General Electric Company

Hwang Choe

Jack Toshio Matsumoto

Alex B Fife

Bettadapur N Sridhar

James K Sawabe

Ramesh Patel

Betty Jane Branlund

Albert Tsang

The disclosed apparatus includes a condensing chamber (CC) that maintains a volume of a condensate obtained from vapor emitting from a vessel, for example a reactor pressure vessel (RPV). The condensing chamber is connected to a reference leg (RL), a variable leg (VL) and a vapor or steam leg (SL). RL connection provides a flow path for the CRD drive water system backfill to flow into the CC and overflow into the VL. The excess backfill and/or condensate will be returned to the vessel, typically at a point below the liquid level within the vessel. Non-condensable gases will thereby be returned from the CC to the RPV in a substantially continuous manner, thereby tending to prevent the introduction of non-condensable gas enriched liquid from the CC into the RL and improving the tolerance and reliability of the level measurements and/or reducing thermal stresses on the various CC connections.

Condensing chamber design

A method for calculating a fatigue usage factor of a component in a nuclear reactor includes determining a flow scaling factor for each stress component of a stress cycle, applying the flow scaling factor to rapid cycling stress conditions, and performing a fatique evaluation by calculating a fatigue usage factor using the flow scaling factor. The flow scaling factor is a ratio of a temperature fluctuation ratio at a first reactor operating condition divided by a temperature fluctuation ratio at a second reactor operating condition. The temperature fluctuation ratio is defined as a ratio of the metal temperature range over the fluid temperature range.

Methods and systems for determining fatigue usage factors for reactor components

A reactor pressure vessel (RPV) for a nuclear reactor that permits measurement of the flow through each reactor internal pump (RIP) is described. The reactor pressure vessel also includes at least one reactor internal pump that includes an impeller and a pump diffuser. At least two seal rings extend circumferentially around an outer surface of the diffuser housing outer wall and are located in circumferential grooves in the housing outer wall. At least one lateral bore extends through the housing outer wall into a diffuser housing longitudinal flow passage. Each lateral bore is located in an area between two adjacent seal rings, with each inter-seal ring area containing one lateral bore. At least one pressure tap bore extends from the outer surface of the RPV bottom head petal, through the pump deck to an inner surface of a pump deck opening. Each pressure tap bore is aligned with an area in the RIP containing a corresponding lateral bore.

Apparatus and methods of flow measurement for a boiling water reactor internal pump

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Morgan Hill, CA, United States of America

Hwang Choe