Rack and Pinion

The rack and pinion CRDM requires a mechanical or electrical penetration of the pressure boundary. A motor is used to turn a pinion gear that engages the teeth in a movable rack. Unlike the magnetic jack and roller nut CRDMs, the rack and pinion CRDM allows continuous adjustment of rod position. The maximum rod speed is restricted to low enough values to avoid undesir­able transients due to inadvertent continued rod withdrawals. A typical rod speed is 0.4 in./sec.