Concentric pipe loop arrangement for pressurized water nuclear reactors
AssigneeWestinghouse Electric Corp.
InventorLuciano Veronesi
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A pipe loop arrangement for the closed primary system of a nuclear reactor. The heated reactor coolant flows through a horizontally positioned hot leg pipe while the return flow cooled reactor coolant flows through a cold leg pipe concentrically mounted within the hot leg pipe. A bell-mounted suction port and the high pressure discharge port of the reactor coolant pump are located within an outlet chamber with the steam generator. A transition piece slip fitted to an opening within the reactor vessel outlet flange connects the cold leg pipe to the inlet to the nuclear core. A flow shroud surrounding the pump discharge connects the pump discharge to the cold leg pipe, forms a volute for the pump discharge and separates the outlet chamber from the inlet chamber of the steam generator.
Claims13
In a nuclear reactor primary coolant system having a reactor vessel, a steam generator, and a reactor coolant pump, a pipe loop arrangement comprising:
- a first pipe connecting an outlet of said reactor vessel with an inlet of said steam generator whereby hot reactor coolant is ducted to said steam generator;
- a second pipe substantially concentrically mounted within said first pipe forming an annulus therebetween;
- means for flow connecting a steam generator outlet with an inlet to said pump;
- means for flow connecting an outlet of said pump with said second pipe;
- and,
- means for flow connecting said second pipe with inlets to said reactor vessel whereby cooled reactor coolant is ducted from said steam generator to said reactor vessel comprising a hollow Y-shaped transition piece welded at one end to said second pipe and having two other ends each slidingly engaged with a respective inlet to said reactor vessel whereby said second pipe is maintained in said concentric arrangement with said first pipe;
- and,
- means for smoothing the flow of hot reactor coolant around said transition piece and into said first pipe.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.