Passive emergency feedwater system
AssigneeState of Oregon acting by and through the State Board of Higher Education on behalf of Oregon State University
InventorsJose N. Reyes, Jr., John T. Groome
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A power module assembly includes a reactor vessel containing a reactor core surrounded by a primary coolant. A containment vessel is adapted to be submerged in a containment cooling pool and to prohibit a release of the primary coolant outside of the containment vessel. A secondary cooling system is configured to remove heat generated by the reactor core. The heat is removed by circulating liquid from the containment cooling pool through the primary coolant.
Claims18
A power module assembly comprising:
- a reactor vessel containing a reactor core surrounded by a primary coolant;
- a containment vessel submerged in a containment cooling pool, wherein the containment vessel is configured to prohibit a release of the primary coolant outside of the containment vessel;
- one or more inlets submerged in the containment cooling pool, wherein the one or more inlets are configured to draw a secondary coolant from the containment cooling pool during an emergency operation, wherein the emergency operation comprises a loss of secondary coolant flow;
- a heat exchanger in contact with the primary coolant, wherein the heat exchanger is configured to remove heat generated by the reactor core, and wherein the heat is removed by circulating the secondary coolant from the containment cooling pool through the heat exchanger via natural circulation;
- and
- one or more outlets submerged in the containment cooling pool, wherein the one or more outlets are configured to vent the secondary coolant into the containment cooling pool, and wherein the primary coolant remains completely retained within the containment vessel during the emergency operation.
A power module assembly comprising:
- a reactor vessel containing a reactor core surrounded by a primary coolant;
- containment means configured to prohibit a release of the primary coolant into a surrounding containment cooling pool;
- means for removing heat from the reactor vessel, wherein the means for removing heat is at least partially surrounded by the primary coolant;
- means for drawing emergency feedwater from the containment cooling pool when a loss of feedwater condition is detected;
- means for venting the emergency feedwater into the containment cooling pool while the containment means continues to prohibit the release of the primary coolant into the containment cooling pool, wherein the means for venting is submerged in the containment cooling pool;
- and
- means for circulating the emergency feedwater from the containment cooling pool through the means for removing heat and back to the containment cooling pool, wherein the emergency feedwater is circulated through natural circulation.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.