Decay heat removal system with hybrid heat pipe having coolant and neutron absorber for cooling nuclear power plant

• US 9,865,365 B2
• Filed: 07/18/2014
• Issued: 01/09/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 07/18/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology
• Original Assignee: Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology
• Inventors: Bang, In Cheol, Kim, Ji Hyun, Park, Seong Dae, Kang, Sarah, Seo, Han, Kim, Kyoung-Mo, Moon, Sung Bo, Seo, Seok Bin, Kim, In Guk, Jeong, Yeong Shin, Heo, Hyo
• Primary Examiner(s): O'Connor, Marshall P
• Application Number:
  US14/335,324
• Publication Number:
  US 20150023461A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,271 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G21C 15/18 Emergency cooling arrangements; Removing shut-down heat
• CPC Class Codes: G21C 15/26 by convection, e.g. using chimneys, using divergent channels
• CPC Class Codes: G21C 19/07 Storage racks; Storage pools
• CPC Class Codes: G21C 19/08 Means for heating fuel elements before introduction into the core; Means for heating or cooling fuel elements after removal from the core
• CPC Class Codes: G21C 7/103 Control assemblies containing one or more absorbants as well as other elements, e.g. fuel or moderator elements
• CPC Class Codes: G21C 7/12 Means for moving control elements to desired position dropping rods in an emergency G21C9/02
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 30/30 Nuclear fission reactors

Abstract

Disclosed is a decay heat removal system for cooling the decay heat of a reactor core and the spent fuel. The decay heat removal system including: a first heat pipe which is placed in an upper plenum of the reactor vessel and arranged in upward and downward directions corresponding to a position of an insertion hole formed on a top of the nuclear fuel assemblies; a control rod drive mechanism which is connected to an upper portion of the first heat pipe and drives the first heat pipe to move up and down so that the first heat pipe can be selectively inserted in a control rod insertion hole of the reactor core arranged in the nuclear reactor vessel; and a second heat pipe which is coupled to and in close contact with a bottom surface of the reactor vessel and removes the decay heat generated in the reactor core.

Claims

1. A combination of a reactor vessel, a reactor core arranged in the reactor vessel, and a decay heat removal system for removing decay heat of the reactor core,

wherein the reactor core includes a control rod insertion hole into which a control rod is allowed to be inserted,

wherein the reactor vessel includes an insertion hole formed on a top thereof, and

wherein the decay heat removal system comprises:

a first heat pipe which is placed in an upper plenum of the reactor vessel and arranged vertically corresponding to a position of the insertion hole formed on the top of the reactor vessel and corresponding to a position of the control rod insertion hole;

a control rod drive mechanism which is connected to an upper plenum of the first heat pipe and drives the first heat pipe to move up and down so that the first heat pipe is selectively inserted in the control rod insertion hole of the reactor core; and

a second heat pipe which is coupled to and in close contact with a bottom surface of the reactor vessel and removes the decay heat generated in the reactor core,

wherein the first heat pipe is a hybrid heat pipe which is internally provided with both a neutron absorber and a coolant, the first heat pipe not only absorbing a neutron generated in the reactor core by the neutron absorber but also removing the decay heat generated in the reactor core by the coolant.

2. The combination according to claim 1, wherein the first heat pipe receives the coolant from an upper plenum of the reactor vessel as a heat sink, and performs cooling by absorbing the decay heat generated in the reactor core, and transferring the absorbed heat to the coolant.

3. The combination according to claim 1, wherein a fin is provided in a condenser of the first heat pipe, which employs air, water, nanofluid, seawater, nitrogen or liquid metal as a coolant for exchanging heat with the first heat pipe.

4. The combination according to claim 1, wherein the second heat pipe is a hybrid heat pipe which is internally provided with both a neutron absorber and a coolant, the second heat pipe not only absorbing the neutron generated in the reactor core by the neutron absorber but also removing the decay heat by the coolant.

5. The combination according to claim 1, wherein the second heat pipe is made of a flexible material, is curved corresponding to the shape of the bottom surface of the reactor vessel, and closely contacts the bottom surface.

6. The combination according to claim 1, wherein the second heat pipe is curved corresponding to the shape of the bottom surface of the reactor vessel, and closely contacts the bottom surface.

7. The combination according to claim 4, wherein the coolant in the second heat pipe comprises one of water (H₂O), a nanofluid, a refrigerant, mercury (Hg), lithium (Li) and FLiBe (LiF-BeF₂).

8. The combination according to claim 1, wherein a wick placed in the first heat pipe comprises one of carbon fiber, copper, stainless steel, zirconium alloy, silicon carbide (SiC), and boron carbide (B₄C).

9. The combination according to claim 1, wherein a case material forming an outer appearance of the first heat pipe comprises one of stainless steel, zirconium alloy, inconel alloy and molybdenum alloy.

10. The combination according to claim 1, wherein the coolant in the first heat pipe comprises one of water (H2O), a nanofluid, a refrigerant, mercury (Hg), lithium (Li) and FLiBe (LiF-BeF2).

11. The combination according to claim 1, wherein a wick placed in the second heat pipe comprises one of carbon fiber, copper, stainless steel, zirconium alloy, silicon carbide (SiC), and boron carbide (B₄C).

12. The combination according to claim 1, wherein a case material forming an outer appearance of the second heat pipe comprises one of stainless steel, zirconium alloy, inconel alloy and molybdenum alloy.