Siemens Aktiengesellschaft

Other

Dietmar Bittermann

Horst Weisshaupl

Lothar Wistuba

Peter Rau

Manfred Fischer

Gerhard Hau

Andreas Gobel

Hans-Peter Schabert

Erwin Laurer

Manfred Scholz

J&uuml;rgen Model

Wolfgang Kohler

Klaus Klein

Hartmut Seidelberger

Sieghard Hellmann

Kevin Hunt

Hermann Plank

Ulrich Fischer

Andreas Goebel

Josef Artnik

Horst Weisshaeupl

Jurgen Eyink

Claus Goetzmann

Klaus Hassmann

Hans-Joachim Preuss

Hans Alsmeyer

Manfred Schatz

Walter Korn

An apparatus is described for catching and cooling a melt, in particular a core melt in a containment of a nuclear power plant. A porous body with which the melt comes into contact is provided. A pre-pressurized coolant is fed to the porous body so that the cavities in the porous body are filled with the coolant. After contact between the melt and the porous body, the pre-pressurized coolant penetrates into the melt and as a result leads to fragmentation, solidification and long-term cooling.

Apparatus for catching and cooling a melt

A blow-off device for live steam includes a filter for radioactive substances in order to increase operational safety in a nuclear power plant. The filter is preferably integrated in a housing of a muffler or sound absorber and is disposed on a slide which is movable along an axis under the effect of gravitational force and in particular also serves as a closure for an outlet opening of the muffler or sound absorber. A method of blowing off live steam is also provided.

Blow-off device and method of blowing off live steam

A nuclear reactor includes a propagation space for core melt. The propagation space has a coolant conduit leading to a coolant reservoir and a device which opens in a temperature-dependent manner. The coolant conduit in the propagation space is a spray conduit having a spraying area which covers the cross-section of the propagation space over a large area. The device is controlled in such a way that it opens when the core melt enters the propagation space. Spraying gives rise to a crust on the core melt which reduces heat radiation. At the same time, the propagation space fills with a steam atmosphere which drastically reduces the thermal load on building structures.

Nuclear reactor with a core melt propagation space provided with a

A device for collecting core melt from a reactor pressure vessel improves a flow of the core melt out of the reactor pressure vessel. A prechamber is disposed below the reactor pressure vessel and a spreading chamber for the core melt is disposed laterally next to the reactor pressure vessel. The spreading chamber is connected to the prechamber through a channel. A base unit forms a bottom region at least of the prechamber and is made of a material having high thermal conductivity.

Device for collecting core melt from a reactor pressure vessel

A device for collecting and cooling reactor-meltdown products from a reactor pressure vessel includes an antechamber disposed below the reactor pressure vessel and an expansion chamber for the reactor-meltdown products. A channel which is disposed between the antechamber and the expansion chamber has a partition being destructible by the reactor-meltdown products. A closure element which connects a coolant reservoir to the expansion chamber is destructible by the reactor-meltdown products. A method for collecting and cooling reactor-meltdown products from a reactor pressure vessel includes collecting reactor-meltdown products in an antechamber disposed below the reactor pressure vessel and keeping them in the antechamber for a predetermined time interval. A partition disposed between the antechamber and an expansion chamber is destroyed with the reactor-meltdown products. The reactor-meltdown products penetrate from the antechamber into the expansion chamber and are spread in the expansion chamber. A closure element is destroyed with the reactor-meltdown products in the expansion chamber, for connecting a coolant reservoir to the expansion chamber and permitting coolant to flow into the expansion chamber where it cools the reactor-meltdown products.

Device and method for collecting and cooling reactor-meltdown products

A nuclear reactor system having a water-cooled reactor includes a reactor containment. A shielding pit inside the reactor containment has a lower region with an outlet opening formed therein. A reactor pressure vessel is disposed in the shielding pit. A moderating cell is disposed downstream of the outlet opening and has a device for slowing down and diverting a melt flowing through the outlet opening. A catch basin is disposed downstream of the moderating cell for receiving a melt and a supply of water. A method for operating a nuclear reactor system includes covering the bottom of the catch basin with water during normal operation of the reactor, and maintaining the water in the catch basin at a surface level being lower than the lowermost region of the bottom of the shielding pit.

Nuclear reactor system and method for operating the same

A nuclear reactor installation includes a reactor pressure vessel and a reactor core in the reactor pressure vessel. A supporting and protective structure supporting the reactor pressure vessel and surrounding the reactor pressure vessel on the bottom and laterally, has a bottom region and a circumferential wall. A core catcher device for the reactor core has a collecting basin for a core melt being installed below the reactor pressure vessel. The collecting basin has a bottom wall and a jacket wall being respectively separated from the bottom region and the circumferential wall of the supporting and protective structure by a spacing gap. Cooling channels are disposed in the spacing gap at the bottom wall and the jacket wall for exterior cooling of the collecting basin with a cooling liquid. Turbulence bodies are disposed in a surface region of the bottom wall for generating a turbulent flow of the cooling liquid flowing from the inside to the outside over the bottom wall toward the jacket wall. There is also a method for starting and maintaining exterior cooling of a core catcher device of a nuclear reactor installation.

Nuclear reactor installation with a core catcher device and method for

A reactor has a core formed by a plurality of laterally adjacent fuel assemblies, each assembly comprising a vertically elongated casing containing a bundle of fuel rods and having an upper end connected to a tubular suspension rod forming the primary suspension means for the casing, failure of this means permitting the fuel assembly to drop from the core. In each instance, an instrumentation tube having an upper end supported independently of the primary suspension rod, extends downwardly through the latter, and centrally through the casing to the lower end of the latter. This instrumentation tube and the fuel assemblies adjacent to each other remain suspended so as to form vertically fixed parts relative to any one assembly that might drop accidentally. Each of the casings have latch means for normally latching the casing to one of these fixed parts so as to each casing it cannot fall substantially relative to that one of the parts in the event of a failure of its tubular suspension rod normally forming its primary suspension.

Nuclear reactor with suspended fuel assemblies having secondary

A gas-coolant nuclear breeder reactor includes a core enclosed by a pressure vessel having a bottom beneath the core potentially capable of burning through if the core melts due to excessive operating temperatures. A basin is positioned beneath the core, either outside or inside of the pressure vessel, to intercept the melted core. The heat of the melted core must be dissipated rapidly because the reactor is enclosed by a steel containment vessel which might be unable to resist the internal pressure that would otherwise result from the heat. Therefore, means are provided for conducting a fluid coolant cooling the metal core, in the basin, from the latter to an extended area of the inside of the steel containment vessel which, being of relatively high heat conductivity, conducts the heat from the coolant to the atmosphere outside of the containment vessel. Cooling water may be sprayed on the outside of this containment vessel to assist in the dissipation of the heat. Arrangements are provided for increasing the efficiency of the heat transfer from the melted core to the fluid coolant.

Pressure suppression system for a nuclear reactor

Growing community of inventors

Furth, Germany

Dietmar Bittermann