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.
Claims20
A power module assembly comprising:
- a primary cooling circuit comprising a reactor vessel and a reactor core surrounded by a primary coolant, the primary cooling circuit configured to promote a natural circulation flowpath within the reactor vessel;
- a containment vessel submerged in a containment cooling pool and configured to prohibit release of the primary coolant outside of the containment vessel;
- a heat exchanger disposed within the containment vessel in fluid communication with the primary coolant, the heat exchanger configured to remove heat from the primary coolant;
- a secondary cooling circuit including a steam generation circuit configured to generate steam, using heat extracted from the primary coolant, to drive a turbine;
- an emergency cooling system, isolated from the steam generation circuit, and configured to be coupled to the heat exchanger during an emergency operation to remove heat from the primary coolant via natural circulation of an emergency coolant through the heat exchanger, wherein the emergency coolant comprises coolant drawn from the containment cooling pool, and wherein the emergency coolant is not allowed to mix with the primary coolant during the emergency operation.
A power module assembly comprising:
- a reactor vessel containing a reactor core surrounded by a primary coolant;
- a containment vessel configured to prohibit a release of the primary coolant into a containment cooling pool surrounding the containment vessel, wherein the containment vessel houses the reactor vessel;
- a heat exchanger disposed in the primary coolant and connected to a steam generation circuit;
- and
- an emergency cooling circuit connected to the heat exchanger and configured to circulate an emergency coolant drawn from the containment cooling pool and through the heat exchanger during an emergency operation responsive to a reduced flow of secondary coolant through the heat exchanger, wherein the emergency coolant is not allowed to mix with the primary coolant during the circulation of the emergency coolant through the heat exchanger.
A power module assembly comprising:
- a reactor vessel housing a reactor core surrounded by a primary coolant;
- a containment vessel submerged in a containment cooling pool and configured to prohibit a release of the primary coolant outside of the containment vessel, wherein the containment vessel surrounds the reactor vessel;
- a heat exchanger disposed within the primary coolant;
- and
- an emergency cooling system connected to the heat exchanger and configured to remove heat from the primary coolant via natural circulation of an emergency coolant drawn from the containment cooling pool and through the heat exchanger during an emergency operation responsive to a reduced flow of secondary coolant through the heat exchanger, and wherein the containment vessel is further configured to prohibit the release of the primary coolant outside of the containment vessel during the emergency operation.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.