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Abstract
The fabrication of special components and hardware and the assembly of the grid-spaced bundle for the gas-cooled fast breeder reactor (GCFR) F-5 (X317) irradiation experiment now being irradiated in row 5 of the Experimental Breeder Reactor II are described. The F-5 experiment consists of 31 fueled rods and six coolant bypass tubes for the initial loading.
The components fabricated and assembled by General Atomic Company are ribbed cladding, UO2 blanket pellets (80% ± 2% TD), fission product traps, dosimeters, insulated flow bypass tubes, grid spacers, specially shaped axial spacer tubes, a thermal shield/ orifice/flow mixer, a bundle attachment ring, hexagonal tubes with key slots for rod holddown, a rail assembly with attachment to the bottom subassembly shield, dummy fuel rods for flow testing, and assembly of the grid-spaced bundle including check-fit into the flow duct.
A variety of fabrication methods, including powder pressing, sintering, outer diameter grinding, thread grinding, metal forming, machining, chemical milling, electrical discharge machining, and tungsten inert gas welding, were used to produce the components.