FUEL ELEMENT INSPECTION AND REJECTION UNIT Russian patent published in 2000 - IPC

FIELD: nuclear power engineering; water-cooled reactors. SUBSTANCE: unit has conveying facility which is, essentially, continuous metal zirconium conveyer belt with small thermal-neutron absorbing sectional area equal to that of fuel-element cladding, accumulator of fuel elements arriving for inspection which is made in the form of tilted drag table inclined towards conveying facility and towards removable multiple-groove magazine that functions as fuel element accumulator provided with step-by-step vertical displacement mechanism; accumulator for inspected fuel elements is, essentially, double-slope drag table incorporating tripper that functions to throw fuel elements off the conveying belt away from the latter towards second and third multiple-groove magazines which serve to accumulate serviceable and rejected fuel elements and are provided with second and third step-by-step vertical displacement mechanisms, respectively. Unit also has gamma-scanner with neutron source and biological shield, computer, and automatic-control system. Provision is made for eliminating fretting of cladding and for mechanized handling of fuel elements during their inspection. EFFECT: improved labor conditions, increased holding capacity of accumulator without enlarging its area. 3 cl, 3 dwg