Nuclear power plant with closed gas-cooling circuit comprising multiple identical thermodynamic circuits

In a nuclear power plant including a thickwalled pressure vessel, a nuclear reactor housed within said vessel, a plurality of separate parallel-connected, symmetrically arranged cooling circuits each comprising as components a turbine assembly, each assembly including a turbine and compressor, recuperative heat exchange means and cooling heat exchange means, each component being housed in a cavity in the vessel wall, and means defining passageways interconnecting the reactor with said turbine, the outlet of said turbine with said recuperative heat exchange means and said cooling heat exchange means with said compressor to form a closed gas coolant circuit for the reactor, the improvement which comprises:

• (a) a first set of said cavities for housing each one of said turbine assemblies, each of said first cavities being a horizontally oriented shaft located on the same level as each of the other first cavities in the lower region of said vessel, the cavities of said first set being disposed symmetrically about the vertical central axis of said vessel;
• (b) a second set of said cavities for housing said heat exchange means, said second cavities being in the form of vertically oriented pods arranged symmetrically about said reactor on approximately the same level therewith;
• (c) interconnected with each of said first cavities at least one first passageway means separate from said second cavities and extending vertically upwardly to a height above said reactor for transporting a cool gas from said compressor to said recuperative heat exchange means, said first passageways being arranged symmetrically about the vertical central axis of said vessel;
• (d) said means interconnecting said reactor with said turbine comprising at least one means comprising a conduit for transporting hot gas from said reactor to each of said turbine assemblies, said hot gas conduit means extending vertically over at least part of its length within said first passageway in coaxial relationship with said first passageway;
• and
• (e) at least one means comprising a conduit for transporting reheated gas from said recuperative heat exchange means in each circuit to said reactor, said reheated gas conduit means extending vertically over at least part of its length within said first passageway in coaxial relationship therewith and being axially spaced from said hot gas conduit means in the same first passageway.