Emergency core cooling system

Patent · Sat Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1983

OSTI ID:864461

Schenewerk, William E.; Glasgow, Lyle E.

A liquid metal cooled fast breeder reactor provided with an emergency core cooling system includes a reactor vessel which contains a reactor core comprising an array of fuel assemblies and a plurality of blanket assemblies. The reactor core is immersed in a pool of liquid metal coolant. The reactor also includes a primary coolant system comprising a pump and conduits for circulating liquid metal coolant to the reactor core and through the fuel and blanket assemblies of the core. A converging-diverging venturi nozzle with an intermediate throat section is provided in between the assemblies and the pump. The intermediate throat section of the nozzle is provided with at least one opening which is in fluid communication with the pool of liquid sodium. In normal operation, coolant flows from the pump through the nozzle to the assemblies with very little fluid flowing through the opening in the throat. However, when the pump is not running, residual heat in the core causes fluid from the pool to flow through the opening in the throat of the nozzle and outwardly through the nozzle to the assemblies, thus providing a means of removing decay heat.

• Research Organization: Rockwell International Corp., Canoga Park, CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC14-79ET37109
• Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the United States Department of Energy (Washington, DC)
• Patent Number(s): 4,367,194
• Application Number: 06/189534
• OSTI ID: 864461
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

/376/976/
array
assemblies
blanket
blanket assemblies
breeder
breeder reactor
causes
circulating
communication
comprising
conduits
contains
converging-diverging
coolant
coolant flow
coolant flows
cooled
cooled fast
cooling
core
core cooling
decay
decay heat
emergency
emergency core
fast
fast breeder
flow
flowing
flows
fluid
fluid communication
fluid flow
fluid flowing
fuel
fuel assemblies
heat
immersed
intermediate
liquid
liquid metal
liquid sodium
means
metal
metal coolant
metal cooled
normal
normal operation
nozzle
operation
outwardly
plurality
pool
primary
primary coolant
provided
providing
pump
reactor
reactor core
reactor vessel
removing
residual
residual heat
running
section
sodium
throat
throat section
venturi
venturi nozzle
vessel