CONTROL DEVICE FOR THE FUEL COLUMN OF A FUEL ELEMENT WITH WINDING OF A SPACER WIRE OR TAPE Russian patent published in 2023 - IPC G21C17/06 

FIELD: nuclear installations.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to the field of control of fuel elements of nuclear installations during their production, namely, cylindrical fuel elements with a winding of a spacer wire or tape. The spunbond type orientation device is multi-threaded with a small base and a rotation drive around the longitudinal axis based on a stepper motor with the possibility of both moving in any direction and stopping at a given position. The orientation device is equipped with a sensor for the presence of a fuel element and two non-contact sensors of the inductive type of deviation of the spacer wire from the set value to the left and right. The transport system is additionally equipped with a linear movement drive with lockable rest. The stepper motor, linear movement drive and drive steady rest are controlled from the control unit. The output of the fuel element presence sensor is connected to the first input of the control unit. The output of the optoelectronic sensor for the orientation of the spacer wire is connected to the second input of the control unit. The output of the first non-contact left deviation sensor is connected to the third input of the control unit. The output of the second proximity sensor is connected to the fourth input of the control unit. The first output of the control unit is connected to the input of the stepper motor driver. The second output of the control unit is connected to the drive for closing the controlled rest and opening the pressure rollers of the transport system. The fourth output of the control unit is connected to the rotation drive of the fuel element. The speed of linear movement and rotation of the fuel rod are synchronized and are determined by the winding step of the spacer wire or tape. The operation of the fuel column control units is based on the gamma absorption method. The blocks are placed in such a way that for a given angular orientation of the fuel element, the spacer wire or tape is placed outside the field of collimators of gamma radiation sensors.

EFFECT: invention provides the ability to eliminate these shortcomings and provide an increase in the performance of testing fuel rods with spacer wire or tape winding, as well as the elimination of the possibility of damage to the spiral winding and ensure compatibility with existing horizontal transport systems.

1 cl, 4 dwg