PEEK-Coated Coil Assembly for Nuclear Control Rod Drivers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Control rod driving coils in nuclear power plants deteriorate due to high temperatures during continuous operations, leading to insulation breakdown and potential control rod falls, compromising safety and reliability.
Innovation Solution
A coil assembly with a polyether ether ketone (PEEK) coating layer on copper wires, wound in multiple layers, filled with varnish, and sealed with insulating tape and silicon molding, enhancing heat resistance and mechanical properties.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If enamel-based insulating material is used to cover coil wires, then the coil assembly can be manufactured with conventional materials and processes, but the coils deteriorate at temperatures above 220°C leading to insulation breakdown and control rod failure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameter of the insulating coating from conventional enamel-based material to polyether ether ketone (PEEK) coating material. This parameter change enables the coil assembly to withstand temperatures above 220°C without deterioration, directly resolving the heat resistance issue while maintaining manufacturing feasibility through established coating processes
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a composite structure consisting of copper coil wires covered with PEEK coating material. This composite material combination provides both the electrical conductivity required for coil operation and the high-temperature resistance needed to prevent deterioration during continuous operation, thereby improving reliability without sacrificing electrical performance
2Ease of manufacture
If conventional enamel-based insulating material is used on coil wires, then manufacturing is simpler and more economical, but continuous operation during automatic load follow causes coil deterioration and insulation breakdown
Solution Approach 1:
The patent modifies the insulating material parameter from enamel-based coating to PEEK coating, which can be applied through conventional coating processes. This change maintains ease of manufacture while dramatically improving coil durability during continuous operation by enabling operation at temperatures above 220°C without material deterioration
3Productivity
If coils operate at high temperatures during automatic load follow, then power generation efficiency is maintained, but insulation breakdown occurs leading to control rod falls and safety issues
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the thermal parameter of the insulating material by using PEEK coating material with high heat resistance. This enables the coils to operate at high temperatures during automatic load follow operations without experiencing insulation breakdown, thereby maintaining power generation productivity while eliminating the safety hazard of control rod falls
Solution Approach 2:
The PEEK coating material serves as a protective barrier that beforehand prevents insulation breakdown under high-temperature conditions. This prior protection allows the coil assembly to withstand the thermal stress of continuous operation during automatic load follow without deteriorating, thus preventing control rod failures before they can occur
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 coil assembly exhibits improved heat resistance and lifespan, reducing coil deterioration and control rod falls, thereby enhancing the safety and economic feasibility of nuclear power plants during automatic load follow operations.
Implementation Method 1
a covered wire including a coil wire and a polyether ether ketone (PEEK) coating layer covering an outer circumferential surface of the coil wire
Implementation Method 2
configured to control the vertical movement of the control rod 3 by controlling motor driving using an electromagnetic force generated by power supplied to cables of the control rod driving coils
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3(a)~3(b)
AI summary
Provided is a coil assembly having improved heat resistance for use in a control rod driver, in which the heat resistance of coils is improved to increase the lifespan thereof and the deterioration of the coils and the fall of a control rod are thus securely prevented from occurring due to continuous operations of the control rod driver during an automatic load follow operation, thereby improving the safety and economic feasibility of a nuclear power plant, and a method for manufacturing the same. The coil assembly includes a covered wire (110) which includes a coil wire (111) and a polyether ether ketone (PEEK) coating layer (112) covering an outer circumferential surface of the coil wire (111) and is wound in multiple layers; a coil coating layer (130) formed by filling gaps in the covered wire (110) with varnish; an insulating tape layer (120) covering external sides of a wound layer of the covered wire (110) insulated by the coil coating layer (130); and silicon molding (140) covering external sides of the insulating tape layer (120).