Evacuated containment vessel for a nuclear reactor
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method comprising:
- maintaining a containment region at a below atmospheric pressure prior to a high pressure event, wherein the below atmospheric pressure is less than 300 mmHG absolute;
identifying the high pressure event for a reactor vessel;
releasing coolant into the containment region located between a containment vessel and the reactor vessel to remove decay heat from the reactor vessel, wherein the reactor vessel is substantially surrounded by the containment region;
increasing a pressure within the containment region in response to releasing the coolant until the pressure reaches an upper pressure limit; and
decreasing the pressure through condensation until the pressure reaches a lower pressure limit, wherein the pressure is cyclically increased and decreased by alternatively releasing and prohibiting the release of coolant into the containment region.
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Abstract
A system includes a containment vessel configured to prohibit a release of a coolant, and a reactor vessel mounted inside the containment vessel. An outer surface of the reactor vessel is exposed to below atmospheric pressure, wherein substantially all gases are evacuated from within the containment vessel.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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maintaining a containment region at a below atmospheric pressure prior to a high pressure event, wherein the below atmospheric pressure is less than 300 mmHG absolute; identifying the high pressure event for a reactor vessel; releasing coolant into the containment region located between a containment vessel and the reactor vessel to remove decay heat from the reactor vessel, wherein the reactor vessel is substantially surrounded by the containment region; increasing a pressure within the containment region in response to releasing the coolant until the pressure reaches an upper pressure limit; and decreasing the pressure through condensation until the pressure reaches a lower pressure limit, wherein the pressure is cyclically increased and decreased by alternatively releasing and prohibiting the release of coolant into the containment region. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. An apparatus, comprising:
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means for maintaining a containment region at a below atmospheric pressure prior to a high pressure event, wherein the below atmospheric pressure is less than 300 mmHG absolute; means for identifying the high pressure event for a reactor vessel; and means for releasing coolant from the reactor vessel into the containment region located between a containment vessel and the reactor vessel to remove decay heat from the reactor vessel, wherein the reactor vessel is substantially surrounded by the containment region, wherein a reactor core is submerged in the coolant, and wherein the means for releasing comprises means for controllably releasing the coolant as steam into the containment region when the reactor core becomes over-heated or over-pressurized. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method, comprising:
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maintaining a containment region at a below atmospheric pressure prior to a high pressure event, wherein the below atmospheric pressure prohibits substantially all convective heat transfer between a reactor vessel and a containment vessel which substantially surrounds the reactor vessel; monitoring a pressure associated with the reactor vessel to identify the high pressure event; and in response to identifying the high pressure event, controllably releasing coolant as steam into the containment region located between the containment vessel and the reactor vessel, wherein a reactor core is submerged in the coolant, and wherein the coolant is controllably released as steam into the containment region when the reactor core becomes over-heated or over-pressurized. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. An apparatus, comprising:
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means for maintaining a containment region at a below atmospheric pressure prior to a high pressure event, wherein the below atmospheric pressure prohibits substantially all convective heat transfer between a reactor vessel and a containment vessel which substantially surrounds the reactor vessel; and in response to identifying the high pressure event, means for controllably releasing coolant as steam into the containment region located between the containment vessel and the reactor vessel to remove decay heat from the reactor vessel, wherein the means for controllably releasing the coolant comprises means for increasing a pressure within the containment region, wherein the pressure is decreased through condensation of the steam in the containment region, and wherein the pressure in the containment region is cyclically increased to an upper pressure limit and decreased to a lower pressure limit by alternatively releasing and prohibiting the release of the steam into the containment region. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23)
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Specification