Reactor system for deep sea

Abstract

The invention discloses a reactor system for deep sea, and particularly relates to the technical field of marine reactors, the reactor system comprises a reactor, a thermoelectric conversion unit and a shielding unit, and the shielding unit is arranged between the reactor and the thermoelectric conversion unit; the first heat conduction loop penetrates through the shielding unit to connect the reactor with the thermoelectric conversion unit; the shell assembly is of a sealed structure, the shell assembly is provided with a flow guide channel allowing cooling liquid to circulate, the reactor, the thermoelectric conversion unit, the shielding unit and the heat conduction system are all arranged in the shell assembly, and the thermoelectric conversion unit is communicated with the shell assembly to form a second heat conduction loop. The invention solves the problems of complex seawater purification, easy corrosion, high weight, large volume and the like of a deep sea reactor in the prior art, and provides a reactor system which is simple, low in weight, small in volume and long in service life.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of marine reactors, and particularly relates to a reactor system for deep sea. Background Art

[0002] Marine nuclear reactors need to be placed deep in the ocean for use. Traditional marine nuclear reactors have three cooling loops. The primary loop is used to cool the heat of the reactor, the secondary loop is used to conduct the heat of the reactor to the power generation system and perform thermoelectric conversion, and the tertiary loop is used to cool the waste heat generated by the power generation system. Seawater is commonly used as the cooling medium in the third cooling loop. Using seawater as the third cooling loop, although it has the convenience of local material utilization, the reactor system needs to face a series of difficult problems such as seawater purification and corrosion, which makes it difficult to achieve the long-term operation of the system; and as the operating depth of the reactor in the ocean continues to deepen, in order to adapt to the deep sea pressure, the thickness of the pressure shell continues to increase, which makes the introduction of seawater cooling as the third cooling loop exacerbate the difficulty of the internal design of the reactor. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The purpose of the present invention is to solve the technical problems in the prior art that the reactor for deep sea has problems such as seawater purification, corrosion caused by using seawater as the third cooling loop, and high pressure shell thickness due to high deep sea pressure, and the following technical solutions are provided:

[0004] A reactor system for deep sea, comprising

[0005] A reactor;

[0006] A thermoelectric conversion unit, which is used to absorb heat and convert it into electric energy and release waste heat;

[0007] A shielding unit, which is arranged between the reactor and the thermoelectric conversion unit;

[0008] A first heat conduction loop, and the first heat conduction loop passes through the shielding unit to connect the reactor and the thermoelectric conversion unit;

[0009] A housing assembly, the housing assembly is a sealed structure, and the housing assembly has a diversion channel for accommodating the circulation of cooling liquid. The reactor, the thermoelectric conversion unit, the shielding unit and the heat conduction system are all arranged inside the housing assembly, and the thermoelectric conversion unit is communicated with the housing assembly and forms a second heat conduction loop.

[0010] The shell assembly includes a cylindrical cylinder, and the guide channel that can accommodate the circulation of cooling liquid is arranged in the cylinder wall of the cylindrical cylinder. One end of the cylindrical cylinder is fixedly connected to a water tank, and the other end is fixedly connected to an upper header and a lower header that are relatively arranged. The water tank is close to the reactor, and one end of the guide channel is connected to the water tank; the other end of a part of the guide channel is connected to the upper header, and the other end of the remaining part of the guide channel is connected to the lower header; the upper header and the lower header are respectively connected to the input end and the output end of the thermoelectric conversion unit; the upper header, the guide channel, the water tank, the lower header, and the thermoelectric conversion unit together form a second heat conduction circuit.

[0011] The guide channel is a straight channel arranged along the axial direction of the cylindrical barrel.

[0012] The diversion channel is a spiral channel arranged in a spiral shape.

[0013] The shielding unit comprises a main shielding body and a compensating shielding body. The compensating shielding body is arranged on a side of the main shielding body away from the reactor. The first heat conduction loop passes through the main shielding body and the compensating shielding body in sequence to connect the reactor with the thermoelectric conversion unit.

[0014] The thickness of the main shielding body gradually decreases from the center of the main shielding body to the surrounding areas.

