Apparatus for controlling molten core debris

Patent · 19 July 1977

OSTI ID:862886

Golden, Martin P. ^[1]; Tilbrook, Roger W. ^[2]; Heylmun, Neal F. ^[3]

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1. Trafford, PA
2. Monroeville, PA
3. Pittsburgh, PA

Apparatus for containing, cooling, diluting, dispersing and maintaining subcritical the molten core debris assumed to melt through the bottom of a nuclear reactor pressure vessel in the unlikely event of a core meltdown. The apparatus is basically a sacrificial bed system which includes an inverted conical funnel, a core debris receptacle including a spherical dome, a spherically layered bed of primarily magnesia bricks, a cooling system of zig-zag piping in graphite blocks about and below the bed and a cylindrical liner surrounding the graphite blocks including a steel shell surrounded by firebrick. Tantalum absorber rods are used in the receptacle and bed.

• Sponsoring Organization: US - Atomic Energy Commission
• Assignee: Energy Research and Development Administration
• Patent Number(s): 4,036,688
• OSTI ID: 862886
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

/376/976/
21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
BREEDER REACTORS
CORE CATCHERS
DESIGN
EPITHERMAL REACTORS
FAST REACTORS
FBR TYPE REACTORS
LIQUID METAL COOLED REACTORS
LMFBR TYPE REACTORS
REACTOR COMPONENTS
REACTORS
absorber
absorber rods
apparatus
assumed
basically
bed
below
blocks
blocks including
bottom
bricks
conical
containing
controlling
cooling
core
core debris
core meltdown
cylindrical
cylindrical liner
debris
debris assumed
diluting
dispersing
dome
event
firebrick
funnel
graphite
graphite blocks
including
inverted
layered
liner
magnesia
maintaining
melt
meltdown
molten
molten core
nuclear
nuclear reactor
piping
pressure
pressure vessel
primarily
reactor
reactor pressure
receptacle
rods
sacrificial
shell
spherical
spherically
steel
subcritical
surrounded
surrounding
tantalum
unlikely
unlikely event
vessel
zig-zag