PASSIVE COOLING TO COLD SHUTDOWN

摘要

A cooling system for a reactor module includes a reactor pressure vessel that houses primary coolant and a steam generator that lowers a temperature of the reactor pressure vessel by transferring heat from the primary coolant to a secondary coolant that circulates through the steam generator. The steam generator releases at least a portion of the secondary coolant as steam. Additionally, the cooling system includes a containment vessel that at least partially surrounds the reactor vessel in a containment region. The containment region is dry during normal operation of the reactor module. A controller introduces a source of water into the containment region in response to a non-emergency shut down of the reactor module. The source of water is located external to the containment vessel, and the water is introduced into the containment region after the steam generator has initially lowered the temperature of the reactor pressure vessel in response to releasing the steam.

主权项

1. A cooling system for a reactor module, comprising:
a reactor pressure vessel that houses primary coolant; a steam generator configured to lower a temperature of the reactor pressure vessel by transferring heat from the primary coolant to a secondary coolant that circulates through the steam generator and releasing at least a portion of the secondary coolant as steam; a containment vessel at least partially surrounding the reactor vessel in a containment region, wherein the containment region is dry during normal operation of the reactor module; and a controller configured to introduce a source of water into the containment region in response to a non-emergency shut down operation of the reactor module, wherein the source of water is located external to the containment vessel, and wherein water is introduced into the containment region after the steam generator has initially lowered the temperature of the reactor pressure vessel in response to releasing the steam.