A New Fuel Channel for Bruce NGS 'A'

Abstract

This paper describes the design and development of a new Bruce A fuel channel, designed for the Large Scale Fuel Channel Replacement (LSFCR) Program. Fuel channels to this design will be installed in Unit 1 in 1995/96, replacing the original ones installed in the early seventies. The design is suitable for use on Units 2 and 3 as well. The original fuel channels were not capable of achieving their design life because the effects of radiation on zirconium alloys were imperfectly understood at the time they were designed. The reason for the redesign is to produce a fuel channel that will survive the remaining life of the station, and to eliminate as many of the channel related design problems as practical. In addition, a design that is easy and quick to install is wanted, to reduce radiation exposure to personnel and the duration of the outage. To achieve these goals, a dedicated design team comprising both fuel channel designers and installation tooling designers was assembled. The fuel channel described in this paper is one of the products of this team.