Class / Patent application number | Description | Number of patent applications / Date published |
376280000 | Core catchers | 14 |
20080212732 | Tub-Type Meltdown Retaining Device - The invention relates to a Tub-like retainer for a nuclear core melt, comprising an outer envelope with a multi-layer lining along its inner surface, wherein said lining comprises, from inside to outside, a monolithic sacrificial layer, a layer made of high temperature resistant shaped parts and a monolithic filling layer between said envelope and said layer made of shaped parts. | 09-04-2008 |
20090080589 | CORE CATCHER, MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF, REACTOR CONTAINMENT VESSEL AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF - Core debris generated during a molten reactor core in a reactor containment vessel penetrating the reactor containment vessel is configured to be caught by a core catcher located beneath the reactor containment vessel which has a main body having first stage cooling water channels and second stage surrounded by cooling fins extending radially. The number of the second stage cooling channels is larger than that of the first stage cooling channels. Cooling water is supplied from a cooling water injection opening and distributed to the first cooling water channels at a distributor. An intermediate header is formed between the first and the second cooling water channels, and the cooling water is distributed to the second cooling water channels uniformly. | 03-26-2009 |
20090116607 | Passive cooling and arresting device for molten core material - An apparatus for passively cooling and retaining molten core material discharged from a damaged reactor vessel during a severe accident in the nuclear plant including: a molten core material retention tank to retain molten core material; a compressed gas tank storing high-pressure inert gas; a cooling water storage tank being installed higher than the molten core material retention tank; and a mixing means. The molten core material retention tank includes an outer retention vessel having at least one coolant hole, a porous protection vessel formed at an inside of the outer retention vessel, and a gravel layer formed between the outer retention vessel and the porous protection vessel. The apparatus can be installed in a reactor cavity without changing the compartment structure of a containment building, and makes it possible to prevent a steam explosion during the cooling process for the ultrahigh-temperature molten core material and to secure the reliability of the cooling process. | 05-07-2009 |
20100183111 | Ex-Vessel Accident Mitigation - Heat from an ex-vessel mass of core material is removed to cooler regions of a containment envelope via liquid and/or vapor phase transport. Various aspects provide for contacting the ex-vessel core material with a material having properties including melting point, boiling point, and condensation kinetics such that condensation of the material in cooler regions of the containment envelope is at least as fast as evaporation of the material due to heat absorption from the core material and associated species. | 07-22-2010 |
20120121056 | REACTOR CONTAINMENT VESSEL AND NUCLEAR POWER PLANT USING THE SAME - According to an embodiment, a nuclear reactor containment vessel has: a primary reactor containment vessel which contains a nuclear pressure vessel; a secondary reactor containment vessel and which is disposed outside the primary reactor containment vessel which has the pressure resistant properties and the leak-tightness which are equivalent to those of the primary reactor containment vessel; an air bag which is disposed within the secondary reactor containment vessel and which, when a failure occurs in primary reactor containment vessel, expands while receiving and encapsulating a high pressure gas discharged from the inside of the primary reactor containment vessel; and a gas phase vent pipe which connects the primary reactor containment vessel and the air bag. | 05-17-2012 |
20120269312 | CORIUM COOLING STRUCTURE, REACTOR CONTAINMENT VESSEL PROVIDED WITH THE SAME, AND NUCLEAR POWER PLANT PROVIDED WITH THE SAME - An object is to provide a corium cooling structure that is capable of accumulating corium and debris that have flowed out from a reactor in small divided portions and of sufficiently cooling the high-temperature corium and debris, a reactor containment vessel provided with the same, and a nuclear power plant provided with the same. A capture portion that captures the corium that has flowed out from a reactor and a plurality of pipe portions that are provided in a coolant storing portion and into which the corium flows via the capture portion are provided. | 10-25-2012 |
20120300893 | CORE CATCHER - A core catcher includes a holding surface that catches and holds corium and that introduces a coolant with which surroundings of the core catcher are filled into the core catcher and cool a whole of the core catcher by heat exchange with the introduced coolant. The holding surface and the cooling unit are constructed by arranging blocks which each include a polyhedron having at least one pair of parallel surfaces and having opening portion formed in a surface located in a lateral direction when a first surface that is one of the parallel surfaces is arranged as a bottom surface and are configured such that the polyhedrons communicate with each other via the opening portion when the polyhedrons are arranged adjacent in the lateral direction. The core catcher, as described above, can be achieved easier installation of the blocks without an increase in installation cost. | 11-29-2012 |
20120328067 | NUCLEAR POWER PLANT - An embodiment of a nuclear power plant has: a reactor vessel containing a core; a reactor containment vessel containing the reactor vessel; and a radiation heat reflecting member disposed at a portion below the reactor vessel inside the reactor containment vessel. The radiation heat reflecting member may block radiation heat, which is emitted toward a side wall surface of the reactor containment vessel from the core that has been put in a molten state by an accident and flowed downward from the reactor vessel to be accumulated at a lower portion of the reactor containment vessel. The radiation heat reflecting member may block radiation heat, which is emitted toward a supporting structure supporting devices disposed inside the reactor containment vessel. | 12-27-2012 |
