Abstract
This paper described the free vibration characteristics of Optimized H Type (OHT) spacer grids (SG) supporting the PWR fuel rod. The vibration test and the finite element (FE) analysis are performed under the free boundary condition and the clamped at two points (or three points) in the bottom which is the same one as the experimental condition for the dummy rod continuously supported by spacer grids. A modal test is conducted by the impulse excitation method using an impulse hammer and an accelerometer, and the TDAS module of the I-DEAS software is used to acquire and analyze the sensor signals. The softwares related to the FE analysis are the I-DEAS for the geometrical shape modeling and meshing, and the ABAQUS for solving. The fundamental frequency of the OHT SG by experiment under a clamped condition at two points is 175.18 Hz, and shows a bending mode. We think there is no resonance between the fuel rod and the SG because the SG's frequency is higher than that of the fuel rod existing in the range from 30 to 120 Hz. The fundamental frequency of the SG under the free boundary condition is 349.2 Hz showing a bending mode, and the results between the test and the analysis have a good agreement with maximum 7 % in error It is also found that the FE analysis model of the OHT SGs to analyze an impact, a buckling and vibration et al. has been generated with reliability.