PROCESS LINE FOR MANUFACTURING FUEL ELEMENTS AND INSPECTING THEM FOR QUALITY Russian patent published in 2003 - IPC

FIELD: nuclear power engineering; manufacturing fuel elements for fuel assemblies of nuclear power reactors. SUBSTANCE: novelty is that process line is provided in addition with tilted accumulator table mounted downstream of device for surface chemical treatment including oxidizing of fuel element can. Table is equipped with separator used for piece-by-piece supply of fuel elements to vehicle carrying them through device inspecting them for diameter, length, and curvature as well as for their sorting out; this device mounts end-of-fuel-element sensor for passing control from one size to other used jointly with end-of-fuel-element coordinate sensor that operates at distance equal to rated length of fuel element for reactor VVER-1000, as well as end-of-fuel-element sensor used jointly with end-of-fuel-element coordinate sensor that operates at distance equal to rated length of fuel element for reactor VVER- 440. Diameter, length, and curvature metering units of fuel element inspection and sorting-out device are integrated into single optoelectronic measuring unit incorporating six identical measuring transducers. Each transducer has light module and photodetector module; they are arranged in pairs on two sides of fuel element displaced along them. Data pre-processing unit is built around microcontroller and communicates with measuring transducers, end-of-fuel-element coordinate sensors, end-of-fuel-element sensors for reactors VVER-440, VVER-1000, sorting-out devices, and fuel-element kickers disposed past optoelectronic measuring unit at rated length of mentioned fuel elements. Microcomputer built around industrial computer communicates with data preprocessing unit. Proposed process line provides for manufacture and high-accuracy contactless measurement of fuel element irrespective of its size without reducing output or increasing cost of entire line. EFFECT: enlarged functional capabilities of line. 1 cl, 2 dwg