[0015] The main shielding body is formed by a plurality of neutron shielding layers and a plurality of photon shielding layers which are arranged crosswise and stacked in sequence, wherein the first layer and the last layer are both neutron shielding layers.

[0016] There are multiple compensating shielding bodies, each of which is correspondingly sleeved on the pipeline of the first heat conduction loop. The shielding compensating body is formed by stacking a photon shielding layer and a neutron shielding layer, wherein the photon shielding layer is in contact with the main shielding body.

[0017] In the second heat conduction loop, a circulation pump is provided between the thermoelectric conversion unit and the lower header.

[0018] The periphery of the bottom of the water tank is chamfered.

[0019] The present invention has the following advantages:

[0020] (1) A reactor system for deep sea disclosed by the present invention adopts a sealed outer shell assembly design, cancels the open seawater cooling loop, and reduces the three-loop cooling system in the prior art to a two-loop cooling system. In this way, the waste heat of the waste heat discharge system can be transferred to the outer shell assembly by using the internal second cooling system, and the heat exchange between the seawater and the outer shell assembly is directly utilized to realize the removal of the waste heat of the waste heat discharge system, avoiding problems such as impurity blockage and corrosion of the outer shell caused by introducing seawater into the reactor system, and thus ensuring the long-term operation of the reactor.

[0021] (2) At the same time, the reactor system provided by the present invention adopts a two-loop heat exchange system, reducing one heat exchange loop, with a simpler structural design. By reducing the third loop that uses seawater, the overall design space of the reactor system becomes more relaxed, the overall layout is reasonable, and the volume of the reactor system is reduced.

[0022] (3) At the same time, the housing assembly provided by the present invention is in a sealed state, and heat exchange and discharge are completed in the sealed state, eliminating the seawater treatment system, that is, eliminating the heavy pressure shell. Because the pressure shell with a seawater circulation system needs to bear the huge pressure of seawater flowing through, resulting in a particularly heavy pressure shell. However, the housing assembly provided by the present invention is a sealed housing assembly. Since there is no need to design the inlet and outlet of seawater, the housing assembly greatly reduces the bearing of seawater pressure, which reduces the requirement for the pressure-bearing capacity of the housing assembly, greatly reduces the strength of the housing assembly, and thus greatly reduces the weight and volume of the housing assembly, thereby forming a miniaturized and lightweight reactor. Combining with the fact that the two-loop itself has a lower overall weight compared with the three-loop in the prior art due to the reduction of the loop, the two combined further reduce the design weight of the reactor system, thus reducing the production requirements and difficulties.

[0023] (4) The present invention discloses a novel housing assembly. The water tank, the upper header, and the lower header can be connected only by welding. At the same time, the diversion channel of the cylindrical barrel wall that mainly bears pressure serves as the flow channel of the cooling medium to realize heat exchange with the seawater outside the outer shell, and can be used as a heat exchanger while realizing the pressure shell; at the same time, this design structure can be manufactured by simple processes such as casting, which can greatly reduce the manufacturing cost.

[0024] (5) The second heat conduction loop provided by the present invention is connected to one side of the cylindrical barrel through the water tank, and the upper header and the lower header are connected to the other side of the cylindrical barrel, and then are respectively connected to the inlet and outlet ends of the waste heat discharge system. While realizing the circulation of the cooling medium, it plays a role in strengthening the strength of the end opening of the cylindrical barrel. At the same time, the water tank is placed on one side of the reactor, playing a role in shielding radiation while storing water.

[0025] (6) A shielding unit placed between the reactor and the thermoelectric conversion unit. The main shield adopts a structural form of cross - overlay of two different materials, and a compensation shield is provided outside the area where the heat transfer device passes through. The compensation shield has a small volume and flexible installation. While ensuring that the irradiation of the motor of the thermoelectric conversion unit at the back end is within an acceptable dose, it reduces the overall size and weight of the shielding system, realizing a lightweight design. This design, combined with the above - mentioned scheme, further reduces the overall weight of the reactor system design.

[0026] (7) The present invention proposes a reactor system applicable to the deep - sea environment. The pressure hull of the invention achieves integrated heat exchange while being resistant to pressure and lightweight at the same time. It combines the secondary loop and the tertiary loop in the prior art and completes the integrated design of power generation and waste - heat discharge through a single loop, avoiding the problems of system complexity and easy corrosion caused by the introduction of seawater cooling in the tertiary loop, greatly simplifying the reactor system and reducing the overall design size of the reactor. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] Figure 1 It is a schematic structural diagram of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 2 It is a schematic structural diagram of the upper header and the lower header of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 3 It is a cross - sectional view of the side - view structure of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 4 It is a schematic structural diagram of the shielding unit.

[0031] In the figure: 1. Reactor, 2. Thermoelectric conversion unit, 3. Shielding unit, 31. Main shield, 32. Compensation shield, 311. Neutron shielding layer, 312. Photon shielding layer, 4. First heat conduction loop, 5. Housing assembly, 51. Cylindrical barrel, 52. Water tank, 53. Upper header, 54. Lower header, 6. Diversion channel, 7. Circulation pump. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0032] Next, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all the embodiments.

[0033] Therefore, the following detailed description of the embodiments of the present invention is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention claimed, but only represents some embodiments of the present invention. All other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without creative efforts fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0034] It should be noted that, without conflict, the embodiments and the features and technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention may be combined with each other.

[0035] It should be noted that like reference numerals and letters refer to like items in the following figures, and thus, once an item is defined in one figure, it does not need to be further defined and explained in subsequent figures. In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that the orientation or positional relationship indicated by terms such as "upper", "lower", etc. is based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the figures, or the orientation or positional relationship in which the product of the present invention is usually placed during use, or the orientation or positional relationship commonly understood by those skilled in the art. Such terms are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and thus should not be construed as a limitation on the present invention. In addition, terms such as "first", "second", etc. are only used for differential description and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0036] Referring to Figures 1 to 4 , a reactor system for deep sea, comprising

[0037] a reactor 1 for generating nuclear reactions and releasing heat;

[0038] a thermoelectric conversion unit 2 for absorbing heat, converting it into electrical energy and releasing waste heat.

[0039] a shielding unit 3 disposed between the reactor 1 and the thermoelectric conversion unit 2; for shielding the radiation during the nuclear reaction of the reactor 1 to avoid damaging the efficiency of the thermoelectric conversion unit 2 due to radiation.

[0040] a first heat conduction loop 4, the first heat conduction loop 4 passing through the shielding unit 3 to connect the reactor 1 and the thermoelectric conversion unit 2. When the cooling liquid in the first heat conduction loop 4 passes through the reactor 1, heat exchange occurs with the reactor 1, the temperature of the cooling liquid rises, and the heat released by the nuclear reaction is carried away. Then, when it passes through the thermoelectric conversion unit 2, heat exchange occurs, and the thermoelectric conversion unit 2 converts the heat brought by the high-temperature cooling liquid into electrical energy and releases waste heat. At the same time, the temperature of the cooling liquid in the first heat conduction loop 4 decreases and continues to flow through the reactor 1, working in sequence and repeatedly.

[0041] A housing assembly 5, the housing assembly 5 being a sealed structure. The housing assembly 5 has a diversion channel 6 for the circulation of cooling liquid. The reactor 1, the thermoelectric conversion unit 2, the shielding unit 3, and the heat conduction system are all disposed inside the housing assembly 5. The thermoelectric conversion unit 2 communicates with the housing assembly 5 to form a second heat conduction loop. The second heat conduction loop is used to take away the waste heat released by the thermoelectric conversion unit 2. Specifically, when the cooling liquid in the second heat conduction loop passes through the thermoelectric conversion unit 2, it exchanges heat with the waste heat released by the thermoelectric conversion unit 2. The cooling liquid in the second heat conduction loop heats up, taking away the waste heat released by the thermoelectric conversion unit 2. Then, when the cooling liquid in the second heat conduction loop flows through the housing assembly 5, it exchanges heat with the seawater outside the housing assembly 5. The cooling liquid in the second heat conduction loop cools down and continues to flow through the thermoelectric conversion unit 2 to exchange heat with the thermoelectric conversion unit 2, and so on in a cyclic manner. Among them, the cooling liquid in the second heat conduction loop is preferably desalinated water because this cooling liquid is recycled, and desalinated water can avoid problems such as rusting and corroding the housing.

[0042] In the above solution, the housing assembly 5 is a closed integral structure. Compared with the prior art, the open seawater cooling loop is cancelled, and the three-loop cooling system in the prior art is reduced to a two-loop cooling system. In this way, the waste heat of the thermoelectric conversion unit 2 can be transferred to the outer housing assembly by using the internal second heat conduction system, and the heat exchange between the seawater and the outer housing assembly is directly utilized to realize the removal of the waste heat of the waste heat discharge system, avoiding problems such as impurity blockage and corrosion of the outer housing caused by introducing seawater into the reactor 1 system, thereby ensuring the long-term operation of the reactor 1. At the same time, one heat exchange loop is reduced, making the overall structural design of the reactor 1 system simpler. The third loop for open seawater circulation inside the reactor 1 system is removed, making the overall design space of the reactor 1 system more relaxed, the overall layout reasonable, and the volume of the reactor 1 system reduced. And because the housing assembly 5 is in a sealed state and the heat exchange and discharge are completed in a sealed state, the seawater treatment system is omitted, that is, the very heavy pressure housing is omitted. Because the pressure housing with the seawater circulation system needs to bear the huge pressure of seawater flowing through, resulting in the pressure housing being particularly heavy. However, the housing assembly 5 provided by the present invention is a sealed housing assembly 5. Since there is no need to design the inlet and outlet of seawater, the housing assembly 5 greatly reduces the bearing of seawater pressure, which reduces the requirement for the pressure-bearing capacity of the housing assembly 5, greatly reduces the strength of the housing assembly 5, and further greatly reduces the weight and volume of the housing assembly 5, thereby forming a miniaturized and lightweight reactor 1. And combined with the fact that the two-loop itself has a lower overall weight compared with the three-loop of the prior art due to the reduction of the loop, the two combined further reduce the design weight of the reactor 1 system, thereby reducing the production requirements and difficulties.

[0043] The shell assembly 5 includes a cylindrical tube 51, and the guide channel 6 that can accommodate the circulation of cooling liquid is arranged in the tube wall of the cylindrical tube 51. One end of the cylindrical tube 51 is fixedly connected to the water tank 52, and the other end is fixedly connected to the upper header 53 and the lower header 54 that are relatively arranged. The water tank 52 is close to the reactor 1, and one end of the guide channel 6 is connected to the water tank 52; the other end of a part of the guide channel 6 is connected to the upper header 53, and the other end of the remaining part of the guide channel 6 is connected to the lower header 54; the upper header 53 and the lower header 54 are respectively connected to the input end and the output end of the thermoelectric conversion unit 2; the upper header 53, the guide channel 6, the water tank 52, the lower header 54, and the thermoelectric conversion unit 2 together form a second heat conduction circuit. Specifically, the input end of the upper header 53 is connected to the output end of the waste heat discharge pipeline of the thermoelectric conversion unit 2, the output end of the upper header 53 is connected to one end of a portion of the guide channel 6, the other end of the guide channel 6 is connected to the input end of the water tank 52, the output end of the water tank 52 is connected to one end of the remaining portion of the guide channel 6, the other end of the remaining portion of the guide channel 6 is connected to the input end of the lower header 54, and the output end of the lower header 54 is connected to the input end of the waste heat discharge pipeline of the thermoelectric conversion unit 2, forming a closed second heat conduction loop.

[0044] In one embodiment, the guide channel 6 is a straight channel arranged along the axial direction of the cylindrical tube 51. When the guide channel 6 is a straight channel, the cylindrical tube 51 can be produced by a simple production process of stamping or casting, which is easy to produce.

[0045] In one embodiment, the guide channel 6 is a spiral channel arranged in a spiral shape. When the guide channel 6 is a spiral channel, the heat exchange path of the guide channel 6 is extended, thereby improving the heat exchange effect.

[0046] The shielding unit 3 includes a main shielding body 31 and a compensating shielding body 32. The compensating shielding body 32 is arranged on the side of the main shielding body 31 away from the reactor 1. The first heat conduction loop 4 sequentially passes through the main shielding body 31 and the compensating shielding body 32 to connect the reactor 1 with the thermoelectric conversion unit 2. The main shielding body 31 is used to shield the main radiation of the reactor 1. The compensating shielding body 32 has a small volume and is used to compensate for the radiation shielding while further realizing lightweight.

[0047] The thickness of the main shielding body 31 gradually decreases from the center of the main shielding body 31 to the periphery. In the radiation of the reactor 1, the radiation dose gradually decreases from the center to the periphery; the dose in the middle area is relatively high, and the thickness of the main shielding body 31 is set to be relatively thick, while the dose at the periphery is low, and the thickness of the main shielding body 31 is correspondingly thinned; the thinning of the thickness of the main shielding body 31 correspondingly reduces the mass of the overall reactor 1 system, achieving a lightweight design.

[0048] The main shielding body 31 is formed by sequentially stacking and arranging a plurality of neutron shielding layers 311 and a plurality of photon shielding layers 312 in a cross - pattern, where both the first layer and the last layer are neutron shielding layers 311. The main radiation sources of the reactor consist of neutrons and photons (γ - rays). The neutron shielding layer is used to absorb neutrons, and the photon shielding layer 312 is used to absorb photons (γ - rays).

[0049] A plurality of compensation shielding bodies 32 are provided, and each shielding compensation body is sleeved on the pipeline of the first heat conduction loop 4 correspondingly. The composition of the shielding compensation body is the same as that of the main shielding body. The shielding compensation body is stacked by the photon shielding layer 312 that constitutes the main shielding body and the neutron shielding layer 311 that constitutes the main shielding body. Among them, the photon shielding layer 312 is fixedly connected to the main shielding body 31.

[0050] On the second heat conduction loop, a circulation pump 7 is provided between the thermoelectric conversion unit 2 and the lower header 54. The circulation pump 7 is used to provide circulation power for the second heat conduction loop.

[0051] The outer periphery of the bottom of the water tank 52 is chamfered. The chamfer design can reduce the bearing pressure of the water tank 52.

[0052] In summary, a reactor system for the deep sea provided by the present invention is improved from the existing three - loop cooling system to a two - loop cooling system, reducing the process complexity brought by one of the loops, solving the problem of seawater treatment brought by the seawater loop. At the same time, the requirement for the corrosion resistance of the shell is reduced. Further, since there is no need to introduce seawater to further cool the waste heat discharge system of the thermoelectric conversion unit 2, the housing assembly 5 can be designed to be closed during design, and thus does not need to bear the huge pressure of seawater flowing through. As a result, the pressure shell is extremely heavy, which causes the weight of the component shell to be reduced. Combined with the weight reduction of the shielding unit 3, the weight of the reactor 1 system provided by the present invention is greatly reduced compared with the prior art, and at the same time, it has stable performance and an extended service life.

[0053] The working principle of the present invention is as follows: A nuclear fusion reaction occurs in the reactor 1, generating heat. When the cooling liquid in the first heat conduction loop 4 passes through the reactor 1, a heat exchange occurs between them, and the temperature of the cooling liquid rises, taking away the heat released by the nuclear reaction. Then, when passing through the thermoelectric conversion unit 2, a heat exchange occurs, and the thermoelectric conversion unit 2 converts the heat brought by the high-temperature cooling liquid into electrical energy and releases the waste heat. At the same time, the temperature of the cooling liquid in the first heat conduction loop 4 decreases and continues to flow through the reactor 1. When the cooling liquid in the second heat conduction loop passes through the thermoelectric conversion unit 2, it exchanges heat with the waste heat released by the thermoelectric conversion unit 2, and the temperature of the cooling liquid in the second heat conduction loop rises, taking away the waste heat released by the thermoelectric conversion unit 2. Then, when the cooling liquid in the second heat conduction loop flows through the housing assembly 5, it exchanges heat with the seawater outside the housing assembly 5, and the temperature of the cooling liquid in the second heat conduction loop decreases and continues to flow through the thermoelectric conversion unit 2 to exchange heat with the thermoelectric conversion unit 2, and this cycle repeats.

