Controlling a nuclear reaction
AssigneeNuScale Power, LLC
InventorsLarry Linik, Allyson Callaway, Ben Bristol, Kenneth Rooks
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A nuclear power system includes a reactor vessel that includes a reactor core mounted within a volume of the reactor vessel, the reactor core including one or more nuclear fuel assemblies configured to generate a nuclear fission reaction; a containment vessel sized to enclose the reactor vessel such that an open volume is defined between the containment vessel and the reactor vessel; and a boron injection system positioned in the open volume of the containment vessel and including an amount of boron sufficient to stop the nuclear fission reaction or maintain the nuclear fission reaction at a sub-critical state.
Claims20
A nuclear power system, comprising:
- a reactor vessel that comprises a reactor core mounted within a volume of the reactor vessel, the reactor core comprising one or more nuclear fuel assemblies configured to generate a nuclear fission reaction;
- a containment vessel sized to enclose the reactor vessel such that an open volume is defined between the containment vessel and the reactor vessel;
- and
- a boron injection system positioned in the open volume of the containment vessel and comprising an amount of boron sufficient to stop the nuclear fission reaction or maintain the nuclear fission reaction at a sub-critical state.
A method for controlling a nuclear fission reaction, comprising:
- operating a nuclear power system to generate a nuclear fission reaction, the nuclear power system comprising:
- a reactor vessel that comprises a reactor core mounted within a volume of the reactor vessel, the reactor core comprising one or more nuclear fuel assemblies configured to generate the nuclear fission reaction,
- a containment vessel sized to enclose the reactor vessel such that an open volume is defined between the containment vessel and the reactor vessel, and
- a boron injection system positioned in the open volume of the containment vessel and comprising an amount of boron;
- initiating an emergency operation of the nuclear power system based on a loss of a primary coolant from the volume of the reactor vessel to the open volume of the containment vessel;
- based on the emergency operation, releasing the amount of boron into the open volume of the containment vessel;
- circulating the amount of boron from the open volume of the containment vessel to the reactor core;
- and
- with the amount of boron, stopping the nuclear fission reaction or maintaining the nuclear fission reaction at a sub-critical state.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.