Semi Submersible Nuclear Power Plant and Multi-Purpose Platform

Abstract

An offshore, floating, moored, nuclear power generating plant and multi-purpose platform is disclosed herein. In a preferred embodiment, the invention consists of a spar or cell spar platform with multi-purpose, all weather topside decks, attached to a submerged “dry tank” that further includes: reactor generator deck(s), power plant main control deck, and central plant deck, that are all integrated within a watertight ballast hull. The invention design further includes cells that are modular for facilitating factory assembly and ultimate construction in a shipyard environment. Reactor vessels are typical naval nuclear reactor having a time tested outstanding safety record. A plurality of reactor generator modules are interconnected and operate independently and collectively and are transmitted by a plurality of high voltage direct current (HVDC) submarine cables through a transformer to the electrical grid. Multipurpose topside decks house vessel commend, crew, and any ancillary and co-generation equipment. The present invention, constructed in a multi-path manufacturing process, provides exceptional economic, environmental, sustainability, security, safety, and operational advantages over the current art of power generation.

Description

PRIORITY CLAIM[0001]This patent application is a continuation-in-part and claims benefit of the priority date of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13 / 540,438 filed on Jul. 2, 2012, entitled Semi Submersible Nuclear Power Plant and Multipurpose Platform, accordingly, the entire contents of this patent application is hereby expressly incorporated by reference.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]1. Field of the Invention[0003]The present invention pertains generally to nuclear power plants and more specifically to an offshore, floating, moored, nuclear power generating plant, integrated into the submerged hull of a spar or cell spar platform. More specifically, the present invention relates to an offshore nuclear power plant comprised of a multiplicity of individual spar cells each containing a reactor vessel.[0004]2. Description of the Prior Art[0005]There exists unequivocal evidence that man made contributions to global warming through increased emissions of heat and greenhouse gases fro...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0033]Also according to various aspects of the present invention, a nuclear power plant is integrated into the submerged hull of an offshore, floating spar or cell spar platform. The invention as presented, employs the same type of platform as currently used in the hydrocarbon industry to drill and extract oil and gas at offshore locations. The spar and cell spar platform have proven to be the safest, most reliable, cost effective and stable offshore floating structures. The present invention incorporates existing technologies from a plurality of internationally competitive manufactures ensuring high quality, competitive pricing, and rapid construction time. The scale and design of each embodiment is task specific, relative to the amount of energy required, location and ancillary services provided. The current art of spar and cell spar platform construction has matured to a highly efficient, assembly line process that has reduced a comparably sized oil services spar rig construction time to less than three years.

[0034]The reactor generator secondary containment modules are arranged as cells and are also assembly line constructed and transported to the spar assembly area. In the preferred embodiment, the reactor generator decks, the main control deck, and the central plant deck all interlock to become the submerged dry tank, which is integrated into the structure of the ballast hull. Submerging the reactor generator decks provides significant weight displacement of the heaviest deck, increased platform stability, increased topside decks capacity, and increased reactor thermal efficiency due to the external cold water. The reactor generator decks contain a plurality of reactor generator modules and any equipment necessary to produce and export electricity. In the preferred embodiment, the modules are arranged in a radial configuration around a central elevator sha

Problems solved by technology

Sighting nuclear power plants on coastal locations results in the installations being vulnerable to seismic events, cyclones and tsunami, thereby escalating the costs of construction and safe operation.

The majority of said power plants are also surrounded by high density population centers escalating land and water prices and face growing public resistance to land based nuclear power.

In addition to the above concerns, power generating industry must constantly balance the electrical supply to randomly fluctuating demand, often requiring rapid adjustments to meet unpredictable occurrences affecting the grid.

Government regulatory agencies and power plant owners are attempting to address these issues for land based nuclear facilities, but the public is justifiably wary.

It provided power for the U.S. Army installation at Lake Gatun, Panama; and although successful, it did not generate commercial interest, and was retired.

This costly unproven, complex design was never constructed.

This design fails to address vulnerabilities to cyclones, tsunami, seismic

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