US 5,295,169 A · Reactor containment facilities

Abstract

A reactor containment facility having a reactor pressure vessel containing a core; a dry well in which the reactor pressure vessel is arranged; a suppression chamber holding suppression-pool water and forming above the suppression-pool water a wet well; and a plurality of vent pipes allowing the dry well to communicate with the suppression-pool water; a steel wall which is in contact with the suppression-pool water of the suppression chamber and which surrounds at least the pool water so as to form a containment vessel which houses the dry well and the suppression chamber; and an outer peripheral pool containing cooling water in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the steel wall. The facility further includes: a dividing structure for dividing the wet well of the suppression chamber into a first space which is in contact with the water surface of the suppression-pool water and a second space which is not in contact therewith; a first passage which allows the first space to communicate with the second space and which has an area smaller than that of the dividing device; and a cooling device for keeping the second space at a temperature lower than that of the first space.

Claims36

Dependent claims

A reactor containment facility comprising:

a reactor pressure vessel containing a core;
a dry well in which said reactor pressure vessel is arranged;
a containment vessel housing said dry well;
means defining a suppression chamber holding a suppression-pool water and forming above the suppression-pool water a first wet well;
and passage means allowing said dry well to communicate with said suppression-pool water;
wherein said facility further comprises:
(a) means for defining a second wet well communicating with said first wet well;
and
(b) cooling means for keeping said second wet well at a temperature lower than that of said first wet well at the time of a loss-of-coolant accident.

6 more elements

A reactor containment facility comprising:

a reactor pressure vessel containing a core;
a dry well in which said reactor pressure vessel is arranged;
means defining a first suppression chamber holding a suppression-pool water and forming, in the space above the same, a wet well;
a plurality of first vent pipes allowing said dry well to communicate with said suppression-pool water;
a steel wall which surrounds at least the suppression-pool water of said suppression chamber contact therewith to provide a containment vessel which houses said dry well and said first suppression chamber;
an outer peripheral pool containing a cooling water in contact with the outer peripheral surface of said steel wall;
and an emergency core cooling system adapted to cool the core by supplying a water into said pressure vessel at the time of a loss-of-coolant accident;
wherein the height of the dry-well-side openings of said first vent pipes is so determined that when the water level in the dry well, in which water overflowing from said reactor pressure vessel accumulates at the time of a loss-of-coolant accident, has attained a core submerging level which allows submergence cooling of said core, the water in the dry well starts to flow into said first suppression chamber through said first vent pipes.

5 more elements

A reactor containment facility comprising:

a reactor pressure vessel containing a core;
a dry well in which said reactor pressure vessel is arranged;
a first suppression chamber holding a suppression-pool water and forming, in the space above the suppression-pool water, a wet well;
a plurality of first vent pipes allowing said dry well to communicate with said pool water;
a steel wall which surrounds at least the suppression-pool water of said suppression chamber in contact therewith to provide a containment vessel which houses said dry well and said first suppression chamber;
and an outer peripheral pool containing cooling water in contact with the outer peripheral surface of said steel wall;
wherein said facility further comprises:
(a) a second suppression chamber situated above said first suppression chamber and including a suppression pool and a wet well, said suppression pool communicating with said dry well through a plurality of second vent pipes;
and
(b) a line equipped with a valve and connecting said second suppression chamber with said reactor pressure vessel to provide an emergency core cooling system.

7 more elements

A reactor containment facility comprising:

a reactor pressure vessel containing a core;
a dry well in which said reactor pressure vessel is arranged;
mean defining a suppression chamber holding a suppression-pool water and forming, in the space above the suppression-pool water, a wet well;
a plurality of vent pipes allowing said dry well to communicate with said suppression-pool water;
a steel wall which surrounds at least the suppression-pool water of said suppression chamber in contact therewith to provide a containment vessel which houses said dry well and said suppression chamber;
an outer peripheral pool containing cooling water in contact with the outer peripheral surface of said steel wall;
and an emergency core cooling system adapted to cool the core by supplying water into said pressure vessel at the time of a loss-of-coolant accident;
wherein said facility further comprises:
(a) equalizing means which, for a long period of time after a loss-of-coolant accident, cools the core by supplying water into said pressure vessel, utilizing said suppression-pool water and the drawdown water accumulated in said dry well as a water source.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Reactor containment facilities

Life of this patent

Reactor containment facilities

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims36