Reactor pressure vessel
AssigneeWestinghouse Electric Corp.
InventorsDavid R. Forsyth, David A. Altman, Kevin G. Bethune, Michael F. Hankinson, Robert H. McFetridge
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A reactor pressure vessel supports the flanges of a core barrel assembly and an upper support plate. These flanges have aligned holes for diverting inlet coolant water to the vessel head for cooling the head. The aligned holes have different cross-sectional areas for controlling unexpected backflow of coolant water from the vessel head around the periphery of the upper support plate.
Claims9
A reactor pressure vessel (RPV) for containing nuclear fuel assemblies in coolant water, comprising:
- a vessel body having an internal support ledge;
- a core barrel assembly having a flange supported on the internal support ledge for supporting the fuel assemblies, the core barrel assembly flange having holes extending between a lower flange surface and an upper flange surface, each hole having a cross-sectional area;
- and
- an upper support plate having a flange with a lower flange surface and an upper flange surface, the lower surface of the upper support plate flange disposed above the upper surface of the core barrel assembly flange, the upper support plate flange having holes extending between its lower surface and its upper surface and aligned with the holes in the core barrel assembly, each upper support plate flange hole having a cross-sectional area, wherein the cross-sectional area of the upper support plate flange hole is different from the cross-sectional area of the aligned core barrel assembly flange hole.
A pressurized water nuclear reactor vessel (RPV) for containing fuel assemblies in coolant water, comprising:
- a vessel body having an internal support ledge;
- a core barrel assembly having a flange supported on the internal support ledge for supporting the fuel assemblies, the core barrel assembly flange having holes extending between a lower flange surface and an upper flange surface with cover plates welded to the bottom surface of the core barrel assembly flange extending under the holes, each cover plate having a hole extending therethrough with each cover plate hole having a cross-sectional area;
- and
- an upper support plate having a flange with a lower flange surface and an upper flange surface, the lower surface of the upper support plate flange disposed above the upper surface of the core barrel assembly flange, the upper support plate flange having holes extending between its lower surface and its upper surface and aligned with the holes in the core barrel assembly, with each upper support plate flange hole having a cross-sectional area, wherein the cross-sectional area of each upper support plate flange hole is different from the cross-sectional area of the hole in the cover plate extending under the aligned core barrel assembly flange hole.
A pressurized water nuclear reactor vessel (RPV) for containing fuel assemblies in coolant water, comprising:
- a vessel body having an internal support ledge;
- a core barrel assembly having a flange supported on the internal support ledge for supporting the fuel assemblies, the core barrel assembly flange having holes extending between a lower flange surface and an upper flange surface, each hole having a cross-sectional area;
- and
- an upper support plate having a flange with a lower flange surface and an upper flange surface, the lower surface of the upper support plate flange disposed above the upper surface of the core barrel assembly flange, the upper support plate flange having holes extending between its lower surface and its upper surface and aligned with the holes in the core barrel assembly, the upper support plate having exhaust nozzles extending from the holes and above its upper surface, each exhaust nozzle having an exit port having an exit flow area that is different from the cross-sectional area of the aligned hole in the core barrel assembly.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.