Patent Number: 051961610
Section: description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a presently preferred embodiment of a high density nuclear fuel assembly storage rack 10 resting on the planar bottom 12 of a liquid filled storage pool reservoir 14. Reservoir 14 has upstanding sidewalls 16 and 18 (the other sides being omitted for clarity) serving to contain a large volume of moderator fluid, usually water. The fluid serves as an economical coolant and personnel shield from the irradiated or spent fuel assemblies and support racks resting therein. The upper surface of pool 14 is conveniently open for visual surveillance by operators or by monitoring electronics. Pool 14 is typically of sufficient dimensions to hold a plurality of storage racks 10 (one shown), and can be dimensioned to permit limited rack stacking (not shown) because of the failsafe advantages provided by the present inventive rack. There are a plurality of fuel storage cells (conveniently elongate tubes 22) which are arrayed linearly within the rack 10. Each of the cells commonly consists of a square tube 22, sized to slidingly accommodate one fixed rod assembly 24 of FIG. 2. The typical rack of FIG. 1 has three rows of four cells each. In a preferred embodiment, the rack upper cover plate 26 is sealingly joined with the upper periphery of rack outer walls 28 and 30 (rear sidewalls not shown). Lifting members 64 are mounted onto the top surface of the rack upper cover plate 26 for lifting the rack 10. Also, upper plate 26 is interrupted by a plurality of arrayed and hinged, squared edge cover traps 32 and 34, which are each coaxially aligned with receiving tubes 22. Each hinged cover 34 is provided with two or more perforations 36 which serve as exit ports for heated liquid flowing upwardly through receiving tube 22. As depicted in the broken away portion of FIG. 1, each of the lower ends of sidewalls 38 and 40 of tube 22 is provided with a respective arch-like port 42, 44, each of which permits the coldest water accumulated within the rack bottom to be drawn into receiving tube 22 and to circulate upwardly about the stored fuel rods assembly 24 (see FIG. 2). The rod generated waste heating effect creates a continual convection type, multipath circulation of cooling liquid within rack 10. As indicated by the flow directional arrows A and B, so long as the rack is immersed in the pool, cool ambient water is drawn through (Path A) the peripheral ports 46A to 46I and 48A to 48I of cover plate 32 to keep the rack filled, while warm water escapes (Path B) the tubes through the more central upper ports 36, which are disposed in each cover 34, and flows out to the ambient pool 14 where such heat is dissipated by natural diffusion effects. Rack 10 is further provided with a conformed inner rectangular shell 50 shown in FIG. 4, interposed between the conjoined tube sidewalls 28 and 30 and the outer periphery defined by the array of receiving tubes 22. Shell sidewalls 52 and 54 curve inwardly along their lower edges 56 and 58. These shell curvilinear edges are also provided with a number of vertically aligned, slotted ports 60 and 62. Ambient water flows into the rack peripheral ports 46A et al., down between each set of such sidewalls 30 and 54, through bottom ports 60 and 62 of shell 50 and into opposing ports 42 and 44 of the squared tubes 22. A continuous flow of cool water into and warm water out of the pool (see arrows) is attained while rack 10 is immersed in main reservoir 14. It is an important feature of the present inventoion that, after an accident which causes the main pool water level to drop, the full water level (below cover 26) in rack 10 is maintained because of the imperforate outer wall construction of its sides and bottom. As seen in the top plan view of FIG. 3, the recessed receiving tubes 22 and their hinged covers 34 are conveniently arranged in linear rows. These are operable square cells, as shown, with liquid escape ports 36 shown in their covers 34. One of the covers has been removed to depict (FIG. 3) the matching reduced configuration (cross sectional) of a nuclear fuel assembly 24 in situ. As best shown in FIG. 2, each tube 22 is of an appropriate vertical length to accept a fuel assembly 24, including a number of individual fuel rods 66. The tubes 22 can be made of suitable size to permit plural fuel assemblies in each rack, as depicted in FIGS. 1 and 3. A horizontal partition 68 is disposed in each tube nearer the lower end to support the fuel assembly therein. Orifice 70 is included in partition 68 so that cooling liquid can circulate freely through the tubes and past the fuel rods, having entered same via the bottom edged ports 42. When a vacant rack is to be used for temporary storage, the drain and fill plug 72P in rack bottom 74 is removed. The entire rack 10 is then ready to be lowered into the main pool 14, which promptly becomes filled by ambient water entering via the peripheral ports and the unplugged bottom port 72. Plug 72P is suitably reinserted into plug port 72 to establish a seal, e.g. by threading engagement. The moderator is usually water when the assemblies have recently been removed from a reactor, such being quite radioactive and then generating relatively large amounts of heat. When water is used, the entire rack is immersed in the water-filled reservoir, so that the water can circulate usefully through the tubes and thus serve as a coolant as well as a neutron moderator. When the unloaded rack is to be lifted for any purpose, the plug 72P in port 72 can be remotely removed to drain the rack through the plug port as it rises above the surface of the main pool. When unloaded rack 10 is redeposited in the main pool, plug 72P is reinserted to reestablish the reservoir fail-safe nature of the rack. The vertical section of FIG. 4, taken midway through rack 10, better reveals the outer peripheral passageway 76 used by the inflowing ambient cool water which moves downwardly toward the receiving tube lower aperture 42. The imperforate outer wall 30 of rack 10 is preferentially composed of high chrome stainless steel metal or the like which will withstand the oxidizing effects of circulating, surface-oxygenated warmed water. The inner shell wall 50 is conveniently of a substantially thinner gauge sheet metal of stainless steel or chromium coated bronze or brass which is also corrosion resistant, and thus is adapted for the inclusion of the bottom edging slotted ports 60 and 62 (FIG. 1). Various modifications and alterations of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of this invention. The presently preferred embodiment described herein illustrates the principles of the invention and its practical application so that one of ordinary skill in the art can utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. More particularly, while the detailed description herein has focused on nuclear fuel rod storage assemblies, it will be appreciated that the present invention is broadly applicable to many other toxic waste disposal applications where the benefits thereof are desired. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is defined by the following claims.