Design of a Nuclear Fuel Rod Support Grid Using Axiomatic Design

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Recently, much attention is imposed on the design of the fuel assemblies in the Pressurized Light Water Reactor (PWR). Spacer grid is one of the main structural components in a fuel assembly. It supports fuel rods, guides cooling water and protects the system from the external impact loads. Various space grids have been proposed and new designs are also being created. In this research, a new spacer grid is designed by the axiomatic approach. The Independence Axiom is utilized for the design. For conceptual design, functional requirements (FRs) are defined and corresponding design parameters (DPs) are found to satisfy FRs in sequence. Overall configuration and shapes are determined in this process. Detail design is carried out based on the result of the axiomatic design. For the detail design, the system performances are evaluated by using linear and nonlinear finite element analysis. The dimensions are determined by optimization. Some commercial codes are utilized for the analysis and design.