Fuel arrangement for a nuclear reactor

Claim 1

A FUEL ARRANGEMENT FOR A NUCLEAR REACTOR, SAID ARRANGEMENT COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF ELONGATED FUEL ELEMENTS DISPOSED IN A GENERALLY PARALLEL ARRAY, ELONGATED FRAME MEANS WITHIN WHICH SAID FUEL ELEMENTS ARE LOCATED, AT LEAST ONE GRID MEMBER BEING SECURED TO AND EXTENDING LATERALLY ACROSS SAID FRAME MEANS AND HAVING RESPECTIVE OPENINGS THROUGH WHICH SAID FUEL ELEMENTS EXTEND, SAID GRID MEMBER HAVING RESILIENT MEANS EXTENDING INTO SAID OPENINGS FOR SUPPORTING SAID FUEL ELEMENTS AGAINST LATERAL DISPLACEMENT, AN END PLATE BEING LOCATED ADJACENTLY OF ONE END OF SAID FRAME MEANS AND HAVING RESPECTIVE COOLANT PASSAGES ALIGNED WITH SOME OF SAID FUEL ELEMENTS, ANOTHER END PLATE BEING SECURED ADJACENTLY OF THE OTHER END OF SAID FRAME MEANS AND HAVING RESPECTIVE COOLANT PASSAGES ALIGNED WITH THE REMAINDER OF SAID FUEL ELEMENTS, A PAIR OF APERTURED PLATES FOR RETAINING SAID FUEL ELEMENTS WITHIN SAID FRAME MEANS, SAID RETAINING PLATES BEING POSITIONED LONGITUDIALLY OUTWARDLY OF SAID END PLATES RESPECTIVELY, MEANS FOR SECURING SAID END PLATES AND SAID RETAINING PLATS IN THEIR PERSCRIBED POSITIONS, SAID SECURING MEANS INCLUDING AT LEAST ONE THREADED FASTENER HOLDING EACH OF SAID RETAINING PLATES RELATIVE TO ITS ASSOCIATED END PLATE, AND MEANS FOR RESILIENTLY HOLDING SAID FASTNER AGAINST DISLODGEMENT.