Simplified Boiling Water Reactor Layout for Leak-Resistant Cooling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Large-scale nuclear reactors, such as ESBWRs, face challenges with high construction costs, large volumes, and the risk of coolant leakage due to extensive piping and flowpaths, limiting their modularity and flexibility for immediate or peaking power generation.
Innovation Solution
A compact, simplified nuclear reactor design with a smaller containment structure made of resilient materials, integrated isolation valves, and passive isolation condenser systems for reliable cooling, positioned underground to minimize seismic and surface impact risks, and reduce the risk of coolant leakage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If large-scale nuclear reactors are used to produce high thermal energy, then power generation capacity is improved, but construction costs and device complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The reactor system is divided into modular components including standardized reactor vessels, containment structures, and cooling systems that can be manufactured independently and assembled on-site, reducing overall construction complexity while maintaining high power output capability
Solution Approach 2:
The design optimizes the height-to-width ratio parameter to enable natural circulation cooling, eliminating the need for complex active pumping systems and reducing device complexity while maintaining efficient heat transfer and power generation
2Reliability
If extensive piping and flowpaths are used in conventional reactors, then cooling capacity is improved, but the risk of coolant leakage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The design extracts and eliminates extensive piping and complex flowpaths from the reactor system, replacing them with a simplified direct cooling approach where coolant flows directly over the core and through minimal pathways, thereby maintaining cooling capacity while dramatically reducing leakage risk
Solution Approach 2:
The design converts the potential harm of complex piping by eliminating it entirely, using the simplicity of direct coolant flow to achieve both excellent cooling capacity and minimal leakage risk through a fail-safe design approach
3Stability of the object's composition
If conventional ESBWR designs are used for baseline power generation, then stable power output is improved, but flexibility for immediate or peaking power generation is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The reactor design incorporates dynamic capabilities through simplified systems that can rapidly respond to power demand changes, allowing the plant to operate flexibly in immediate, peaking, or baseline power generation modes while maintaining stable operation through passive safety features
4Ease of manufacture
If containment structures are made larger to house reactor components, then reactor functionality is improved, but construction costs and material requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The design merges the containment structure with the reactor vessel and cooling systems into an integrated compact unit, eliminating the need for large separate containment buildings while maintaining all necessary reactor functionalities and safety features
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The design achieves reduced construction costs, enhanced safety, and flexibility in power generation by minimizing the risk of coolant loss and allowing for easier maintenance and operation, while maintaining natural circulation and passive safety features.
Implementation Method 1
Reactor 42 is conventionally capable of producing and approved to produce several thousand megawatts of thermal energy through nuclear fission
Implementation Method 2
containment building 36 even higher above ground elevation, to facilitate natural circulation cooling
Implementation Method 3
Suppression pool 59 may include an emergency steam vent used to divert steam from a main steam line into suppression pool 59 for condensation and heat sinking
Implementation Method 4
a gravity-driven cooling system (GDCS) pool 37 can further provide coolant to reactor 42 via piping 57
Data Source
AI summary
Nuclear reactors have very few systems for significantly reduced failure possibilities. Nuclear reactors may be boiling water reactors with natural circulation-enabling heights and smaller, flexible energy outputs in the 0-350 megawatt-electric range. Reactors are fully surrounded by an impermeable, high-pressure containment. No coolant pools, heat sinks, active pumps, or other emergency fluid sources may be present inside containment; emergency cooling, like isolation condenser systems, are outside containment. Isolation valves integral with the reactor pressure vessel provide working and emergency fluid through containment to the reactor. Isolation valves are one-piece, welded, or otherwise integral with reactors and fluid conduits having ASME-compliance to eliminate risk of shear failure. Containment may be completely underground and seismically insulated to minimize footprint and above-ground target area.