• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2007.05a
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• pp.305-308
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• 2007

The spacer grid assembly is one of the main structural components of the nuclear fuel assembly of a PWR. The spacer grid assembly supports and aligns the fuel rods, guides the fuel assemblies past each other during handling and, if needed, sustains lateral seismic loads. The ability of the spacer grid assembly to resist the lateral loads is usually characterized in terms of its dynamic and static crush strengths, which are acquired from tests. In this study, a finite element analysis on the dynamic crush strength of spacer grid assembly specimens is carried out and compared with test results.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.54-60
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• 2011

A spacer grid, which supports nuclear fuel rods laterally and vertically with a friction grip, is one of the most important structural components in a PWR fuel. The form of grid strap and supporting parts such as grid spring and dimple is known to be closely related with the mechanical/structural performance of spacer grid and nuclear fuel assembly. In this study, reviewing various research results for enhancing the performance of the spacer grid, some structural design considerations and research directions on the spacer grid assembly are suggested for further study.

• Proceedings of the KWS Conference
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• v.43
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• pp.67-69
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• 2004

The fuel assemblies as the nuclear fuel for the pressurized water reactor(PWR) are loaded in the reactor core throughout the residence time of three to five years. The spacer grid assembly, which is an interconnected array of slotted grid straps and is welded at the intersections to form an egg crate structure, is one of the main structural components of the fuel assembly. The spacer grid assembly is structurally required to have enough buckling strength under various kinds of lateral load acting on the fuel assembly so as to keep the fuel assembly straight. To meet the requirement, integrity on the spacer grid welding parts should be carefully checked. In this study, welding quality of the spacer grid assembly welded by several welding companies are examined and compared.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2008.11a
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• pp.590-592
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• 2008

A spacer grid is one of the most important structural components in a LWR nuclear fuel assembly. The primary considerations are to provide a Zircaloy spacer grid with crush strength sufficient to resist design basis loads, without significantly increasing pressure drop across the reactor core. In this study, the dynamic crush strength analysis and test are carried out for the specimens of a spacer grid assembly.

• Proceedings of the KWS Conference
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• 2006.05a
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• pp.42-44
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• 2006

A spacer grid assembly, which is an interconnected array of slotted grid straps and is welded at the intersections to form an egg crate structure, is one of the main structural components of the nuclear fuel assembly for pressurized water reactors(PWRs). The spacer grid assembly is structurally required to have enough buckling strength under various kinds of lateral loads acting on the nuclear fuel assembly so as to keep the nuclear fuel assembly straight. To meet this requirement, it is necessary to weld the welding parts carefully and precisely. In this study, a series of welding tests were carried out to find an optimum welding condition. After examining and analyzing the specimens welded from the welding conditions, a recommendable laser welding condition was selected for the KAERI designed Zircaloy spacer grid assembly.

• Proceedings of the KWS Conference
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• 2005.06a
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• pp.109-111
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• 2005

Nuclear fuel assemblies for pressurized water reactors(PWR) are loaded in the reactor core throughout the residence time of three to five years. A spacer grid assembly, which is an interconnected array of slotted grid straps and is welded at the intersections to form an egg crate structure, is one of the main structural components of the nuclear fuel assembly. The spacer grid assembly is structurally required to have enough buckling strength under various kinds of lateral loads acting on the nuclear fuel assembly so as to keep the nuclear fuel assembly straight. To meet this requirement, it is necessary to weld the welding parts carefully and precisely. In this study, laser welding qualities of the spacer grid assembly welded by several welding companies, such as weld strength, weld penetration depth, and weld bead size, are examined and compared.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.34 no.9
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• pp.1175-1183
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• 2010

A spacer grid assembly is one of the most important structural components in a Light Water Reactor(LWR) nuclear fuel assembly. In the case of the Zircaloy spacer grid assembly, the primary design consideration is to ensure that lateral dynamic crush strength of the spacer grid assembly is sufficient to resist design basis loads and thereby prevent seismic accidents, without a significant increase in the hydraulic head loss for the reactor coolant in the reactor core. In this study, factors affecting the lateral dynamic crush strength of a spacer grid assembly were analyzed by performing lateral dynamic crush tests and finite element analyses. Further, an effective and economical method to enhance the lateral dynamic crush strength of the spacer grid assembly is proposed.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.39 no.6
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• pp.737-746
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• 2007

A spacer grid, which is one of the most important structural components in a PWR fuel assembly, supports its fuel rods laterally and vertically. Based on in-house design experience, scrutiny of the design features of advanced nuclear fuels and the patents of other spacer grids, KAERI has devised its own spacer grid shapes and acquired patents. In this study, a performance evaluation of KAERI's spacer grid shapes was carried out from mechanical/structural and thermohydraulic view points. A comparative performance evaluation of commercial spacer grid shapes was also carried out. The comparisons addressed the spring characteristics, fuel rod vibration characteristics, fretting wear resistance, impact strength characteristics, CHF enhancement, and the pressure drop level of the spacer grid shapes. The results show that the performances of KAERI's spacer grid shapes are as good as or better than those of the commercial spacer grid shapes.

• Proceedings of the KWS Conference
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• 2007.11a
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• pp.203-205
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• 2007

A spacer grid assembly, which is an interconnected array of slotted grid straps and is welded at the intersections to form an egg crate structure, is one of the main structural components of the nuclear fuel assembly for pressurized water reactors(PWRs). The spacer grid assembly is structurally required to have enough buckling strength under various kinds of lateral loads acting on the nuclear fuel assembly so as to keep the nuclear fuel assembly straight. And also, the spacer grid assembly is hydraulically required to have less hydraulic resistance of coolant. To meet this requirement, it is necessary to weld the welding parts carefully and precisely. In this study, weld qualities such as, weld bead size and spatter manufactured by various welders were compared and analyzed. And performance parameters such as impact strength of spacer grid and hydraulic resistance of coolant were also compared and analyzed. Comparison results show that the weld qualities could be improved by selecting the optimal welding condition and also improving the welding technique.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.34 no.7
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• pp.843-850
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• 2010

A spacer grid assembly is one of the most important structural components of the nuclear fuel assembly of a Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR). A primary design requirement is that the fuel rod integrity be maintained by the spacer grid assembly during the operation of the reactor. In this study, we suggested a new spacer grid assembly having a fuel rod support, which is capable of sliding when the fuel rod vibrates due to flow-induced vibrations in the reactor. By adjusting the relative displacement between the fuel rod and its support, the proposed design will help in reducing fuel rod fretting damage.