[0054] As described above, the above is only the preferred specific embodiment of the present invention, but the protection scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed by the present invention, according to the technical solution and inventive concept of the present invention, makes equivalent substitutions or changes, and all should be covered by the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A reactor system for the deep sea, characterized in that, Comprising a reactor (1); a thermoelectric conversion unit (2) for absorbing heat to convert it into electric energy and releasing waste heat; a shielding unit (3) disposed between the reactor (1) and the thermoelectric conversion unit (2); a first heat conduction loop (4), the first heat conduction loop (4) passing through the shielding unit (3) to connect the reactor (1) and the thermoelectric conversion unit (2); a housing assembly (5), the housing assembly (5) being a sealed structure, the housing assembly (5) having a diversion channel (6) for accommodating the circulation of cooling liquid, the reactor (1), the thermoelectric conversion unit (2), the shielding unit (3) and the heat conduction system being all disposed inside the housing assembly (5), the thermoelectric conversion unit (2) communicating with the housing assembly (5) to form a second heat conduction loop.

2. A reactor system for deep sea as claimed in claim 1, wherein the housing assembly (5) comprises a cylindrical barrel (51), the diversion channel (6) for accommodating the circulation of cooling liquid being disposed within the barrel wall of the cylindrical barrel (51), one end of the cylindrical barrel (51) being fixedly connected to a water tank (52), the other end being fixedly connected to an upper header (53) and a lower header (54) which are oppositely disposed, the water tank (52) being close to the reactor (1), and one end of the diversion channel (6) communicating with the water tank (52); one end of a part of the diversion channel (6) communicating with the upper header (53), and the other end of the remaining part of the diversion channel (6) communicating with the lower header (54); the upper header (53) and the lower header (54) being respectively communicated with the input end and the output end of the thermoelectric conversion unit (2); the upper header (53), the diversion channel (6), the water tank (52), the lower header (54) and the thermoelectric conversion unit (2) jointly form a second heat conduction loop.

3. The reactor system for deep sea according to claim 2, wherein The diversion channel (6) is a straight channel disposed along the axial direction of the cylindrical barrel (51).

4. A reactor system for deep sea as claimed in claim 2, wherein, The diversion channel (6) is a spiral channel disposed in a spiral shape.

5. A reactor system for deep sea as claimed in claim 1, wherein, The shielding unit (3) comprises a main shielding body (31) and a compensation shielding body (32), the compensation shielding body (32) being disposed on a side of the main shielding body (31) facing away from the reactor (1), the first heat conduction loop (4) sequentially passing through the main shielding body (31) and the compensation shielding body (32) to connect the reactor (1) and the thermoelectric conversion unit (2).

6. The reactor system for deep sea according to claim 5, characterized in that, The thickness of the main shielding body (31) gradually decreases from the center of the main shielding body (31) to the periphery.

7. A reactor system for deep sea as claimed in claim 5, wherein The main shielding body (31) is formed by sequentially and crosswise arranging and stacking a plurality of neutron shielding layers (311) and a plurality of photon shielding layers (312), wherein the first layer and the last layer are both neutron shielding layers (311).

8. The reactor system for deep sea according to claim 5, wherein, A plurality of the compensation shielding bodies (32) are provided, each shielding compensation body being correspondingly sleeved on the pipeline of the first heat conduction loop (4), the shielding compensation body being stacked by a photon shielding layer (312) and a neutron shielding layer (311), wherein the photon shielding layer (312) is in contact with the main shielding body (31).

9. A reactor system for the deep sea according to any one of claims 1-8, characterized in that, A circulation pump (7) is provided between the thermoelectric conversion unit (2) and the lower header (54) on the second heat conduction loop.

10. A reactor system for deep sea as claimed in claim 2, wherein The bottom periphery of the water tank (52) is provided with a chamfer.

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