NUCLEAR REACTOR CORE COMPONENT SHIPPING CONTAINER

Abstract: The shipping container (68) comprises a rigid tubular body (70) designed to accomodate a plurality of elongate members (e.g. control rods 44) forming part of the core component (e.g. a control-rod assembly 42); a rigid plate-like member (128) disposed at the open top of the tubular body for seating mounting structure (e.g. a spider subassembly 48) of the core component; tubes (74) supported within the tubular body and extending beneath the plate-like member in axial alignment with openings (130) formed therein for allowing the elongate members to be inserted into the respective tubes (74) so as to be later­ ally stabilized therein; and a rigid, substantially cylin­ drical, hollow lid (72) removably mountable on, and releasably latchable to, the tubular body (70) so as to enclose the mounting structure (48) seated on the plate-like member (128). Said shipping-container parts (70,72,74 and 128) preferably are made of a plastics material, and the tubes (74) preferably are suported by means of spacers (76) made of foam plastics material.

Description: The present invention relates generally to nuclear reactors and, more particularly, to a shipping container for transporting nuclear reactor core components, such as a control rod cluster assembly or a burnable absorber rod cluster assembly. In a typical nuclear reactor, the reactor core includes a large number of fuel assemblies each of which is composed of top and bottom nozzles, elongate transversely spaced guide thimbles extending longitudinally between the nozzles, and transverse support grids axially spaced along the guide thimbles. Each fuel assembly includes further a plurality of elongate fuel elements or rods transversely spaced from one another and from the guide thimbles and supported by the transverse grids between the top and bottom nozzles. The fuel rods contain fissile material and are grouped together in an array which is organized so as to provide a neutron flux in the core sufficient to sustain a high rate of nuclear fission and thus the release of a large amount of energy in the form of heat. A liquid coolant is pumped upwardly through the core in order to extract some of the heat generated in the core for the production of useful work. Since the rate of heat generation in the reactor core is proportional to the nuclear fission rate, and this, in turn is determined by the neutron flux in the core, control of heat generation at reactor start-up, during reactor operation, and at shutdown is achieved by varying the neutron flux. Generally, this is done by absorbing excess neutrons through the use of control rods forming part of a rod cluster control assembly (hereinafter referred to as a control assembly) and containing neutron absorbing material. The guide thimbles, in addition to being structural elements of the fuel assembly, also provide channels for insertion of the neutron absorber control rods into the reactor core. The level of neutron flux and thus the heat output of the core are normally regulated by the movement of the control rods into and from the guide thimbles. Also, it is conventional practice to design an excessive amount of neutron flux into the reactor core at start-up so that, as the flux is depleted over the life of the core, there will still be sufficient reactivity to sustain core operation over a long period of time. In view of this practice, in some reactor applications, burnable absorber or poison rods in a burnable absorber cluster assembly (hereinafter referred to as a poison assembly) are inserted into the guide thimbles of some fuel assemblies to assist the control rods in the guide thimbles of other fuel assemblies in maintaining the neutron flux or reactivity of the reactor core relatively constant over its lifetime. The burnable absorber rods, like the control rods, contain neutron absorber material. They differ from the control rods mainly in that they are maintained in stationary positions within the guide thimbles for the duration of their use in the core. It is, of course, necessary to transport core components, such as the above-described control assembly and poison assembly, from their location of manufacture to the site of the nuclear reactor. Heretofore, for a number of years, core components have been shipped in wooden containers (or boxes) each typically including an inner box and an outer box. One problem associated with the use of such wooden containers resides in that core components have arrived at the reactor site contaminated with sawdust and moisture. Also, since the rods of assembly components shipped in wooden containers are suported by plywood spacers, long-term storage of the components within the containers is not recommended because of potential contamination with halogens and other elements which may leach out of the adhesive in the plywood. There exists a variety of non-wooden containers, such as disclosed for example in U.S. patents Nos. 3,754,141; 3,828,197; 3,935,467; 3,971,955; 4,190,160; 4,218,622; 4,625,122 and 4,627,956, in German patent No. 3,131,126, French patent 2,468,979, and Japanese patent 60-129699, but these are specifically designed for use in the shipment, storage and/or disposal or radioactive materials, such as spent nuclear fuel or radioactive waste, and they are not suitable for transporting core