Turbine-Driven Pump for Containment Cooling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing containment cooling systems in nuclear facilities face reliability issues during accidents due to the presence of active drive devices like electric motors inside the containment, which can malfunction under high temperature and radioactive conditions, compromising safety and efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A containment cooling system where a turbine inside the containment is driven by the coolant flow from outside, coupling the turbine to a pumping device to indirectly drive the cooling circuit, eliminating the need for active motors within the containment and enhancing reliability by using the coolant as both a cooling and hydraulic medium.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If electric motor-driven pumps are used inside the containment vessel to force coolant flow, then the heat flow rate through the heat exchanger increases and cooling effect is improved, but the reliability of the cooling system decreases due to motor malfunction risk under high temperature and radioactive conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The active drive device (electric motor) is extracted from the containment vessel and relocated to a safe zone outside the containment. This eliminates the risk of motor malfunction under high temperature and radioactive conditions while maintaining the cooling function through a passive turbine-driven pump system that uses the coolant flow itself to drive the circulation pump.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling system is designed to be self-driven by utilizing the thermal energy and flow of the coolant itself to power the turbine, which in turn drives the pump. This self-service mechanism eliminates dependence on external power sources and active motors within the containment, improving reliability while maintaining cooling productivity.
2Productivity
If active drive devices are placed inside the containment vessel, then cooling performance is maintained, but safety and reliability are compromised due to potential motor failures during accidents
Solution Approach 1:
The active drive device (electric motor) is extracted from the containment vessel and relocated to a safe zone outside the containment. This eliminates the risk of motor malfunction under high temperature and radioactive conditions while maintaining the cooling function through a passive turbine-driven pump system that uses the coolant flow itself to drive the circulation pump.
Solution Approach 2:
A turbine is introduced as an intermediary device that converts the kinetic energy of the coolant flow into mechanical work to drive the pump. This intermediary mechanism allows the system to maintain active cooling performance without requiring electric motors inside the containment, thus bridging the gap between cooling effectiveness and safety.
3Ease of operation
If motors are located inside the containment vessel, then the cooling circuit can be actively driven, but device complexity and space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The turbine and pump are merged into a single integrated unit located within the containment, eliminating the need for separate motor and pump installations. This reduces device complexity and space requirements while maintaining active cooling circulation through the turbine-driven mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The coolant serves multiple functions: it acts as both the cooling medium and the working fluid to drive the turbine. This multi-functionality reduces the need for additional drive mechanisms and simplifies the overall system configuration, decreasing device complexity while maintaining active cooling capability.
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
This design increases the reliability and safety of the cooling system by avoiding motor failures during accidents, ensuring efficient and long-term cooling with reduced components and space requirements, while preventing radioactive contamination release.
Implementation Method 1
a turbine (36) located within the safety vessel (12), which is driven by the flow of the coolant (30)
Implementation Method 2
a first heat exchanger (20) located within the containment vessel (12) for heat transfer between the medium to be cooled and a coolant
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
AI summary
The invention relates to a containment vessel cooling system (10, 50) comprising the following components: a sealed containment vessel (12, 52) for a nuclear facility, a cooling medium collection area (18) located within the containment vessel (12, 52) for receiving a medium (16) to be cooled, a first heat exchanger (20, 54) located within the containment vessel (12, 52) for heat transfer between the medium (16) to be cooled and a coolant, first means for extracting the medium (16) to be cooled from the cooling medium collection area (18) in a first cooling circuit (78), supplying it to the first heat exchanger (20, 54) for cooling, and returning it to the cooling medium collection area (18) after it has passed through the heat exchanger, wherein the first means comprise a first pumping device (38, 66) located within the containment vessel (12, 52) to circulate the medium (16) to be cooled, and second means for supplying the first heat exchanger (20,54) to supply a coolant from outside the safety vessel and, after it has passed through the safety vessel (12, 52), to return it to the outside of the safety vessel (12, 52), wherein the second means comprise a second pumping device (34, 62) located outside the safety vessel (12, 52) to set the coolant in motion. The second means comprise a turbine located inside the safety vessel, which is driven by the flow of the coolant, and the first pumping device is coupled to the turbine (36, 64) in such a way that it is driven by it.