Nuclear Cooling Medium Generator Using Steam-Driven Piston
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional nuclear power generation cooling systems have low energy efficiency and are insufficient for cooling large-scale facilities, leading to energy loss and inefficiency in transforming nuclear energy into thermal, mechanical, and electric energy.
Innovation Solution
A cooling medium-generating apparatus that utilizes high-temperature and high-pressure steam from a nuclear power plant to drive a piston, compress, and expand a refrigerant, generating a cooling medium efficiently by integrating a steam generator, cooling module, and associated piping and control systems within the containment vessel.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If traditional cooling equipment systems are used that convert nuclear energy to electricity and then use electricity to cool buildings, then the system can provide cooling functionality, but energy efficiency dramatically declines during energy transformation and transmission loss occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the steam generation system and cooling system into an integrated apparatus where the steam generator directly produces cooling medium by generating steam that drives a compressor. This merging eliminates the intermediate electricity generation and transmission steps, directly utilizing nuclear thermal energy for cooling purposes and thereby improving energy efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The steam generator in the patent serves multiple functions: it generates steam for driving the compressor and simultaneously acts as part of the cooling medium generation system. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate equipment and minimizes energy transformation losses by directly utilizing steam for both propulsion and cooling medium production.
2Productivity
If electricity is supplied to cooling equipment to generate cooling air for large-scale facilities, then cooling can be provided, but electricity supplies alone are insufficient and transmission loss takes place
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the cooling medium generation function directly from the steam generation process by utilizing the steam produced to drive the compressor. This extraction eliminates the need for separate electricity supply to cooling equipment, thereby eliminating transmission loss while maintaining adequate cooling capability for large-scale facilities.
3Power
If nuclear power plants generate electricity through steam turbines, then electricity can be produced, but heat generation or noise generation takes place during electric power transmission
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces steam as an intermediary medium that directly connects the nuclear power plant's thermal output to the cooling system. Instead of converting thermal energy to electricity and then using electricity for cooling (which generates heat and noise during transmission), the steam directly drives the compressor to produce cooling medium, eliminating harmful effects during energy transmission.
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 apparatus efficiently generates a cooling medium, improving energy efficiency and enabling multiple functions, including enhanced cooling capabilities for SMART nuclear reactors, by effectively utilizing high-temperature steam to compress and expand refrigerants, thereby improving cooling efficiency and reducing energy losses.
Implementation Method 1
The heat generated by nuclear fission in a nuclear reactor 12 is delivered to a steam generator 14, and the steam generator 14 makes high-temperature and high-pressure steam by using the delivered heat
Implementation Method 2
a piston (44) reciprocating in a cylinder (42) depending on the pressure of the steam supplied to the cylinder, for compressing and expanding a refrigerant depending on the reciprocating of the piston (44), wherein the refrigerant is cooled at or below a certain temperature in response to the compressing or expanding of the refrigerant
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to an apparatus for efficiently and economically generating a cooling medium by using high-temperature and high-pressure steam generated in a nuclear power plant, and cooling method therefor. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the cooling medium generating apparatus provided in a containment vessel of a nuclear power generation facility so as to generate the cooling medium can comprise: a nuclear reactor for heating a coolant by using heat included in the heated coolant; a cooling module for generating the cooling medium by using the steam generated in the steam generator; and a cooling medium supplying pipe of which the end portion is connected to the outside of the containment vessel so as to supply the cooling medium, having been generated in the cooling module, to the outside of the containment vessel.