Primary Inventor: Krishna P. Singh
Contributing Inventor(s): Joseph Rajkumar
Date: Sep. 14, 2021
Status: Granted
Jurisdiction: US
Assignee: Holtec International, Inc.
Equipment Type: SMR
Docket Number: HOL-083
Patent No.: US 11,120,920 B2
Application Number:
Related U.S. Publication Data:
- Continuation of application No. 16/507,637, filed on Jul. 10, 2019, now Pat. No. 10,510,452, which is a division of application No. 14/910,433, filed as application No. PCT/US2014/062094 on Oct. 24, 2014, now Pat. No. US 10,395,783 B2.
- Provisional application No. 61/895,267, filed on October 24, 2013
Prior Publication Data: US 2016/0196885 A1, Jul. 7, 2016
Abstract: A nuclear steam supply system utilizing gravity-driven natural circulation for primary coolant flow through a fluidly interconnected reactor vessel and a steam generating vessel. In one embodiment, the steam generating vessel includes a plurality of vertically stacked heat exchangers operable to convert a secondary coolant from a saturated liquid to superheated steam by utilizing heat gained by the primary coolant from a nuclear fuel core in the reactor vessel. The secondary coolant, may be working fluid associated with a Rankine power cycle turbine-generator set in some embodiments. The steam generating vessel and reactor vessel may each be comprised of vertically elongated shells, which in one embodiment are arranged in lateral adjacent relationship. In one embodiment, the reactor vessel and steam generating vessel are physically discrete self-supporting structures which may be physically located in the same containment vessel.