IMITATOR OF FUEL ELEMENT OF NUCLEAR REACTOR Russian patent published in 2014 - IPC G21C17/00 

FIELD: power engineering.

SUBSTANCE: invention may be used in investigation of behaviour of fuel elements (FE) of nuclear reactors by experimental modelling of thermal and hydrodynamic processes under various modes of reactor operation, including emergency ones. A fuel element imitator comprises a shell, in which there is a column of pellets of natural fuel with a central hole and an electric heater arranged with a gap in holes of pellets and equipped with upper and lower shunts. Between the pellets there are circular aligning spacers from high-temperature electric insulation material with the same outer diameter as in fuel pellets. The diameter of the central hole of spacers and the distance between them is determined on the basis of two ratios that take into account diameters of the heater, holes of the pellets; coefficients of linear expansion of heater, pellets and spacers materials; heater temperature; a coefficient that characterises the method of heater end closing.

EFFECT: imitator makes it possible to provide for complete modelling of processes in fuel elements of reactors on imitators with the same dimensions, as the natural fuel elements, using natural fuel materials and the same temperature as in actual conditions of fuel elements testing.

4 cl, 1 dwg