Dynamic Behavior of Swaged Plates in Water-Immersed Condition

摘要

Fuel assemblies with swaged thin fuel plates are often used in high flux research reactors. In swaging operation, the fuel plates are inserted into grooves created all along the length of the plates and then the swage is rolled such that the movement of the plates is restricted. This results in a CFCF-type condition for each fuel plate. It is important to note that the boundary condition developed using swage joints is different in comparison to that of a welding joint where all the six degrees of freedom get fixed. The present work deals with the investigation of vibration characteristics of swaged plates in air as well as in water-immersed conditions for different water immersion ratios using a commercial code. This involves a realistic representation of a swage joint using a finite element model further employing coupling techniques to achieve fluid-plate interaction.