Turbopump Ring Injection Nozzle for Nuclear Heat Removal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current long-term heat removal systems for nuclear reactors face difficulties in pumping a mixture of boiling water and boric acid, especially at the start of operation when the mixture is in a steamed state, leading to inefficient heat exchange and potential pressure buildup risks.
Innovation Solution
The turbopump design features a turbine and pump with a ring-shaped injection nozzle having a circumferential groove and angled nozzles, allowing for safe initial operation with cold water injection to manage the steamed mixture, followed by switching to a cooled boric acid mixture for continuous pumping, ensuring efficient hydraulic power and pressure control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a standard pump is used to pump the boiling mixture of water and boric acid, then the pump structure is simple, but the pumping efficiency deteriorates and reliability decreases when the mixture is in steamed state
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines a turbine and pump into a single integrated turbopump unit, where the turbine drives the pump through a common shaft. This merging allows the system to utilize the energy of the boiling mixture to drive both the turbine and pump, improving reliability by eliminating the need for external power sources while maintaining a relatively compact structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs hydraulic principles by using the pressurized boiling mixture itself as the driving medium for the turbine. The high-pressure steam-gas mixture directly drives the turbine impeller, which in turn drives the pump impeller, creating a self-sustaining hydraulic system that maintains reliability without complex external power connections.
2Temperature
If cold water injection is used to manage steamed mixture at pump inlet, then heat exchange efficiency improves, but system complexity increases due to additional injection nozzle components
Solution Approach 1:
The injection nozzle is designed to introduce cold water into the pump inlet region before the mixture enters the pump impeller. This preliminary cooling action condenses part of the steam in the mixture, reducing its temperature and improving pumpability before the main pumping action occurs, thereby managing temperature effectively.
Solution Approach 2:
The injection nozzle acts as an intermediary device that introduces a cooling medium (cold water) into the hot boiling mixture. This intermediary action facilitates heat exchange by creating localized cooling zones where cold water contacts the hot mixture, enabling temperature control without requiring complex heat exchangers.
3Stress or pressure
If the pump operates with boiling mixture directly, then the system structure remains simple, but pressure control capability deteriorates and safety decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The turbine and pump are merged into a single pressure management system where the turbine first reduces the pressure of the boiling mixture, and then the pump delivers the cooled mixture at controlled pressure. This combined approach provides effective pressure control throughout the system without requiring separate pressure reduction and pumping equipment.
Solution Approach 2:
The system utilizes parameter changes by allowing the mixture to undergo phase change (steam to liquid) and temperature change through the injection cooling process. These parameter changes enable the mixture to transition from a difficult-to-pump steamed state to a more controllable liquid state, improving pressure control 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 enables reliable and efficient pumping of boiling water and boric acid mixtures, preventing pressure buildup and ensuring continuous operation, even at critical moments, thereby enhancing the safety and effectiveness of nuclear reactor heat removal systems.
Implementation Method 1
a ring-shaped injection nozzle (108) is connected to the inlet of the pump housing (104), having a circumferential groove on a surface adjacent to the pump housing (104), which forms a circumferential cavity (120)
Implementation Method 2
The heated water evaporates and steam escapes into the space of the hermetic zone
Implementation Method 3
The turbopump (4) comprises a turbine (5) and a pump (8), wherein the turbine (5) comprises a turbine housing (101) with a turbine impeller (102) arranged in the turbine housing (101), and the pump (8) comprises a pump housing (104) with a pump impeller (105) arranged in the pump housing (104)
Implementation Method 4
the pump (8) comprises a pump housing (104) with a pump impeller (105) arranged in the pump housing (104), wherein the turbine impeller (102) and the pump impeller (105) are interconnected by a shaft (103)
Data Source
Figure 1
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AI summary
The turbopump comprises a turbine (5) and a pump (8), where the turbine (5) comprises a turbine housing (101) with an impeller (102) of the turbine (5) located therein, the pump (8) comprises a pump housing (104) with an impeller (105) of the pump 8 located therein, where the impeller (102) of the turbine (5) and the impeller (105) of the pump (8) are interconnected by a shaft (103), and between the turbine housing (101) and the pump housing (104) a coupling housing (106) is arranged, characterized in, that a ring-shaped injection nozzle (108) is connected to the inlet of the pump housing (104), having a circumferential groove on the surface adjacent to the pump housing (104), which forms a circumferential cavity (120), when the injection nozzle 108 and the pump housing (104) are connected, where the circumferential cavity (120) comprises two opposite inlet openings (121a), (121b), and nozzles (125).