US 11,887,741 B2
Fuel assembly with outer channel including reinforced sidewall and non-reinforced sidewall
Jason B Ingraham, Wilmington, NC (US); Gerald D. Kvaall, Jr., Wilmington, NC (US); Paul E. Cantonwine, Wilmington, NC (US); Michael W. Thomas, Wilmington, NC (US); and William C. Cline, Wilmington, NC (US)
Assigned to Global Nuclear Fuel—Americas, LLC, Wilmington, NC (US)
Filed by Global Nuclear Fuel—Americas, LLC, Wilmington, NC (US)
Filed on Jan. 18, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/577,680.
Application 17/577,680 is a division of application No. 16/850,128, filed on Apr. 16, 2020, granted, now 11,244,768.
Application 16/850,128 is a division of application No. 15/069,302, filed on Mar. 14, 2016, granted, now 10,658,086, issued on May 19, 2020.
Application 15/069,302 is a division of application No. 12/843,037, filed on Jul. 25, 2010, granted, now 9,287,012, issued on Mar. 15, 2016.
Prior Publication US 2022/0139575 A1, May 5, 2022
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. G21C 3/322 (2006.01); G21C 3/324 (2006.01); G21C 3/06 (2006.01); G21C 3/04 (2006.01); G21C 1/08 (2006.01); G21C 21/02 (2006.01); G21C 15/02 (2006.01)
CPC G21C 3/322 (2013.01) [G21C 3/324 (2013.01); G21C 1/084 (2013.01); G21C 3/04 (2013.01); G21C 3/06 (2013.01); G21C 15/02 (2013.01); G21C 21/02 (2013.01); Y02E 30/30 (2013.01)] 11 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
9. A reactor core in a commercial nuclear power plant, the reactor core comprising:
a first fuel assembly and a second fuel assembly each including
at least one fuel rod, and
an outer channel with sidewalls surrounding the fuel rod, the outer channel having a configuration based on a position within the reactor core of a nuclear reactor, each of the sidewalls being either a reinforced sidewall or a non-reinforced sidewall, the reinforced sidewall being in a controlled location that faces and is directly adjacent to a control blade that is to be utilized in the nuclear reactor, the non-reinforced sidewall being in a non-controlled location that has a lower relative reactivity than the rest of the reactor core or is at an edge location within the reactor core, an entirety of the reinforced sidewall as a whole being at least one of a first uniformly constant thickness that is thicker than a second uniformly constant thickness of an entirety of the non-reinforced sidewall as a whole or uniformly made from a material that is more resistant to radiation-induced deformation as compared to an entirety of the non-reinforced sidewall,
the first fuel assembly including at least one first sidewall that is the reinforced sidewall and at least one second sidewall that is the non-reinforced sidewall,
each of the sidewalls of the second fuel assembly being the non-reinforced sidewall.