Commissariat a L'energie Atomique

Electricite De France - Service National

Novatome

Service National Electricite De France

Alain Brachet

Joel Guidez

Noel Lions

Jacques A Figuet

Rene M Traiteur

Thierry Zuber

Nuclear reactor cooled by a liquid metal comprising a main vessel sealed by a sealing slab, said vessel containing liquid metal overhung by a covering of inert gas, the reactor core being placed in a primary vessel integrated into the main vessel in such a way that the primary vessel at the outlet from the core constitutes a hot collector for the liquid metal and the space defined between the main vessel and the primary vessel constitutes a cold collector for the liquid metal, at least one heat exchanger supplied by the liquid metal contained in the hot collector under the action of at least primary pumps located in the main vessel, wherein the exchanger is positioned outside the main vessel at a level above that of the sealing slab and communicates with the hot collector by at least one intake pipe and with the cold collector by at least one outlet pipe, it being possible to empty the exchanger and pipes into the main vessel by gravity, the upper part of each exchanger being filled with the inert gas covering of the main vessel by at least one gas pressure balancing pipe in which is arranged at least one valve closed under normal operating conditions, the inert gas covering of the main vessel being pressurized in such a way that the exchanger is filled with liquid metal by counterpressure, the opening of the said valve controlling the emptying of the exchanger and the corresponding intake and outlet pipes into the main vessel.

Nuclear reactor cooled by a liquid metal

The invention relates to a secondary heat transfer circuit for a liquid metal-cooled nuclear reactor, as well as to a steam generator which can be used in such a circuit. According to the invention, a downstream buffer tank and an upstream buffer tank are arranged within the steam generator. The upstream buffer tank is annular and surrounds and communicates with an area of the generator by which the liquid metal flows downwards between the exchange zone and the discharge tube. The pressure of the neutral gas pocket in the downstream buffer tank is higher than that of the pocket of the upstream buffer tank. Application to fast neutron nuclear reactors.

Secondary heat transfer circuit for a nuclear reactor cooled by a liquid

The invention relates to a secondary heat transfer circuit for a liquid metal nuclear reactor. Each loop of the main circuit has in order a steam generator, a pump, and at least one heat exchanger positioned in the reactor vessel. A downstream buffer tank is located in the pipe connecting the generator to the pump, whilst the upstream buffer tank can be positioned either in the generator, or outside the latter. Application to the generation of electric power by means of a fast neutron reactor.

Secondary heat transfer circuit for a nuclear reactor

A secondary coolant circuit for a nuclear-reactor of the liquid-metal cooled type, said circuit comprising at least one intermediate exchanger mounted in the vessel of said reactor, outside said vessel a steam-generator for the exchange of calories between the secondary liquid-metal flowing through said secondary circuit and water-steam, at least one pump for circulating said secondary sodium and one tank for storing said secondary liquid-metal and recovering those products generated by a possible liquid-metal-water reaction in said steam-generator, said liquid-metal being likely to occupy the lowest possible level in said tank, said secondary coolant circuit being characterized in that said tank is situated at the lowest possible level in the nuclear installation, in that the lower extremity of the liquid-metal outlet duct of said steam-generator is directly dipped into said tank, in that, in said tank above the liquid-metal, is maintained an inert gas cover at such a pressure that it balances the liquid-metal pressure in the whole secondary loop, said tank, in addition, acting as the downstream ram-effect preventing tank for said steam-generator and as an expansion tank during the temperature variations of said liquid metal, and in that the rotor of said pump is situated above said lowest level.

Secondary coolant circuit for nuclear-reactors

The present invention concerns an improvement to the method for detecting a steam micro-leak in a heat-exchanger having circulation tubes surrounded by an alkaline/molten/metal (e.g. liquid sodium), said improvement consisting in using the normal operating fluid of the exchanger (in particular, water) as the hydrogenated tracer fluid, in injecting an inert gas successively into groups of tubes comprising at least detecting device (which is based on the measurement of hydrogen, in particular in sodium) until a zero reading, indicative of the leaking tube, is observed.

Growing community of inventors

Orsay, France

Alain Brachet