components, such as control and absorber-rod assemblies. Hence, the present invention has for its principal object to provide an improved shipping container specifically for reactor-core components. The invention accordingly resides in a shipping container for receiving and supporting a reactor-core component which has a mounting structure and a plurality of spaced-apart elongate members attached to the mounting structure and extending therefrom all in the same direction, characterized by the combination comprising - (a) a rigid tubular body having an open top and dimensions sufficient to accommodate said plurality of elongate members; (b) a rigid plate-like member for seating the mounting structure of the reactor-core component when in the shipping container, said plate-like member being stationarily supported from, and extending across, said tubular body at the open top thereof and having a plurality of openings allowing the elongage members of the reactor-core component to extend therethrough; (c) a plurality of tubes each for receiving and laterally stabilizing one of the elongate members of the reactor-core component, said tubes being disposes within the tubular body beneath said plate-like member and supported in axial alignment with the respective openings formed in the latter; and (d) a rigid, substantially cylindrical, hollow lid for enclosing the mounting structure of the reactor-core component when in the shipping container, said lid being removably mounted on, and releasable latchable to, said tubular body at the open top thereof. This shipping container embodying the invention will isolate the reactor-core component disposed therein from external environmental conditions and potential contamination, and, in addition, will minimize the shipping and handling loads to which the reactor-core component might otherwise be subjected during its transport from the manufacturing facility to the reactor site. Besides, it is relatively inexpensive to fabricate. Preferably, the rigid tubular body, the lid, the tubes, and the plate-like member are composed of a non-wood, i.e. a plastics material, such as polyethylene, in order to minimize also the potential of interior contamination to the core component being shipped. Other desirable features of the shipping container are defined in the subordinate claims appended hereto, among them the features residing in that, preferably, the lid of the container has supporting structure, composed preferably of plastics foam material, disposed therein for stabilizing the mounting structure of the core component; the tubular body has disposed therein a plurality of spacers, preferably made of foam plastics material, which extend transversely across the interior of the tubular body and are spaced apart in the longitudinal direction thereof, the tubes extending through, and being laterally supported in, openings formed in the spacers; the tubular body has, at the open top thereof, an annular rim which projects beyond an upper edge of the tubular body, and the plate-like member is disposed within said annular rim and has peripheral edge portions thereof disposed in overlying relationship with respect to the upper edge of the tubular body; and the plate-like member has plastics foam material disposed thereon at least on the upper side thereof, the foam material having openings extending therethrough in axial alignment with the openings in the plate-like member. A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Fig. 1 is an elevational view, partly in section, of a conventional fuel assembly illustrated in vertically foreshortened from and with parts broken away for clarity; Fig. 2 is an elevational view of a conventional control assembly shown removed from the fuel assembly of Fig. 1 and including control rods illustrated in vertically foreshortened form; Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the control assembly as seen along line 3-3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is an elevational view of a conventional poison assembly insertable into the fuel assembly of Fig. 1 and including burnable absorber rods illustrated in vertically foreshortened form; Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the poison assembly as seen along line 5-5 of Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is an elevational view of a shipping container for core components, such as the control and poison assemblies of Figs. 2-5, embodying the invention and illustrated in vertically foreshortened form; Fig. 7 is a top plan view of the shipping container as seen along line 7-7 of Fig. 6; Fig. 8 is an enlarged and exploded longitudinal sectional view of the shipping container of Fig. 6; Fig. 9 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line 9-9 of Fig. 8; Fig. 10 is enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line 10-10 of Fig. 8; Fig. 11 is an enlarged top plan view of the body of the shipping container as seen along line 11-11 of Fig. 8; Fig. 12 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a lid of the shipping container taken along line 12-12 of Fig. 8; and Fig. 13 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of the shipping container of Fig. 6, showing in phantom outline a control assembly disposed therein. In the following description, like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several view of