Patent ID: 8817940
Filing Date: 2014-08-26
Classification: G21C,Y02E

Abstract:
1. A method of operating a nuclear plant having (a) a closed loop main power system comprising a pebble bed nuclear reactor, which reactor has a sphere outlet and a sphere inlet, an electrical generator, a turbine drivingly connected to the electrical generator, and a high pressure compressor and (b) a fuel handling and storage system for handling and storing fuel spheres and moderator spheres, which system comprises a network of pipes that defines a sphere flow path having a sphere inlet connected to the sphere outlet of the reactor and a sphere outlet connected to the sphere inlet of the reactor, the sphere flow path extending from the sphere outlet of the reactor to the sphere inlet of the reactor, which method includes: receiving heated coolant gas from the reactor; cooling the heated coolant gas to a temperature that is lower than the temperature inside the reactor which inhibits plate out of radio-nuclides in the fuel handling and storage system; introducing such cooled coolant gas from a position downstream of the high pressure compressor into the sphere flow path at a pressure sufficient that the pressure at the sphere inlet of the sphere flow path is higher than the pressure at the sphere outlet of the reactor and the pressure at the sphere outlet of the sphere flow path is higher than the pressure at the sphere inlet of the reactor, thereby to create a leak flow from the fuel handling and storage system to the reactor; and flowing the cooled coolant gas along the sphere flow path to convey spheres along the sphere flow path from the sphere outlet of the reactor to the sphere inlet of the reactor.