning holes 121a of the top nozzle 100, and
preferably, the guide pins 200 each have a guide hole 210 axially
formed to insert an in-core instrument 10.
[0022] The upper ends of the guide pins 200 are coupled to the
upper core plate of a nuclear reactor directly by nuts or
indirectly through couplers.
[0023] The guide pins 200 of the present invention that are coupled
to the top nozzle 100 laterally fix a nuclear fuel assembly and
guide an in-core instrument into instrumentation tubes of a nuclear
fuel assembly.
[0024] Accordingly, in-core instruments that are supposed to be
inserted downward are inserted into the guide hole 210 of the guide
pins 200 and guided to the core from an upper core plate when they
are inserted into instrumentation tubes of a nuclear fuel assembly
through the top nozzle 100 without straying out of a predetermined
path.
[0025] In particular, by using the guide pins 200 that are inserted
in the aligning holes at the corners of the top nozzle 100, it is
possible to insert in-core instruments without interference with a
control rod assembly.
[0026] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the
foregoing present invention is not limited by the foregoing
embodiments and the accompanying drawings, and various
modifications and changes may be made without departing from the
scope and spirit of the invention.
TABLE-US-00001 <Description of the Reference Numerals in the
Drawings> 10: In-core instrument 100: Top nozzle 200: Guide pin
210: Guide hole
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