Hydraulic sample changer for tanktype water-cooled nuclear reactors

Claim 1

A HYDRAULIC SAMPLE CHANGER FOR FLUID-COOLED NUCLEAR REACTORS HAVING A COOLANT PRESSURE VESSEL, A REACTOR CORE AND A REACTOR CORE SAMPLE IRRADITING SPACE IN THE REACTOR CORE COMPRISING A CONVEYOR TUBE HAVING A STORAGE PORTION AND A CONVEYING PORTION, SAID CONVEYOR TUBE STORAGE PORTION BEING SUPPORTED IN THE REACTOR CORE SAMPLE IRRADIATING SPACE AND SAID CONVEYOR TUBE CONVEYING PORTION HAVING AN OUTER END PASSING OUT OF THE COOLANT PRESSURE VESSEL; A SAMPLE TRANSIENT STORAGE MAGAZINE, SAID MAGAZINE BEING RIGHT-CYLINDRICAL IN SHAPE AND BEING SUPPORTED FOR ROTATION ON AN AXLE PASSING THROUGH ITS CENTRAL AXIS, A PLURALITY OF SEPARATE CHAMBERS PASSING THROUGH SAID MAGAZINE PARALLEL TO THE AXIS THEREOF AND SITUATED ON A CIRCLE HAVING A CENTER ON THE AXIS OF THE SAME; A FIRST BEARING PLATE SUPPORTED BETWEEN SAID MAGAZINE AND THE REACTOR, SAID BEARING PLATE HAVING AT LEAST FIRST AND SECOND PASSAGES SPACED FROM EACH OTHER THROUGH THE THICKNESS THEREOF, AND POSITIONED IN LINE WITH THE CIRCLE OF LOCATION OF THE MAGAZINE CHAMBERS, A SECOND BEARING PLATE SUPPORTED ADJACENT THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE MAGAZINE AND HAVING FIRST AND SECOND PASSAGES THERETHROUGH, RSPECTIVELY, IN LINE WITH THE PASSAGES IN THE FIRST BEARING PLATE, SAID SECOND BEARING PLATE HAVING A DIAMETER AT LEAST EQUAL TO THE DIAMETER OF THE MAGAZINE AXLE, SAID CONVEYOR TUBE OUTER END BEING CONNECTED TO THE FIRST BEARING PLATE FIRST PASSAGE, REVERSIBLE HYDRAULIC PRESSURE MEANS CONNECTED BETWEEN AND TO THE SECOND BEARING PLATE FIRST PASSAGE AND TO THE REACTOR COOLANT PRESSURE VESSEL; THE CONVEYOR TUBE STORAGE PORTION HAVING A FLUID TRANSMISSIBLE SCREEN ELEMENT SECURED IN THE FREE END THEREOF, ACCESS PORT MEANS SUPPORTED ADJACENT TO AND ALIGNED WITH THE SECOND BEARING PLATE SECOND PASSAGE AND DISCHARGE PORT MEANS SUPPORTED ADJACENT TO AND ALIGNED WITH THE FIRST BEARING PLATE SECOND PASSAGE, A SLIDE VALVE SUPPORTED TRANSVERSE OF SAID FIRST PLATE SECOND PASSAGE AND ADAPTED TO BE MANIPULATED TO OPEN AND CLOSE THE SAID SECOND PASSAGE, WHEREBY A SAMPLE OF MATERIAL TO BE IRRADIATED CAN BE INSERTED INTO A CHAMBER OF SAID MAGAZINE THROUGH SAID ACCESS PORT AND UPON MANIPULTING SAID MAGAZINE TO ALIGN SAID CHAMBER WITH THE CONVEYOR TUBE, EXCESS HYDRAULIC PRESSURE ABOVE SAID SAMPLE URGES SAID SAMPLE INTO SAID CONVEYOR TUBE STORAGE PORTION, AND WHEREBY ANY SAMPLE IN THE CONVEYOR STOORAGE PORTION CAN BE RETRIEVED BY A DEFICIENCY OF HYDRAULIC PRESSURE AT THE MAGAZINE RELATIVE TO THE PRESSURE IN THE COOLANT PRESSURE VESSEL BY SELECTIVELY MANIPULATING THE MAGAZINE TO TRANSIENTLY STORE IN THE MAGAZINE SAMPLES AHEAD OF AND INCLUDING THE WANTED SAMPLE, AND FINALLY BY MANIPULATING THE CHAMBER OF THE MAGAZINE CONTAINING THE WANTED SAMPLE INTO ALIGNMENT WITH THE FIRST BEARING PLATE SECOND PASSAGE AND OPENING SAID SLIDE VALVE, THE SAID WANTED SAMPLE IS DISCHARGED FROM SAID MAGAZINE.