The most important function of grid springs in a spacer grid is to position the fuel rods appropriately using a friction force and to prohibit the fuel rods from dropping during a normal reactor operation. While the fuel burn-up increases, spring force of grid springs decreases because the spring stiffness of grid springs is degraded by a high temperature and an irradiation effect in a reactor core. Therefore this phenomenon has to be reflected when the initial spring force of a grid spring is being designed. Usually, characterization tests of grid springs are conducted to verify designed grid springs have suitable spring forces. (Kim, 2007) FE model using a contact definition and rigid beam elements for a welding bead for predicting the spring stiffness without any spring test was established and verified in a previous research. In those days, two assumptions were used and the analysis for an unloading process was not included in spite of its importance for a spring design. In this paper, the fact that the assumptions have no effect on the analysis results is proven and a realistically improved FE analysis method using coupling constraints for a welding bead is suggested for investigating the spring’s characteristics under an in-grid boundary condition.
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16th International Conference on Nuclear Engineering
May 11–15, 2008
Orlando, Florida, USA
Conference Sponsors:
- Nuclear Engineering Division
ISBN:
0-7918-4814-0
PROCEEDINGS PAPER
Realistically Improved Finite Element Analysis of Spring Supports in a Nuclear Fuel Spacer Grid Available to Purchase
Jae-Yong Kim,
Jae-Yong Kim
Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon, South Korea
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Kyung-Ho Yoon,
Kyung-Ho Yoon
Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon, South Korea
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Hyung-Kyu Kim
Hyung-Kyu Kim
Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon, South Korea
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Jae-Yong Kim
Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon, South Korea
Kyung-Ho Yoon
Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon, South Korea
Hyung-Kyu Kim
Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon, South Korea
Paper No:
ICONE16-48957, pp. 731-736; 6 pages
Published Online:
June 24, 2009
Citation
Kim, J, Yoon, K, & Kim, H. "Realistically Improved Finite Element Analysis of Spring Supports in a Nuclear Fuel Spacer Grid." Proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Nuclear Engineering. Volume 1: Plant Operations, Maintenance, Installations and Life Cycle; Component Reliability and Materials Issues; Advanced Applications of Nuclear Technology; Codes, Standards, Licensing and Regulatory Issues. Orlando, Florida, USA. May 11–15, 2008. pp. 731-736. ASME. https://doi.org/10.1115/ICONE16-48957
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