Liquid-cooled nuclear reactor

Claim 2

A liquid-cooled nuclear reactor comprising at least one pump for circulating the liquid through the reactor core and through at least one heat exchanger for cooling said liquid, said pump, said heat exchanger and said reactor core being immersed in a same mass of said liquid and disposed respectively in three sequentially intersecting vertical tanks which contain said liquid mass and which open at the top into a same inert gas atmosphere, said tanks having the shape at least partially of cylinders which are substantially identical in diameter, the tank containing said reactor core intersecting only with one of the other two tanks, said reactor further including conduit means disposed between said tanks to provide liquid communication.

Claim 3

A liquid-cooled nuclear reactor comprising at least one pump for circulating the liquid through the reactor core and through at least one heat exchanger for cooling said liquid, said pump, said heat exchanger and said reactor core being immersed in a same mass of said liquid and disposed respectively in three sequentially intersecting vertical tanks which contain said liquid mass and which open at the top into a same inert gas atmosphere, said tanks having the shape at least partially of cylinders which are substantially identical in diameter, the tank containing said reactor core intersecting only with one of the other two tanks, said reactor further including conduit means disposed between said tanks to provide liquid communication.

Claim 4

A liquid-cooled nuclear reactor comprising at least one pump for circulating the liquid through the reactor core and through at least one heat exchanger for cooling said liquid, said pump, said heat exchanger and said reactor core being immersed in a same mass of said liquid and disposed respectively in three sequentially intersecting vertical tanks which contain said liquid mass and which open at the top into a same inert gas atmosphere, said tanks having the shape at least partially of cylinders which are substantially identical in diameter, the tank containing said reactor core intersecting only with one of the other two tanks, said reactor further including conduit means disposed between said tanks to provide liquid communication.

Claim 5

A nuclear reactor in accordance with claim 1, wherein the axes of said cylinders are aligned.

Claim 6

A nuclear reactor in accordance with claim 1, wherein each pump is connected by means of an individual duct to a first of said tanks containing the reactor core upstream of said core.

Claim 7

A nuclear reactor in accordance with claim 1, wherein the tank containing the heat exchanger is disposed between the tank containing the reactor and the tank containing the pump.

Claim 8

A nuclear reactor in accordance with claim 1, wherein the tank containing the pump is disposed between the tank containing the reactor and the tank containing the heat exchanger and is traversed by a passage which provides a communication between said tanks.

Claim 9

A liquid-cooled nuclear reactor comprising a container means divided by partition means into a pump chamber containing at least one pump means, a heat exchange chamber containing at least one heat exchange means and a reactor chamber containing at least one reactor means, the heat exchange chamber being disposed between the other tow chambers, and all of said chambers being adapted to contain a cooling liquid, conduit means extending from the pump means through the lower portion of the heat exchange chamber and into the reactor chamber, said conduit means providing communication between said pump means and the core of the reactor means, aperture means disposed in the upper portion of the partition means which separates the reactor chamber from the heat exchange chamber, for introducing the cooling liquid from the upper portion of the reactor chamber to the upper portion of the heat exchange chamber, and aperture means disposed in the lower portion of the partition means which separates the heat exchange chamber from the pump chamber, for reintroducing the cooling liquid from the the portion of the heat exchange chamber to the lower portion of the pump chamber where the cooling liquid is again taken up by the pump means for repeating the cycle, said chambers being sequentially intersecting.

Claim 10

A liquid-cooled nuclear reactor comprising a container means divided by partition means into a pump chamber containing at least one pump means, a heat exchange chamber containing at least one heat exchange means and a reactor chamber containing at least one reactor means, the heat exchange chamber being disposed between the other tow chambers, and all of said chambers being adapted to contain a cooling liquid, conduit means extending from the pump means through the lower portion of the heat exchange chamber and into the reactor chamber, said conduit means providing communication between said pump means and the core of the reactor means, aperture means disposed in the upper portion of the partition means which separates the reactor chamber from the heat exchange chamber, for introducing the cooling liquid from the upper portion of the reactor chamber to the upper portion of the heat exchange chamber, and aperture means disposed in the lower portion of the partition means which separates the heat exchange chamber from the pump chamber, for reintroducing the cooling liquid from the the portion of the heat exchange chamber to the lower portion of the pump chamber where the cooling liquid is again taken up by the pump means for repeating the cycle, said chambers being sequentially intersecting.

Claim 11

The reactor of claim 6, wherein the three chambers are surrounded by an insulating shell, said chambers being connected to the superstructure of said shell by bellows seal means.

Claim 12

The reactor of claim 6, wherein a partition wall divides the heat exchange chamber into two volumes, said volumes communicating with each other through the heat exchange means, the cooling liquid in the upper volume passing into the upper portion of the heat exchanger and exiting out of the lower portion of the heat exchanger on the other side of the partition wall into the lower portion of the chamber.

Claim 13

The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the aperture means disposed in the lower portion of the partition means separating the pump chamber from the heat exchange chamber also houses the conduit means which provides communication between the pump means and the reactor means.

Claim 14

A liquid-cooled nuclear reactor comprising a container means divided by partition means into a heat exchange chamber containing at least one heat exchange means, a pump chamber containing at least one pump means anD a reactor chamber containing at least one reactor means, the pump chamber being disposed between the heat exchange chamber and the reactor chamber, and all of said chambers being adapted to contain a cooling liquid, conduit means extending from the pump means into the reactor chamber, channel means disposed in the upper portion of the pump chamber, said channel means providing a leak-tight communication between the upper portion of the reactor chamber and the upper portion of the heat exchange chamber, and aperture means disposed in the lower portion of the partition means separating the heat exchange chamber from the pump chamber for reintroducing the cooling liquid from the lower portion of the heat exchange chamber to the lower portion of the pump chamber where the cooling liquid is again taken up by the pump means for repeating the cycle, said chambers being sequentially intersecting.

Claim 15

A liquid-cooled nuclear reactor comprising a container means divided by partition means into a heat exchange chamber containing at least one heat exchange means, a pump chamber containing at least one pump means anD a reactor chamber containing at least one reactor means, the pump chamber being disposed between the heat exchange chamber and the reactor chamber, and all of said chambers being adapted to contain a cooling liquid, conduit means extending from the pump means into the reactor chamber, channel means disposed in the upper portion of the pump chamber, said channel means providing a leak-tight communication between the upper portion of the reactor chamber and the upper portion of the heat exchange chamber, and aperture means disposed in the lower portion of the partition means separating the heat exchange chamber from the pump chamber for reintroducing the cooling liquid from the lower portion of the heat exchange chamber to the lower portion of the pump chamber where the cooling liquid is again taken up by the pump means for repeating the cycle, said chambers being sequentially intersecting.