Patent Number: 058898310
Section: description

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now in detail to the single figure of the drawing, there is seen a containment 1 of a nuclear power station that is not represented in greater detail. The containment 1 has a central electrode 2 for igniting hydrogen contained in a hydrogen/air mixture. The central electrode 2 is connected to a high-voltage source 4. The high-voltage source 4 is constructed as a high-frequency high-voltage source for generating a high voltage of more than a disruptive discharge voltage of air with a frequency of more than 1 kHz. The disruptive discharge voltage of air is determined from the frequency-dependent disruptive field strength of air and the dimensions of the containment 1. A number of internal parts 6 are disposed inside the containment 1. In this case, the internal parts 6 include a reactor core and further operating and maintenance devices. In the event of an accident situation, be it ever so improbable, hydrogen gas can be released inside the containment 1. This released hydrogen is ignited in order to prevent the formation of an explosive gas mixture. The central electrode 2 which is connected to the high-voltage source 4 is activated for this purpose. For this purpose, the high-voltage source 4 generates a high voltage of more than the disruptive discharge voltage of air, referring to the internal dimensions of the containment, 1. This high voltage causes discharges of the central electrode 2 in the form of lightning flashes 8. In this configuration, each internal part 6, or also another structural part such as, for example, the wall of the containment 1, can function as a counter-electrode. Due to the chaotic nature, that is to say the statistical occurrence, of the lightning flashes 8, after even a short time the entire volume inside the containment 1 is penetrated by the lightning flashes 8. The released hydrogen is thereby ignited in the entire volume inside the containment 1, thus reliably preventing a critical limiting value for the hydrogen concentration in the entire volume inside the containment 1 from being exceeded. In order to generate a preferred direction of the lightning flashes 8, a number of counter-electrodes 10 are disposed in a subregion or subspace inside the containment 1, in which it is necessary to expect the release of hydrogen gas with a relatively high probability. This subregion that is detected as a possible hydrogen source is thus penetrated by lightning flashes 8 particularly frequently, with the result that the hydrogen released there is ignited in a particularly reliable manner.