the drawings, and terms such as "forward", "rearward", "left", "right", "upwardly", "downwardly", and the like, are words of convenience not to be construed as limiting terms. Prior-Art Nuclear Fuel Assembly Referring now to the drawings, and particularly to Fig. 1, the fuel assembly shown therein and generally designated by reference numeral 20 is the type used in a pressurized water reactor (PWR) and comprises a lower end structure or bottom nozzle 22 for supporting the assembly on the lower core plate (not shown) in the core region of a nuclear reactor (not shown), guide tubes or thimbles 24 longitudinal extending upward from the botton nozzle 22, transverse grids 26 axially spaced along the guide thimbles 24, an organized array of elongate fuel rods 28 transversely spaced and supported by the grids 26, an instrumentation tube 30 located in the center of the assembly 20, and an upper end structure or top nozzle 32 attached to the upper ends of the guide thimbles 24. With such an arrangement of parts, the fuel assembly 20 forms an integral unit capable of being conventionally handled without damage to its parts. Each of the fuel rods 28 contains fuel pellets 34 composed of fissile material, and has its opposite ends hermetically sealed by means of upper and lower end plugs 36, 38, a plenum spring 40 being disposed between the upper end plug 36 and pellets 34 to maintain the latter tightly stacked within the rod 28. Prior-Art Control and Poison Assemblies Referring now to Figs. 2 and 3 as well as Fig. 1, the control assembly shown therein and generally designated with reference numeral 42 is of the kind disclosed in Applicant's U.S. Patent 4,326,919. It includes an array of control rods 44 aranged in a pattern matched to that of the guide thimbles 24, and conected at their upper ends to arms or flukes 46 of a spider subassembly 48 from which the control rods 44 depend in substantially parallel spaced relationship with respect to one another. The spider subassembly 48 is connected to a control-rod drive mechanism (not shown) which is operable in a known manner to raise and lower the control rods 44 into and out of the guide thimbles 24 of the fuel assembly 10 so as to regulate core power. Turning now to Figs. 4 and 5, the poison assembly illustrated therein and generally designated with reference numeral 50 comprises a plurality of reduced-length burnable absorber rods 52, and a holddown subassembly 54 supporting them in parallel spaced relationship with respect to one another, the burnable absorber rods 52 being arranged in a pattern matching that of guide thimbles 24 of the fuel assembly 10 so as to be insertable therein. The holddown subassembly 54 comprises a lower flat, perforated support plate 56 which fits within the fuel assembly top nozzle 42 so as to rest upon an adapter plate 58 (Fig.1) thereof; a sleeve 60 which at its lower end is inserted into a central opening 62 of, and is affixed to, the suport plate 56 and which extends upwardly therefrom; a coil spring 66 disposed about the sleeve 60; and an upper holddown plate 64. When in use, the upper core plate (not shown) bears down upon the upper holddown plate 64 so as to hold the spring 66 partially compressed, thereby causing it to apply to the support plate 56 a holddown force preventing ejection of the absorber rods 52 from the guide thimbles 24 of the fuel assembly 10 under the force of the upward-flowing reactor coolant. Reactor Core Component Shipping Container Referring now to Figs. 6-13, there is illustrated a shipping container, generally designated 68, which embodies the invention and is particularly adapted to receive and suport a nuclear core component, such as the control rod assembly 42 or the poison rod assembly 50, for shipment thereof from the manufacturing facility to the site of a nuclear reactor. By way of example, the container 68 is shown in Fig. 13, as being used in conjunction with the control assembly 42 and it is in this context that it will now be described. It is to be understood however, that the shipping container embodying the invention is suitable for use in conjuction with the poison assembly 50 as well. The shipping container 68 comprises a rigid cylindrical body 70, a rigid cylindrical end cap or lid 72, a plurality of elongate tubes 74, spacing means in the form of rigid, flat, cylindrical spacer plates 76, locking means in the form of over-centering lock mechanisms 78, sealing means in the form of an annular gasket 80, and an attachment means in the form of an eyelet ring 82 which is fixed on the lid 72 and adapted for connection to an external mechanism (not shown) for lifting the container 68. The cylindrical body 70 is composed of a non-wood material, preferably a suitable plastics material, such as polyethylene, and it comprises a continuous upright sidewall 88 having an upper edge 90 defining an open top 92 of the body 70, and a lower end cap 84 affixed to the lower end of the sidewall 88 and defining a closed flat botton 86 of the body 70. The sidewall 88 has attached, such as adhesively bonded, thereto an annular rim 94 which extends about the open top 92 of the body 70 above the upper edge 90 thereof. Preferably, the annular gasket 80 is disposed on the upper edge 96 of the rim 94. The body 70 is of sufficient length and diameter to receiver therein the elongate control rods 44 of the control