20130070886 | HOLDING DEVICE - There is provided a holding device which can hold a molten corium for a predetermined period even when the molten corium is exposed to heat or undergoes any chemical reaction and which is applicable to practical use. There is provided a holding device provided below a nuclear reactor pressure vessel for holding a molten corium, wherein the holding device includes a base material in contact with a cooling medium, and a multilayer stack structure on the base material. The multilayer stack structure has a first layer having heat-resistant property, a second layer formed on the first layer and having heat-resistant property with lower heat conductivity than that of the first layer, and a third layer formed on the second layer and having corrosion-resistant property and impact-absorbing property. | 03-21-2013 |
20130170598 | NUCLEAR REACTOR CONTAINMENT VESSEL - According to an embodiment, a nuclear reactor containment vessel is provided with a device for holding a molten material of the reactor core and with spacers. The device is installed on the pedestal floor. A holding container which is open upward and a water supply container which is provided below the holding container are provided inside the outer peripheral surface. A water supply flow path extends to the water supply container from the gap between the inner surface of the pedestal side wall and the outer peripheral surface of the device for holding a molten material of the reactor core. The spacers are engaged with the upper end of an outer riser extend between the outside of the outer riser and the inner surface of the pedestal side wall, and prevent the eccentricity of the device. | 07-04-2013 |
20130223581 | Nuclear Power Plant - When a power source is lost after an operation stop of a nuclear power plant, a first open/close valve is opened via a first battery at an early stage and steam in a reactor pressure vessel (RPV) is condensed in a suppression pool. The heat of the water in the suppression pool is transmitted to a cooling water pool located below inner space between first and second reactor containment vessels surrounding the RPV. A second open/close valve is opened via a second battery at the early stage and cooling water in a tank is injected into the RPV. After the early stage, a third open/close valve is opened via a third battery, and a cooling medium becomes steam by an evaporator in the RPV, the steam being condensed by a condenser disposed in the inner space to become a liquid of the cooling medium and is returned to the evaporator. | 08-29-2013 |
20130272472 | MOLTEN-CORE RETENTION STRUCTURE - According to an embodiment, a molten-core retention structure comprises the following inside a reactor vessel that contains a reactor core: a bottom support plate, in which vertically penetrating flow holes are formed, that is provided beneath the core and supports the core; a bottom support plate support that is affixed to the reactor vessel and supports the bottom support plate; a thermally insulating spacer; a reticulated heat path that is affixed to the bottom support plate support with the thermally insulating spacer interposed therebetween and contacts the bottom support plate; and vertical heat paths that extend downwards from the reticulated heat path. The reticulated heat path and the vertical heat paths have higher coefficients of thermal conductivity than the thermally insulating spacer. | 10-17-2013 |
20140241483 | APPARATUS FOR RETENTION OF MOLTEN MATERIAL OUTSIDE GENERATION IV REACTOR AFTER NUCLEAR POWER PLANT ACCIDENT - An apparatus for retention of molten material for a Generation IV reactor after a nuclear power plant accident comprises an inner wall which is peripherally closed, a vapor channel wall with an opening at the bottom fixed in the inner side of the inner wall, a pressure vessel disposed in the vapor channel wall, a vapor rising channel formed between the pressure vessel and the vapor channel wall, and it further comprises an outer wall surrounding the inner wall, a core molten material retention apparatus fixed at the bottom of the inner wall, and a deflector keeping away from the inner wall and the core molten material retention apparatus to form a gap; wherein a coolant falling channel is formed between the outer wall and the deflector, a coolant inlet is disposed at the bottom of the deflector, and a coolant channel is disposed between the inner wall and the core molten material retention apparatus; a core molten material retention recess is disposed at the upper surface of the core molten material retention apparatus, and the lower surface of the core molten material retention apparatus is arch-shaped; the core molten material retention apparatus is made of non-metal inorganic fireproof material. The invention adopts the design of molten material retention outside the reactor, using different material containing molten material and cooling the molten material by coolant cycle and the deflector structure, thus to improve the safety of the nuclear power plant. | 08-28-2014 |
20160141054 | IN-VESSEL AND EX-VESSEL MELT COOLING SYSTEM AND METHOD HAVING THE CORE CATCHER - The present invention relates to the in-vessel and ex-vessel melt cooling system having the core catcher. This system includes a reactor vessel having the core inside of the vessel, a core catcher that can cool the core melt ejecting from the damaged reactor vessel, a reactor cavity including the reactor vessel and the core catcher, IRWST (In-Containment Refueling Water Storage Tank) that can supply cooling water to the reactor cavity, and a control unit that can cut out the cooling water supply when the reactor cavity is filled with cooling water to the required level. | 05-19-2016 |