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Application US20190057783
Published 2019-02-21
Method Of Operating A Nuclear Power Plant
The present relates to the integration of the primary functional elements of graphite moderator and reactor vessel and/or primary heat exchangers and/or control rods into an integral molten salt nuclear reactor (IMSR). Once the design life of the IMSR is reached, for example, in the range of 3 to 10 years, it is disconnected, removed and replaced as a unit. The spent IMSR functions as the medium or long term storage of the radioactive graphite and/or heat exchangers and/or control rods and/or fuel salt contained in the vessel of the IMSR. The present also relates to a nuclear reactor that has a buffer salt surrounding the nuclear vessel. During normal operation of the nuclear reactor, the nuclear reactor operates at a temperature that is lower than the melting point of the buffer salt and the buffer salt acts as a thermal insulator. Upon loss of external cooling, the temperature of the nuclear reactor increases and melts the buffer salt, which can then transfer heat from the nuclear core to a cooled containment vessel.
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- 1. A method of operating a nuclear power plant, the nuclear power plant comprising a molten salt reactor (MSR) to produce heat, a heat exchanger system, and an end use system, the heat exchanger system to receive heat produced by the MSR and to provide the received heat to the end use system, the method comprising steps of:
operating the MSR, the MSR comprising a vessel, a graphite moderator core positioned in the vessel, and a molten salt circulating at least in the vessel, the heat exchanger system having an inside portion located inside the vessel and an outside portion located outside the vessel, the inside portion having a plurality of heat exchangers, each heat exchanger having an inlet conduit and an outlet conduit, each inlet conduit and each outlet conduit extending from each respective heat exchanger, through the vessel, toward the outside portion of the heat exchanger system and connecting each respective heat exchanger to the outside portion of the heat exchanger system, the vessel being sealed to permanently integrate the graphite core into the vessel; shutting down the MSR in response to a shutdown event occurring, to obtain a shut-down MSR; severing any operational connection between the inlet conduits and the outlet conduits of the shut-down MSR and the outside portion of the heat exchanger system, to obtain a severed, shut-down MSR; sequestering the severed, shut-down MSR; and operationally connecting a replacement MSR to the outside portion of the heat exchanger system located outside the vessel of the replacement MSR.
- 11. A method of operating a nuclear power plant, the nuclear power plant comprising a molten salt reactor (MSR) to produce heat, a heat exchanger system, and an end use system, the heat exchanger system to receive heat produced by the MSR and to provide the received heat to the end use system, the method comprising steps of:
operating the MSR, the MSR comprising a vessel, a graphite moderator core positioned in the vessel, and a molten salt circulating at least in the vessel, the heat exchanger system to receive heat from the molten salt; shutting down the MSR after a pre-determined duration of operation, to obtain a shut-down MSR; severing any operational connection between the shut-down MSR and any portion of the heat exchanger system located outside the vessel, to obtain a severed, shut-down MSR; sequestering the severed, shut-down MSR; and operationally connecting a replacement MSR to any portion of the heat exchanger system located outside the vessel of the replacement MSR.