asembly 42, as seen from Fig. 13. The lid 72 of the container 68 likewise is composed of a non-wood material, preferably a suitable plastics material, such as polyethylene, and it comprises a continuous outer sidewall 100 defining an open bottom 104 of the lid, and an upper end wall 98 formed integral with the sidewall 100 and defining a closed top 102 of the lid. The lid 72 is adapted to be mounted on the cylindrical body 70 such that the lower edge 106 of its sidewall 100 rests upon the upper edge 96 of the rim 94 on the body 70, but with the annular gasket 80 disposed therebetween. The lid 72 includes further an inner continuous sidewall 108 which is affixed, such as adhesively bonded, to the outer sidewall 100 interiorly thereof and has a lower edge portion extending below the lower edge 106 of the outer sidewall 100. When the lid 72 is installed upon the body 70, the lower edge 100 of its inner sidewall 108 extends downward beyond the upper edge 96 of the rim 94 and the annular gasket 80 seated thereon. The lid 72 also includes a structure in the form of a cylindrical slab 112 composed preferably of a suitable plastics foam material, such as ethafoam, and disposed within the lid adjacent its closed top 102, the slab 112 preferably being affixed to an upper end portion of the inner sidewall 108. As seen best from Figs. 8 and 12, the slab 112 has recesses 114 (see Fig. 12) defined in the lower surface thereof and adapted to receive and support the upper end of the spider subassembly 48 of the control assembly 42 when the lid 72 is installed upon the body 70. If desired, the slab 112 may be contoured in a manner such as to be compatible both with the centerpost or hub 136 of the spider subassembly 48 and with the holddown plate 64 of the poison assembly 50. The elongate tubes 74 of the container 68 preferably are likewise composed of polyethylene plastics material. They are placed in the body 70 for the purpose of receiving the control rods 44 of the control asembly 42 (or the absorber rods 52 of the poison asembly 50), and of stabilizing them during transport of the container 68. The tubes 74 have a lenght just short of the length of the body sidewall 88, and they are maintained in the desired laterally spaced relationship with respect to one another by the cylindrical or disc-like spacer plates 76 preferably composed of foam plastics material. The plates 76 disposed stationarily within the body 70 and extending therein transversely thereacross are affixed to the body sidewall 88 and spaced apart axially along the body. Each plate 76 has formed therethrough a plurality of openings 116 which are arranged in a pattern matching the array of control rods 44, and which have the tubes 74 slidably extending therethrough. Thus, the plates 76 serve to laterally support the tubes 74 and, consequently, the control rods 44 of the control asembly 42 when installed in the body 70. Each over-centering lock mechanism 78 comprises an actuating handle 118 which is pivotally mounted on a segment 120 on the body rim 96 and has a ring element 122 pivotally connected thereto, and a segment 124 which is disposed on the lid sidewall 100 adjacent the lower edge 106 thereof so as to be alignable with the segment 120 on the body rim 94, the segment 124 having an upper edge portion defining a notch 126 for receiving the ring element 122 on the associated handle 118. After the lid 72 has been installed upon the body 70, it is latched thereto by first swinging each ring element 122 upward so that its upper end overlies the notch 126 of the aligned segment 124, and then moving the associated actuating handle 118 pivotally down and overcenter until it comes to rest against the outer sidewall 100 of the lid 72, as shown in Fig. 6, whereupon the upper end of the ring element 122 will be securely lodged in the notch 126. Subsequent reverse pivotal movement of the handles 118 will release the ring elements 122 from the associated notched 126 and thus will release the lid 72 for removal thereof from the body 70. For supporting the spider subassembly 48 of the control assembly 42 within the container 68, a rigid cylindrical or disc-like flat support plate 128 made of plastics material, preferably polyethylene, is disposed within the body rim 94 and directly above the upper edge 90 of the body sidewall 88. The support plate 128 has therethrough a plurality of holes 130 aranged in a pattern matching that of the openings 116 in the spacing plates 76. One of the plates 76 made of foam material has a slightly larger diameter than the other plates 76 and is disposed on the upper side of the support plate 128 within the rim 94. A similar but diametrically slightly smaller plate (not shown) of foam material could be disposed on the lower side of the support plate 128 and peripherally adjacent an upper end portion of the body sidewall 88. As seen best from Figs. 10 and 11, the support plate 128 and plate 76 on top of it each have a central opening 132 with radial slots 134 formed therein for the purpose of seating the central post 136 and lower edge portions of the flukes 46 of the control asembly 42. If desired, the container 68 may be provided with exhaust and fill valves (not shown) located respectively near the bottom and the top of the container and to be used for purging the container of air and filling it with a dry gas, such as nitrogen.

