Direct-cycle, boiling-water nuclear reactor

Claim 1

A BOILING-WATER REACTOR COMPRISING A CLOSED VESSEL CONTAINING WATER; AND AN ARRAY OF SPACED VERTICAL FUEL ASSEMBLIES POSITIONED IN THE VESSSEL SO AS TO BE IMMERSED IN THE WATER FOR CONVERTING THE WATER TO SATURATED STEAM AND FOR RECEIVING THE SATURATED STEAM INTERNALLY TO CONVERT IT TO SUPERHEATED STEAM, EACH FUEL ASSSEMBLY COMPRISING A VERTICAL OUTER TUBE OPEN AT ITS UPPER END AND CLOSED AT ITS LOWER END, A VERTICAL INNER TUBE POSITIONED IN THE OUTER TUBE IN RADIALLY SPACED RELATION THERETO SO AS TO TO FORM THEREWITH AN ANNULAR CHANNEL, THE LOWER END OF THE INNER TUBE BEING OPEN AND SPACED FROM THE LOWER CLOSED END OF THE OUTER TUBE SO AS TO PROVIDE A PATH FOR FLOW OF STEAM FROM THE CHANNEWL BETWEEN THE TUBES TO THE INTERIOR OF THE INNER TUBE, A FIRST PLURALITY OF VERTICAL NUCLEAR-FUEL RODS DISTRIBUTED IN SPACED RELATION TO ONE ANOTHER ABOUR THE ANNULAR CHANNEL BETWEEN THE TUBES, A SECOND PLURALITY OF VERTICAL NUCLEAR-FUEL RODS POSITIONED IN THE INNER TUBE IN SPACED RELATION TO ONE ANOTHER, MEANS PROVIDING AN INLET FOR THE SATURATED STEAM IN THE UPPER REGION OF THE CLOSED VESSEL TO THE UPPER END OF THE CHANNEL BETWEEN THE TUBES AND MEANS FOR CONDUCTING SUPERHEATED STEAM FROM THE UPPER END OF THE INNER TUBE TO THE EXTERIOR OF THE CLOSED VESSEL.