US 6,556,641 B2Granted

Apparatus and method for handling reactor-internal equipments

AssigneeKabushiki Kaisha Toshiba

InventorsTakeshi Maehara, Koichi Soma, Kazuo Sakamaki

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Abstract

There are provided a control rod holding unit 16 for releasably holding a control rod 7 which is loaded in a reactor vessel 1, and fuel support/control rod guide tube holding unit 17 for releasably holding a fuel support 8 which supports a bottom end of a fuel assembly 10 and a control rod guide tube 6 on which the fuel support 8 is placed at top end. The control rod holding unit 16 and the fuel support/control rod guide tube holding unit 17 are fitted to a main body frame 26 which can be hoisted down inside the reactor vessel 1. Accordingly, there can be provided a reactor-internal equipment handling apparatus and method which are capable of reducing a term of work which is required for operations to load/unload the control rods, the fuel supports, and the control rod guide tubes.

A reactor-internal equipment handling method of loading/unloading equipment into/from a reactor vessel with a reactor-internal equipment handling apparatus comprising:

control rod holding means for releasably holding a control rod which is loaded in a reactor vessel,
fuel support/control rod guide tube holding means for releasably holding both a fuel support, which supports a bottom end of a fuel assembly, and a control rod guide tube, on which the fuel support is placed at a top end,
a main body frame to which both the control rod holding means and the fuel support/control rod guide tube holding means are fitted and adapted to be hung down inside the reactor vessel,
a holding state detecting mechanism for detecting both a holding state of the control rod holding means about the control rod, and a holding state of the fuel support/control rod guide tube holding means about the fuel support and the control rod guide tube, and
a position state detecting mechanism for detecting a positioning state of the main body frame in the reactor vessel, the method comprising:
detecting a positioning state of the main body frame in the reactor vessel with the positioning state detecting mechanism in order to confirm that the main body frame is properly positioned;
holding the control rod by the control rod holding means and also holding both the fuel support and the control rod guide tube with the fuel support/control rod guide tube holding means;
detecting, with the holding state detecting mechanism, both a holding state of the control rod holding means about the control rod and a holding state of the fuel support/control rod guide tube holding means about the fuel support and the control rod guide tube, to confirm that the control rod holding means holds the control rod and the fuel support/control rod guide tube holding means holds the fuel support and the control rod guide tube;
and
hoisting the main body frame by a fuel exchanger and simultaneously loading or unloading all of the control rod, the fuel support, and the control rod guide tube into or from the reactor vessel.

7 more elements

Facts

Application

09/923,342Filed 8 Aug 2001 · division

Priority

JP 10-11727027 Apr 1998

Published

US 2002/0003850 A110 Jan 2002

Granted

29 Apr 2003

Term ends

Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification4 codes

G21C 19/10
Details of handling arrangements: lifting devices or pulling devices adapted for co-operation with fuel elements or with control elements
Y02E 30/30
Energy generation of nuclear origin: nuclear fission reactors
G21C
Nuclear reactors
Y02E
Clean energy generation and storage

Abstract

Claims2