NUCLEAR REACTOR WITH IMPROVED NATURAL COOLANT CIRCULATION AND METHOD OF IMPROVING THE NATURAL CIRCULATION OF A COOLANT IN A NUCLEAR REACTOR

摘要

A nuclear reactor (1) wherein the coolant (3), e.g. pressurized water, liquid metal or molten metal salt, is circulated naturally, and which has a vessel (2) housing a core (8), at least one heat exchanger (30), and means for hydraulically connecting the core (8) and the exchanger (30). The circulation speed of the coolant (3) is increased by auxiliary-circulation means whereby a stream of gas from a layer of gas (5) at the top of the vessel (2) is injected by at least one blower (20, 21) and a respective distributing systeme (24, 25, 28) into a conduit (11) located over the core (8) and terminating beneath the layer of gas (5). The conduit (11) may, for example, be a cylindrical conduit forming an extension of the container (9) of the core (8), and may be defined internally by a further inner cylindrical element (13), which at the bottom is located at a predetermined distance from the core (8) to permit circulation of the coolant (3), and at the top extends beyond the free surface (4) of the coolant to prevent downward recirculation in the conduit (11).