Floating Reactor Self-Cooling Containment Structure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current nuclear power reactors face challenges in maintaining cooling during electrical disruptions or pipe failures, leading to potential meltdowns and explosions, as they rely on finite water supplies and are vulnerable to external attacks that can break multiple pipes and disrupt electrical systems.
Innovation Solution
A floating nuclear reactor design featuring a barge-mounted reactor with a self-cooling containment structure and emergency cooling system, where the reactor vessel is submerged in a water tank with a suspension system to maintain level positioning and allow movement, and a unique cooling tube assembly that opens to flood with water from the tank in case of overheating, ensuring continuous cooling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If electrical water pumps are used to supply cooling water to the reactor, then the reactor can be cooled effectively during normal operation, but the system becomes vulnerable to cooling failure during electrical disruptions such as tsunamis, typhoons, or earthquakes
Solution Approach 1:
The containment structure is designed to cool itself by direct contact with water in the tank, eliminating the need for electrical pumps. The structure's own surface area is utilized as the heat exchange interface, allowing passive cooling through thermal conduction and convection without external power assistance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical pump-based cooling system with a passive thermal conduction system. Heat is transferred from the reactor containment to the surrounding water through direct contact, utilizing natural thermal gradients rather than forced circulation.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If huge containment structures are used to protect the reactor, then the reactor is protected from external threats, but the system remains vulnerable to pipe breakdowns outside or inside the containment chambers that can break the water circuit
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the vulnerable pipe-based water circulation system and replaces it with direct contact cooling. The containment structure itself becomes the heat exchange surface, eliminating intermediate pipes that could be broken by terrorist attacks or natural disasters.
Solution Approach 2:
The containment structure and cooling system are merged into a single integrated design. The containment structure's outer surface directly contacts the cooling water, combining the protective function with the heat dissipation function in one element, thereby eliminating separate cooling pipes.
3Reliability
If water is stored in tanks above the reactor level for emergency cooling, then the reactor can be cooled for three days in case of pump failure, but the finite water quantity will run out in cases of huge water loss through pipe breakdowns
Solution Approach 1:
The system transitions from a static finite water storage approach to a dynamic system where the barge can move vertically within the tank. This allows the system to access additional water from the tank as needed, converting a limited resource system into one with effectively unlimited water supply through positional adjustment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds a vertical dimension to the water supply system. Instead of relying solely on horizontal water distribution from fixed tanks, the system uses vertical movement of the barge within the water-filled tank to access water from different levels, creating a three-dimensional water access strategy.
4Stability of the object's composition
If the barge is fixed in position within the tank, then the reactor maintains stable positioning, but the reactor cannot absorb impacts from natural disasters or attacks and may come into contact with the tank structure
Solution Approach 1:
The suspension system allows the barge's vertical position parameter to change dynamically in response to external threats. The barge can move upward or downward within the tank to avoid contact with tank walls during earthquakes, tsunamis, or attacks, while the suspension mechanism maintains horizontal stability.
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 system provides continuous cooling by flooding the reactor compartment with water from the tank, preventing overheating and meltdown, even in scenarios of electrical failure or external attacks, and allows the reactor to move and absorb impacts from natural disasters or attacks.
Implementation Method 1
a portion of the outer side of the containment structure being in contact with the water in the tank to cool the containment structure
Implementation Method 2
The cooling tube assembly opens to flood with water from the tank in case of overheating, ensuring continuous cooling
Implementation Method 3
a barge which is floatably positioned in the interior of a large water-filled tank
Data Source
AI summary
A floating nuclear power reactor is provided and includes a barge floating in a tank filled with water. The reactor includes a self-cooling containment structure and an emergency heat exchange system.