Nuclear reactor collecting tank with thermal insulation

Claim 1

Collecting tank for coolant escaping from a demolished vessel of a sodium-cooled nuclear reactor, comprising an outer steel shell having an inner lining of blocks stacked one on top of the other, frame means for holding said blocks at a side thereof within the collecting tank, support structure common to the blocks held by said frame means and, structurally independent of said outer shell, supporting said frame means, said blocks and said support structure being formed of material having different coefficients of thermal expansion and being shiftable relative to one another in accordance with said different coefficients of thermal expansion, a base ring fastened to said support structure, a roller-carrying intermediate ring disposed on said base ring and being rollably shiftable in a radial direction relative to said base ring, a support ring extending circumferentially within said outer shell and carrying said frame means, said support ring being divided into a plurality of sectors, each of which is rollably shiftable in radial direction relative to said intermediate ring, stop means carried by said base ring, and a lever for each of said sectors mounted on said intermediate ring and having one end thereof deflectable by said stop means and the other end thereof braced against said support ring.