Discharging and recharging water cooled nuclear reactor - using removable shell acting as pond connected to top of reactor vessel with integral mechanism for lifting and transferring fuel assemblage

摘要

Installation incorporates a removable cylindrical shell designed to act as a pond, means of connecting the lower edge of the shell to the upper edge of the vessel and means of making the connection fluid-tight. In addn. the installation includes means of lifting and transferring the fuel assemblages, integral with the shell. The means of connecting the shell to the vessel and of making the connection fluid-tight are pref. brackets cooperation with bolts on the upper edge of the vessel, and toric or expansible joints, respectively. The shell has an orifice putting its internal space in communication with a de-activation pond. Partic. suitable for a nuclear reactor on a ship. The invention remedies inconveniences of existing installations which necessitate the use of flexible fluid-tightness systems between the vessel and the structure entailing risks of leakage, decontamination of the walls of the pond and particular protection of the bolt-holes for fixing the cover of the vessel on the latter.