Improvement provides to the secondary circuits of a resonance

摘要

1516254 Steam generators COMMISSARIAT A L'ENERGIE ATOMIQUE 16 Aug 1976 [22 Aug 1975] 33992/76 Heading F4A [Also in Division G6] A secondary heat transfer circuit 1 (Fig. 1) of a nuclear power plant (especially one including a liquid sodium cooled fast reactor) comprises a steam generator 2 having a central duct 11 by which sodium passes to a pump 13 for return to primary heat exchangers 3, 4 associated with the reactor. Relatively hot sodium from the primary heat exchangers 3, 4 enters the steam generator casing 7 and passes around steam-generating and superheating tubes 8 prior to entering the central duct 11. This duct 11 has a two-stage pump mounted inside it in one embodiment (Fig. 5, not shown) or above it in other embodiments. The steam generator, pump, attendant pipework and ancillary apparatus may be housed in a sealed cell (20) (Fig. 4; not shown) integral with the reactor building (21). An outlet from the steam generator base is sealed by a rupturable membrane (7a). In the event of a pressure rise due to a sodium-water reaction in the steam generator, the membrane is broken and the steam generator drains to a dump tank (29) having an associated hydrogen vent stack (30, 30a).