Patent Number: 046613110
Section: abstract

The invention concerns a nuclear power plant located in an underground cavity, with a small high-temperature reactor which, together with a heat exchanger apparatus, is housed in a steel reactor pressure vessel. The reactor core comprises spherical operating elements which pass through the reactor several times. In order to provide unimpaired access to the components of the primary loop from above, the loading installation of the small high-temperature reactor is designed in a specific manner. It comprises a section located in a loading space under the reactor pressure vessel including a discharge device and a conveyor device. An addition device for fresh operating elements and a collector vessel for used operating elements are arranged either outside the underground cavity or, in the alternative, in the loading space. For the insertion of the fresh operating elements into the core the conveyor device is equipped with an inward transfer block, by means of which the operating elements and the partially depleted operating elements are fed into a vertical ascending line. The ascending line is connected with a distributor device for the reactor core located over the core, outside and to the side of the reactor pressure vessel.