Abstract
The fuel-handling system for Dungeness ‘B’, the first commercial advanced gas-cooled reactor, is based on the well-proven concept of single-channel access. This provides individual standpipes for each channel in the core in which fuel elements are connected together to form a composite assembly that can be handled as a single unit by the fuelling machine without any of its components penetrating the pressure envelope below the charge face. A single fuelling machine provides the transportation between both reactors and the fuel services housed in the handling block. Fuel discharged from the reactor is handled in the irradiated fuel disposal facility which is capable of remotely dismantling and rebuilding fuel stringers on a routine basis. The prime object of the equipment design has been to provide single-purpose robust machinery, capable of satisfactory operation for long periods without maintenance.
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