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US 4,786,462 AGranted
Support structure for a nuclear reactor
AssigneeStone & Webster Engineering Corp.
InventorsGeorge Garabedian, Robert A. DeLuca, George A. Gurnis, William C. Craig, James M. Barker
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Abstract
A novel concrete core support structure for nuclear reactors is described.
Claims17
In a nuclear reactor having a nuclear reactor vessel, a support structure comprising:
- (a) a basemat and an unitary reinforced concrete core having exterior walls and containing an open vertical void for placement of a nuclear reactor vessel, said void extending from the top of basemat to the top surface of the unitary reinforced concrete core, said concrete core providing structural support to the reactor vessel at the upper end of said reactor vessel and upper end of said core and said core providing shielding for radiation from the reactor vessel;
- (b) said reinforced concrete core having concrete ligaments in said unitary reinforced concrete core between said void and the edge of said concrete core, said ligaments extending from the top of said core to the basemat where said core is integrally connected to said basemat and said ligaments being large enough to assure that the deformation of support structure is shear controlled and
- (c) said unitary reinforced concrete core and basemat having a distribution of mass and stiffness which provides a fundamental horizontal natural frequency of vibration greater than 10 Hertz for said unitary concrete core and basemat and greater than the fundamental natural frequency of the supported reactor vessel.
In a nuclear reactor having a nuclear reactor vessel, means for exchanging heat, means for generating steam and means for pumping a coolant, a support structure comprising:
- (a) a reinforced concrete basemat:
- (b) a unitary reinforced core;
- (c) said reinforced core containing a central vertical void for housing a nuclear reactor vessel said core having exterior walls;
- a plurality of vertical voids for satellite tanks that include heat exchanger means and pump means;
- and
- (d) at least two horizontal voids between the central vertical void in said central core and the voids for said satellite tanks, said horizontal voids connecting the central vertical void to vertical voids for satellite tanks that are sized to accomodate upper and lower liquid metal conduits between said nuclear reactor vessel and said satellite tanks;
- (e) said reinforced concrete core having concrete ligaments in said unitary reinforced concrete core between said vertical voids and the edge of said concrete core, said ligaments extending from the top of said core to said basemat where said core is integrally connected to said basemat and said ligaments being large enough to assure that deformation of the support structure is shear controlled, and
- (f) said reinforced concrete core and basemat having a distribution of mass and stiffness which provides a fundamental horizontal natural frequency greater than 10 Hertz and greater than the natural frequency of the supported components.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.