OPERATION AND TESTING OF THE YANKEE UNIVERSAL FUEL HANDLING TOOL

Technical Report · Mon Jun 01 04:00:00 EDT 1959

OSTI ID:4237174

Balog, L J

The Universal Handling Tool represents the implement with which the core of the Yankee plant will be initially loaded and subsequently unloaded and refueled. With the objectives of reducing refueling time to a minimum and simplifying the refueling operation in general, the universal handling concept was conceived and developed. The Universal Handling Tool, which is capable of manipulating guide tubes, drive shafts, control rods, control rod followers and fuel assemblies, overcomes the need of requiring several tools to accomplish handling of these various reactor components. Consequently, an appreciable savings in time is realized since the time associated with changing tools, in the multitool concept, to handle each speciflc component group does not exist. Tests were performed on the Universal Handling Tool to establish its practicality for application in the Yankee plant. A maximum load test was carried out to establish the ability of the tool to lift and support more than five E) times the load represented by the weight of a fuel assembly. A fuel assembly is the heaviest reactor element that the tool will manipulate in the plant. Further testing included the manipulation of mocked-up versions of each of the reactor components that the tool will be called upon to handle in the Yankee plant. This phase of testing was carried out underwater in the WAPD deep pit facility to simulate actual refueling conditions in the plant. (auth)

• Research Organization: Westinghouse Electric Corp. Atomic Power Dept., Pittsburgh
• NSA Number: NSA-13-020738
• OSTI ID: 4237174
• Report Number(s): YAEC-137
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
PERFORMANCE
REACTOR FUELING
REACTORS
REMOTE HANDLING