Burst shield containment for nuclear reactor and method of operating same
AssigneeSiempelkamp Giesserel AG
InventorsBurkhard Beine, Franz Schilling
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A pressurized nuclear-reactor core is surrounded by an inspection cavity, and a burst shield with a side wall, a bottom and a cover. The inspection cavity is filled with a removable zero-path filling agent which fills the total space between core and shield so as to leave no free first-path. The filling agent is an incompressible fluent medium of either an incompressible fluid (i.e. a liquid) or a fine grained more or less incompressible, loose flowable material. Means is provided to prevent uncontrolled escape of the fluid medium.
Claims8
A method of operating a nuclear reactor having a nuclear reactor core spacedly surrounded by a burst shield consisting of a multiplicity of stacked cast iron cylinder sections, comprising the step of:
- filling the space between said core and said burst shield with an incompressible fluent medium in the form of a flowable particulate solid to eliminate any free burst path between said core and said shield and to distribute burst forces uniformly to said shield;
- removing said fluent medium for inspection of said space, said space being filled with said flowable particulate solid by the steps of:
- forming a partition in said space set outwardly from said core by a distance at least sufficient to enable thermal expansion of said core as it is brought to operating temperature;
- introducing said particulate solid between said partition and said shield in a relatively cool state of said reactor core;
- bringing said reactor core to operating temperature;
- and
- thereafter displacing said partition into contact with said core and thereby eliminating any free burst path between said core and said shield.
In a nuclear reactor, in combination:
- a pressurized nuclear reactor core;
- a burst shield spacedly surrounding said core and defining therewith an inspection chamber;
- a body of a substantially incompressible fluent medium sealed in the form of a flowable particulate solid in said chamber and completely filling same to exclude any free burst path between said core and said shield;
- means for removing said fluent medium from said chamber to enable inspection thereof;
- a plurality of movable aprons disposed in said chamber and collectively forming a partition with adjustable spacing from said core, said particulate solid being disposed between said partition and said burst shield;
- and means operable externally of said burst shield for moving said aprons.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.