Fixing means for a substantially cylindrical nuclear reactor pressure vessel with a vertical axis
AssigneeAB Asea-Atom
InventorsPer Almdahl, Bo Borrman, Lennart Gillander, Roland Larsson, John-Evert Steger
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention relates to an improved attachment assembly for clamping a nuclear reactor foot ring into engagement with a surrounding support wall while allowing for thermal expansion of the foot ring.
Claims19
In combination with a substantially cylindrical nuclear reactor pressure vessel and a concrete support wall surrounding said pressure vessel, an attachment assembly for fixedly mounting said pressure vessel comprising:
- a support member having a first end portion attached to said pressure vessel and having a second, opposite end portion positioned proximate to a support surface of said support wall;
- a foot ring fixedly attached to said second end portion of said support member, with said foot ring overlapping and contacting a portion of said support surface of said support wall;
- a plurality of elongated prestressed tensile force transmitting members each including a first end portion fixedly positioned in a vertically lower end portion of said support wall and each elongated tensile force transmitting member further including a second, opposite end portion extending beyond said support surface of said support wall;
- a plurality of separate yoke assemblies positioned adjacent said support surface with each yoke assembly enclosing the second end portion of at least one of said elongated, prestressed tensile force transmitting members;
- attachment plate means mounted within each of said yoke assemblies for fixedly attaching said second end portion of said at least one tensile force transmitting member to said respective yoke assembly whereby said tensile force transmitting members draw said yoke assemblies toward said support surface;
- each yoke assembly having a radially outer force-transmitting surface contacting said support surface at a location radially outside said foot ring, and
- clamping means in force transmitting relationship with said elongated prestressed tensile force transmitting members and said foot ring for pressing said foot ring against said support surface.
In combination with a substantially cylindrically shaped nuclear reactor vessel, and a support wall surrounding said reactor vessel, an attachment assembly for positioning said nuclear reactor vessel within said support wall, said attachment assembly comprising a support surface on said support wall, a foot ring rigidly connected to the circumference of said reactor vessel and in contact with said support surface, and fixing means, said fixing means comprising:
- a plurality of elongated prestressed tensile force transmitting members each including a first end portion fixedly positioned in a vertically lower end portion of said support wall;
- a plurality of yokes each supported on said support surface, each yoke having a radially-outer surface in force transmitting connection with said support surface and a radially-inner surface in force transmitting connection with a portion of said foot ring, each yoke further having a mid-portion joining said radial outer and inner surfaces and mechanically connected to an upper end of at least one of said tensile force transmitting members;
- and,
- said fixing means further comprising blocking means fixed to the support wall and projecting from the portion of said support surface adjacent a radially outwardly facing surface of said foot ring for limiting moving of said foot ring along said support surface in a direction away from said nuclear reactor pressure vessel.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.