Induced nuclear reactions: processes – systems – and elements – Handling of fission reactor component structure within... – Storage container systems for new and/or irradiated core...
Patent
1995-05-17
1997-05-13
Wasil, Daniel D.
Induced nuclear reactions: processes, systems, and elements
Handling of fission reactor component structure within...
Storage container systems for new and/or irradiated core...
376287, 2505061, 976DIG342, G21F 5002
Patent
active
056299630
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to a tank for the storage tank for radioactive fissile material solutions.
Said radioactive fissile material solutions have to be warehoused or stored in tanks or reservoirs whose geometry and/or constituents make it possible to avoid the risks of criticality. Said tanks are referred to as subcritical tanks.
The tanks known hitherto contain a volume of neutron absorbing material in contact with which or within which there has been created at least one internal space or channel for containing the radioactive solution.
The tanks used are especially parallelepipedal tanks containing a channel of rectangular cross-section for radioactive solution, or cylindrical tanks containing an annular channel for radioactive solution. To prevent the formation of critical masses, said parallelepipedal channel must have a rectangular cross-section of small width; said annular channel is likewise of limited width.
Such configurations greatly limit the storage capacities and are therefore unsatisfactory.
It is not possible, however, to imagine increasing the length or diameter of said tanks without restriction, since this would present problems of space requirement, rigidity and manufacture.
Patent application FR-A-2 212 820 has proposed an improvement to cylindrical tanks with annular channels.
A novel arrangement is now proposed for storage tanks for radioactive fissile material solutions.
Said novel arrangement makes it possible in particular to reduce the space requirement for a given stored volume.
The tanks according to the invention comprise at least one cell for containing the radioactive solution and solid neutron absorbing material for avoiding the risks of criticality; the opposite surfaces between said radioactive solution and said neutron absorbing material are increased within said cell, said radioactive solution being separated from said neutron absorbing material by metal walls.
According to a characteristic feature, an array of substantially vertical tubes containing solid neutron absorbing material is arranged within said cell, said tubes having metal walls and being located in compartments delimited by other metal walls and distributed throughout said radioactive solution.
Said tubes can be of any shape. In particular, their cross-section can be circular, square, oval (ellipsoidal) etc. The same comment applies to the shape of the cell or cells and that of the tank.
Said solid neutron absorbing material is the one conventionally used in this technical field. It can consist especially of boron polyethylene plaster (BPP), boron concrete, boron bitumens or permali, etc.
Said radioactive solution and said solid neutron absorbing material are separated by metal walls, generally two metal walls, one of them being the wall of the tubes of the array.
The constituent material of said walls is generally stainless steel. However, other materials, such as zirconium or titanium, can be used, especially for walls in contact with the radioactive solution.
The presence of these walls within the tanks according to the invention is particularly advantageous. Irrespective of the variant, said walls perform numerous functions. In addition to their function of retaining material (solid neutron absorbing material or radioactive solution), they contribute especially to enhancing the rigidity of the assembly, governing its geometry and protecting said assembly from corrosion, fire etc. They also play an advantageous role in its production. The value of said walls will be understood more clearly from the following description of the invention. It will be noted incidentally here that the present invention is not limited to these variants.
According to the invention, the tubes contain the neutron absorbing material and are located in compartments delimited by metal walls and distributed throughout the radioactive solution. In this embodiment, the metal walls which separate the radioactive solution from the neutron absorbing material therefore consist on the one hand of the wall of the tubes containing sa
REFERENCES:
patent: 3845315 (1974-10-01), Blum
patent: 3882313 (1975-05-01), Siemens, Jr.
patent: 4649018 (1987-03-01), Waltersdorf et al.
patent: 4836975 (1989-06-01), Guldner et al.
Bara Jacques
Justin Fran.cedilla.ois
Niezborala Jean-Marc
Compagnie Generale des Matieres Nucleaires
Wasil Daniel D.
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