The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
May. 19, 1998
Filed:
Apr. 12, 1996
Perng-Fei Gou, Saratoga, CA (US);
Craig Delany Sawyer, Los Gatos, CA (US);
Yusef Rashed Rashid, La Jolla, CA (US);
General Electric Company, San Jose, CA (US);
Abstract
A joint for interfacing a steel head closure and a steel-lined prestressed concrete reactor vessel (PCRV). The steel head closure is bolted to a thick steel annular plate and a thermal barrier is arranged in a volume bounded by the head ring, the liner and the concrete of the PCRV wall. The thermal barrier is made of zirconia sand or other material having a low thermal conductivity, a high bulk modulus equal to that of concrete, and a low shear modulus. Differential thermal expansion of the vessel head closure and PCRV is accommodated by a flexible connection of the PCRV liner to the inner periphery of the head ring. In the alternative, the steel head closure is interfaced to the top of the PCRV via a sliding joint or a thermal stress relief ring. In accordance with a further alternative, thermal stresses in the steel vessel head closure are mitigated by reducing the temperature of the head closure by installing thermal insulation on all internal surfaces thereof.