Control of reactor coolant flow path during reactor decay heat removal
- Los Gatos, CA
An improved reactor vessel auxiliary cooling system for a sodium cooled nuclear reactor is disclosed. The sodium cooled nuclear reactor is of the type having a reactor vessel liner separating the reactor hot pool on the upstream side of an intermediate heat exchanger and the reactor cold pool on the downstream side of the intermediate heat exchanger. The improvement includes a flow path across the reactor vessel liner flow gap which dissipates core heat across the reactor vessel and containment vessel responsive to a casualty including the loss of normal heat removal paths and associated shutdown of the main coolant liquid sodium pumps. In normal operation, the reactor vessel cold pool is inlet to the suction side of coolant liquid sodium pumps, these pumps being of the electromagnetic variety. The pumps discharge through the core into the reactor hot pool and then through an intermediate heat exchanger where the heat generated in the reactor core is discharged. Upon outlet from the heat exchanger, the sodium is returned to the reactor cold pool. The improvement includes placing a jet pump across the reactor vessel liner flow gap, pumping a small flow of liquid sodium from the lower pressure cold pool into the hot pool. The jet pump has a small high pressure driving stream diverted from the high pressure side of the reactor pumps. During normal operation, the jet pumps supplement the normal reactor pressure differential from the lower pressure cold pool to the hot pool. Upon the occurrence of a casualty involving loss of coolant pump pressure, and immediate cooling circuit is established by the back flow of sodium through the jet pumps from the reactor vessel hot pool to the reactor vessel cold pool. The cooling circuit includes flow into the reactor vessel liner flow gap immediate the reactor vessel wall and containment vessel where optimum and immediate discharge of residual reactor heat occurs.
- Research Organization:
- GENERAL ELECTRIC CO
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC03-85NE37937
- Assignee:
- General Electric Company (San Jose, CA)
- Patent Number(s):
- US 4767594
- OSTI ID:
- 866703
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
An Innovative Hybrid Loop-Pool Design for Sodium Cooled Fast Reactor
Passive shut-down heat removal system
Related Subjects
associated
auxiliary
auxiliary cooling
casualty
circuit
cold
cold pool
containment
containment vessel
control
coolant
coolant flow
coolant liquid
coolant pump
cooled
cooled nuclear
cooling
cooling circuit
core
core heat
decay
decay heat
differential
discharge
discharged
disclosed
dissipates
diverted
downstream
driving
electromagnetic
established
exchanger
flow
flow path
gap
generated
heat
heat exchange
heat exchanger
heat generated
heat removal
hot
hot pool
immediate
improved
improved reactor
improvement
including
inlet
intermediate
intermediate heat
involving
jet
jet pump
liner
liquid
liquid sodium
loss
main
normal
normal operation
normal reactor
nuclear
nuclear reactor
occurrence
occurs
operation
optimum
outlet
path
paths
placing
pool
pressure
pressure differential
pump
pumping
pumps
reactor
reactor coolant
reactor core
reactor heat
reactor pressure
reactor pump
reactor vessel
removal
residual
responsive
returned
separating
shutdown
sodium
sodium cooled
sodium pump
sodium pumps
stream
suction
supplement
type
upstream
variety
vessel
vessel auxiliary
vessel liner
vessel wall
wall