FRAMATOME

A nuclear fuel rod comprises nuclear fuel contained in a cladding, the cladding comprising a tube and two plugs, the tube extending along a central axis and having two ends, each plug being attached to a corresponding end of the tube by sealing the end of the tube. The tube is covered by a tube coating extending over the entire length of the tube from one end of the tube to the other.

A method for assisting with surveillance of an element of a nuclear reactor, said method being implemented by an electronic device, comprising the steps of training an artificial-intelligence algorithm; acquiring an image of the element; estimating, on the basis of the image and via the artificial-intelligence algorithm, whether a fault is present in the element; displaying the image of the element; and if at least one fault is estimated to be present, generating an alarm. In the estimating step, an input to the artificial-intelligence algorithm is an image of a region comprising the element, and an output is a level of confidence as regards an absence of fault in the element for said region. If the level of confidence is lower than a threshold, then a fault is estimated to be present. In the training step, only images of fault-free elements are inputted into the artificial-intelligence algorithm.

A nuclear fuel assembly comprises nuclear fuel rods ( 4 ) extending along a longitudinal axis (L) and a support skeleton ( 6 ) configured to support the nuclear fuel rods ( 4 ). The support skeleton ( 6 ) includes two end pieces ( 8, 10 ), a plurality of guide tubes ( 12 ) connecting the end pieces ( 8, 10 ) to each other, and spacer grids ( 14 ) attached to the guide tubes ( 12 ), with each spacer grid ( 14 ) supporting the nuclear fuel rods ( 4 ). The nuclear fuel assembly further includes at least one reinforcement device ( 20 ) comprising at least one reinforcement plate ( 22 ) which is in contact with at least two of the guide tubes ( 12 ) and attached to one or more of the guide tubes ( 12 ) at attachment points ( 21 ). Each reinforcement plate ( 22 ) has at least two attachment points ( 21 ) that are offset relative to each other along the longitudinal axis (L).

A radioactive sodium destruction facility includes a tank for storing liquid metallic sodium, located at a first level; a reaction vessel containing an aqueous solution; a sodium feed circuit comprising a sodium circulation member located at a second level higher than the first level, the circulation member having a suction in fluid communication with the tank and a discharge in fluid communication with the reaction vessel; an inert gas supply unit configured to supply the tank; a controller driving the sodium circulation member; and an inert gas supply unit configured to supply the tank; and a controller driving the supply unit to control a gas pressure in the tank, such that a pressure at the suction of the sodium circulation member is maintained within a predetermined range.

A method for monitoring access to software of a control system and monitoring system, the control system including at least one cabinet containing hardware components including software components or giving access to software components. The monitoring method including determining a plurality of physical intrusion ways to the software components for which monitoring is desired; providing tamperproof elements at respective defined marking locations on the hardware components and/or on the cabinet, each tamperproof element having a unique identification code, the marking locations being chosen such that an intrusion through one of the physical intrusion ways causes at least one of the tamperproof elements to be damaged; storing in a database a reference status including the unique identification code of the tamperproof elements and the corresponding marking locations; and during a monitoring phase, checking at least some of the marking locations and comparing with the reference status.

An installation for the conversion of uranium hexafluoride (UF 6 ) to uranium dioxide (UO 2 ) comprises a hydrolysis reactor ( 4 ) for the conversion of UF 6 into uranium oxyfluoride powder (UO 2 F 2 ), a pyrohydrolysis furnace ( 6 ) for converting the UO 2 F 2 powder supplied by the reactor ( 4 ) into UO 2 powder, a supply device ( 8 ) comprising reagent injection ducts ( 10 ) for the injection of UF 6 , water vapor or H 2 , and a control system ( 16 ) designed to control the supply device ( 8 ) so as to supply at least one of the reagent injection ducts ( 10 ) with a neutral gas during a shut-down or start-up phase of the conversion installation.

An extraction device for extracting a nuclear fuel rod or a cluster rod comprises an attachment portion configured to be inserted into a sleeve of the rod through an end without an end plug, and a grip portion, the attachment portion comprising an elongated body along a longitudinal axis and at least one tooth projecting from the body, the or each tooth being configured to allow the attachment portion to be forcibly inserted into the sleeve axially, and to engage with the inner surface of the sleeve so as to prevent the attachment portion from being extracted from the sleeve.

A tubular component for a pressurised-water nuclear reactor, has the following composition by weight: 0.8%≤Nb≤2.8%; traces≤Sn≤0.65%; 0.015%≤Fe≤0.40%; preferably 0.020%≤Fe≤0.35%; traces≤C≤100 ppm; 600 ppm≤O≤2300 ppm; preferably 900 ppm≤O≤1800 ppm; 5 ppm≤S≤100 ppm; preferably 8 ppm≤S≤35 ppm; traces≤Cr+V+Mo+Cu≤0.35%; traces≤Hf≤100 ppm; F≤1 ppm; the remainder being zirconium and impurities resulting from production. The tubular component has an outer surface with a roughness Ra less than or equal to 0.5 μm, obtained following a final mechanical polishing step. The outer surface has a roughness Rsk≤1 in absolute value and a roughness Rku≤10.

The invention relates to a nuclear fuel cladding produced with a substrate ( 14 ) which is made of pure zirconium or of a zirconium based alloy and a multilayer protective coating ( 16 ) which covers a surface ( 14 B) of the substrate ( 14 ), the protective coating ( 16 ) comprising a main layer ( 18 ) made of pure chromium and one or more additional layers ( 20 ), each additional layer ( 20 ) being made of pure chromium or from a material made of chromium and, additionally, oxygen and/or nitrogen, with the possible presence of unavoidable impurities.

A reactor ( 1 ) for hydrolysis of uranium hexafluoride comprises a tubular injector ( 9 ) comprising first ( 11 ), second ( 13 ) and third ( 15 ) concentric fluid circulation ducts intended to be connected respectively with a source of UF 6 , a source of inert gas and a source of water vapor. The tubular injector ( 9 ) is obtained by additive manufacturing.