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Systems and methods for enhancing isolation of high-temperature reactor containments

Patent ·
OSTI ID:1860127

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 (Oakland, CA)
Patent Number(s):
11,189,384
Application Number:
15/684,062
OSTI ID:
1860127
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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