Pipe connector

Patent · 01 January 1978

OSTI ID:863067

Sullivan, Thomas E ^[1]; Pardini, John A ^[2]

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1. Evergreen Park, IL
2. Brookfield, IL

A safety test facility for testing sodium-cooled nuclear reactor components includes a reactor vessel and a heat exchanger submerged in sodium in the tank. The reactor vessel and heat exchanger are connected by an expansion/deflection pipe coupling comprising a pair of coaxially and slidably engaged tubular elements having radially enlarged opposed end portions of which at least a part is of spherical contour adapted to engage conical sockets in the ends of pipes leading out of the reactor vessel and in to the heat exchanger. A spring surrounding the pipe coupling urges the end portions apart and into engagement with the spherical sockets. Since the pipe coupling is submerged in liquid a limited amount of leakage of sodium from the pipe can be tolerated.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL
• Assignee: United States of America as represented by United States (Washington, DC)
• Patent Number(s): US 4087323
• OSTI ID: 863067
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

/376/285/976/
adapted
amount
apart
coaxially
components
comprising
conical
connected
connector
contour
cooled nuclear
coupling
deflection
elements
engage
engaged
engagement
enlarged
exchanger
expansion
facility
heat
heat exchange
heat exchanger
leading
leakage
limited
liquid
nuclear
nuclear reactor
opposed
pair
pipe
pipe connector
pipes
pipes leading
portions
radially
reactor
reactor component
reactor components
reactor vessel
safety
slidably
slidably engage
slidably engaged
sockets
sodium
sodium-cooled
sodium-cooled nuclear
spherical
spherical sockets
spring
submerged
surrounding
tank
testing
tolerated
tubular
urges
vessel