Credit: Randall A. Burk, First Energy Corp, DBNPS Operations
This is the DBNPS Refueling Bridge, which is used to perform Core Alterations.
New and used fuel are positioned in the core exactly in a sequence and design that is
determined well in advance by Reactor Engineers. The "reshuffle" done during a
refueling outage ensures a properly designed balance in core configuration.
Newer fuel assemblies are typically placed within the center regions of the reactor core.
The older fuel assemblies are typically placed within the core's perimeter regions.