Claims: A shipping container (68) for receiving and supporting a reactor-core component (42 or 50) which has a mounting structure (48 or 54) and a plurality of spaced-apart elongage members (44 or 52) attached to the mounting structure and extending therefrom all in the same direction, characterized by the combination comprising - (a) a rigid tubular body (70) having an open top (92) and dimensions sufficient to accomodate said plurality of elongate members; (b) a rigid plate-like member (128) for seating the mounting structure of the reactor-core component when in the shipping container, said plate-like member (128) being stationarily suported from, and extending across, said tubular body (70) at the open top (92) thereof and having a plurality of openings (130) allowing the elongate members of the reactor-core component to extend therethrough; (c) a plurality of tubes (74) each for receiving and laterally stabilizing one of the elongate members of the reactor-core component, said tubes being disposed within the tubular body (70) beneath said plate-like member (128) and supported in axial alignment with the respective openings (130) formed in the latter; and (e) a rigid, substantially cylindrical, hollow lid (72) for enclosing the mounting structure of the reactor-core component when in the shipping container, said lid (72) being removably mountable on, and releasably latchable to, said tubular body (70) at the open top (92) thereof. A shipping container according to claim 1, characterized in that said tubular body (70) and said lid (72) are composed of a plastics material. A shipping container according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said tubes (74) are composed of a plastics material. A shipping container according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that said plate-like member (128) is composed of a plastics material. A shipping container according to claim 2, 3 or 4, characterized in that said plastics material is polyethylene. A shipping container according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said substantially cylindrical, hollow lid (72) has disposed therein supporting structure (112) for stabilizing the mounting structure of the reactor-core component when in the shipping container. A shipping container according to claim 6, characterized in that said supporting structure (112) comprises a slab (112) of foam plastics material disposed beneath an upper end wall (98) of the lid. A shipping container according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said tubular body (70) has disposed therein a plurality of spacers (76) which extend transversely across the interior of the tubular body and are spaced apart in the longitudinal direction thereof, said tubes (74) extending through, and being laterally supported in, openings (116) formed in said spacers (76). A shipping container according to claim 8, characterized in that said spacers (76) are composed of a foam plastics material. A shipping container according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said tubular body (70) has at the open top (92) thereof, an annular rim (94) which projects beyond an upper edge (90) of the tubular body, said plate-like member (128) being disposed within said annular rim (94) and having peripheral edge portions thereof disposed in overlying relationship with respect to said upper edge (90) of the tubular body. A shipping container according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said plate-like member (128) has foam plastics material (76) disposed thereon at least on the upper side thereof, said foam plastics material (76) having openings (116) extending therethrough in axial alignment with said openings (130) in the plate-like member (128). A shipping container according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said tubular body (70) and said lid (72) have disposed thereon over-centering locking means (78) for releasably latching the lid to the tubular body. A shipping container acording to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said tubular body (70) includes an annular gasket (80) forming a hermetic seal betwen the tubular body (70) and the lid (72) when the latter is mounted on and latched to the former A shipping container according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one of said tubular body (70) and said lid (72) has disposed thereon attachment means (82) engageable with an external lifting mechanism for transporting the shipping container.

Inventors: BALOH, FRANK JOSEPH, GILMORE, CHARLES BRENT, KISAK, JAMES LEONARD, OBERST, JEFFREY PHILIP, WOOD, JOHN DENITHORNE
Applicants: WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC CORPORATION
Application year: 1988
Main classification: G21F5
IPC codes: G21F5