Method and device for manufacture of non-contaminated MOX fuel rods

Abstract

The invention relates to a method and device for production of non-contaminated rods from MOX tablets in columns, within a confinement chamber divided into compartments, by means of a centering and aligning element for the tablets and a long pushrod with a sensitive drive.

Description

Technical field [0001] The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing non-polluting MOX fuel rods from pellets in a sealed box of depression. The method includes the following operations on a fuel rod: [0002] -Load the pellets into a cladding tube with a plug pre-installed at one end in a row; [0003] -Install various structural parts, especially stop springs; [0004] -Install a second plug on the other end of the cladding tube; [0005] -The above-mentioned second plug is welded to the periphery; and [0006] -Carry out at least one cleaning and at least one contamination inspection on the part of the cladding tube or fuel rod that may have been contaminated. [0007] The technology of manufacturing new uranium / plutonium mixed oxide (MOX) fuel for commercial nuclear reactors by recycling the plutonium produced from the reprocessing of civilian nuclear fuel or from nuclear weapons processing procedures is being industrialized and globalized. [0008] Industrializa...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

[0049] All of the aforementioned devices known to the inventors do not satisfy the needs associated with the industrial manufacture of pollution-free MOX fuel rods from ceramic pellets, which, in addition to the accumulation of dust, generate themselves mechanically disturbing and clogging during the loading operation, all Fragments of shape and size;

[0050] - Either these devices do not limit the portion of the cladding tube exposed to contamination to a strict minimum, or there is no regulation of contamination levels in the containment box (from high contamination in the loading area to very slight contamination when the fuel rods leave the containment case pollution or non-pollution), the lack of this management leads to excessive or redundant pollution, which must be eliminated by additional operations, most often based on liquid handling that generate various wastes and critical additional risks

[0051] - or these devices are sensitive to dust and debris conveyed by the rows of pellets and / or generated especially during the operation of loading into cladding tubes, this sensitivity leads to mechanical blockages, resulting in machine stops, in sealed boxes Operator intervention, risk of contamination of operators, plant and sometimes tank compartments should be kept low or no contamination;

[0052] - or when the plutonium content of the pellets and the alpha activity of the plutonium is high, even at the expense of an additional liquid decontamination operation, the equipment that manages the contamination and loading of the pellets does not allow the manufacture of plutonium-containing fuel rods to follow their pollution-free specifications

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