Systems and methods for enhancing isolation of high-temperature reactor containments
A high-temperature containment-isolation system for transferring heat from a nuclear reactor containment to a high-pressure heat exchanger is presented. The system uses a high-temperature, low-volatility liquid coolant such as a molten salt or a liquid metal, where the coolant flow path provides liquid free surfaces a short distance from the containment penetrations for the reactor hot-leg and the cold-leg, where these liquid free surfaces have a cover gas maintained at a nearly constant pressure and thus prevent high-pressures from being transmitted into the reactor containment, and where the reactor vessel is suspended within a reactor cavity with a plurality of refractory insulator blocks disposed between an actively cooled inner cavity liner and the reactor vessel.
- Research Organization:
- Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC07-05ID14517
- Assignee:
- THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
- Patent Number(s):
- 9,773,574
- Application Number:
- 14/533,055
- OSTI ID:
- 1399094
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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