Fuel assembly for a neutronic reactor

Claim 1

IN A NUCLEAR FUEL ASSEMBLY THE COMBINATION COMPRISING AN ELONGATED CASING STRUCTURE, AT LEAST TWO FUEL BUNDLE PORTIONS SPACEDLY DISPOSED IN TANDEM RELATIONSHIP WITHIN SAID CASING STRUCTURE, EACH OF SAID BUNDLE PORTIONS BEING FORMULATED FROM A PLURALITY OF ELONGATED FUEL ELEMENTS EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY OF SAID CASING STRUCTURE IN A GENERALLY PARALLEL SPACED ARRAY, AT LEAST ONE BUT LESS THAN ALL OF SAID FUEL ELEMENTS EXTENDING CONTINUOUSLY INTO EACH OF SAID BUNDLE PORTIONS AND ACROSS THE SPACE THEREBETWEEN, MEANS FOR JOINING SAID ONE FUEL ELEMENT AT ONE END THEREOF TO AN END PORTION OF SAID CASING STRUCTURE TO PROVIDE SUPPORT FOR SAID FUEL BUNDLE PORTIONS, MEANS WITHIN SAID CASING STRUCTURE FOR RESILIENTLY AND LATERALLY SUPPORTING THOSE END PORTIONS OF SAID FUEL BUNDLES WHICH ARE ADJACENT SAID SPACE TO AFFORD LIMITED LATERAL MOVEMENT RELATIVE THERETO, AND MEANS FOR LATRALLY SUPPORTING THE OTHER END PORTIONS OF SAID FUEL BUNDLES SUBSTANTIALLY RIGIDLY WITH SAID CAUSING STRUCTURE SO THAT UNEVEN HEATING OF SAID FUEL BUNDLES WILL CAUSE THE LATTER TO MOVE AWAY FROM THE HOTTEST PORTION THEREOF, AND SAID ONE FUEL ELEMENT BEING DISPOSED TO PERMIT READY BOWING THEREOF AT SAID SPACE.