Heavy radial neutron reflector for pressurized water reactors
AssigneeWestinghouse Electric Corp.
InventorAlexander W. Harkness
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A heavy radial neutron reflector for a pressurized water reactor that employs elongated lengths of round bar stock closely packed in either a triangular or rectangular array extending between former plates of a core shroud between the core barrel and the baffle plates which outline the periphery of the reactor core and are formed in axial and circumferential modules. Flow channels are formed in the long gaps between the adjacent round bar stock that communicates cooling water that enters through the core barrel at the top of the shroud and flows down through openings in the former plates to the bottom of the neutron reflector where it exits through a lower baffle orifice to join other cooling water flowing up through the lower core support plate.
Claims21
A nuclear reactor comprising:
- a reactor pressure vessel;
- a cylindrical core barrel supported within and spaced from an interior of the reactor pressure vessel and having a central axis substantially coaxially aligned with a central axis of the pressure vessel;
- a nuclear core comprising a plurality of fuel assemblies forming a fuel assembly array is supported within and spaced from the core barrel;
- a shroud is supported between the core barrel and the fuel assembly array, having in part an outer contour that substantially matches an inner contour of the core barrel and an inner contour that substantially matches an outer contour of the fuel assembly array and a hollow interior portion;
- a neutron reflector positioned within the hollow interior portion of the shroud comprising a closely packed array of elongated rods with an elongated dimension extending in the axial direction and;
- wherein the shroud comprises former plates which are substantially attached to and extend from an inner surface of the core barrel, in a substantially tandem, parallel array at a plurality of spaced elevations and baffle plates which extend axially substantially between the former plates and substantially form the inner contour of the shroud, wherein the elongated rods of the neutron reflector extend axially between the former plates and in between the baffle plates and the core barrel.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.