AUTOMATIC TRANSFER LINE FOR MANUFACTURING FUEL ELEMENTS AND REJECTING DEFECTIVE ONES Russian patent published in 1998 - IPC

FIELD: nuclear power engineering. SUBSTANCE: transfer line has device for cladding preparation with plug welding to one of its ends, device for inserting pelletized fuel pile into open end of cladding, device for press-fitting locks open end of prepared cladding, device for inspecting claddings and rejecting defective ones by presence of internal flaws and by length of compensating gap using gamma-scanning method, device for sealing open end of prepared cladding with plug feeding mechanism and for its welding to cladding under inert gas pressure within cladding, device for inspecting fuel elements and rejecting faulty ones by pressure within cladding which is placed after sealing device, device for chemical surface treatment of cladding involving its oxidation, and device for inspecting ready fuel elements and rejecting defective ones by diameter, length and curvature. Diameter checking unit is, essentially, first optical system incorporating two light conductors and two lenses placed on one side of vehicle and fiber-optic hardnesses on other side on relatively perpendicular optical axes, regularly laid and having rectangular ends located at boundaries of light shadow, communicating with light detector. Curvature checking unit is, essentially, second optical system with intermediate optical subsystem, both made identically with first optical system; second optical system, together with intermediate optical subsystem, is spaced at base distance from first optical; system; intermediate optical system is equally spaced from first and second optical systems. Length checking unit is made as third optical system similar to first one and moved up to stop at a distance equal to fuel element length; outputs of all light detectors are also outputs of all checking units. EFFECT: improved design. 5 dwg