• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.18 no.4 s.70
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• pp.347-360
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• 2005

The fuel rod instability can be occurred because of the axial and cross flow due to the flow anomaly and/or flow redistribution in the lower core plate region of the pressurized water reactor. The fuel rod vibration due to the hydraulic instability is one of the root causes of fuel failure. The verification on the fuel rod vibration and instability is needed for the new fuel assembly design to verify the fuel rod instability. In this study, the fuel rod vibration and stability analyses were performed to investigate the effect of the grid height, fuel rod support condition, and span adjustment on the fuel rod vibration characteristics for the advanced $16{\times}16$ fuel assembly design. Based on the analysis results, the grid height and grid axial elevation of the advanced $16{\times}16$ fuel assembly design were proposed.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.292-296
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• 2018

Recent events in the nuclear industry have resulted in a movement towards increased seismic and LOCA excitations and requirements that challenge current fuel designs. AREVA NP's GAIA fuel design introduces unique and robust characteristics to resist the effects of seismic and LOCA excitations. For demanding seismic and LOCA scenarios, fuel assembly spacer grids can undergo plastic deformations. These plastic deformations must not prohibit the complete insertion of the control rod assemblies and the cooling of the fuel rods after the accident. The specific structure of the GAIA spacer grid produces a unique and stable compressive deformation mode which maintains the regular array of the fuel rods and guide tubes. The stability of the spacer grid allows it to absorb a significant amount of energy without a loss of load-carrying capacity. The GAIA-specific grid behavior is in contrast to the typical spacer grid, which is characterized by a buckling instability. The increased mechanical robustness of the GAIA spacer grid is advantageous in meeting the increased seismic and LOCA loadings and the associated safety requirements. The unique GAIA spacer grid behavior will be incorporated into AREVA NP's licensed methodologies to take full benefit of the increased mechanical robustness.