Reactor shutdown system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9589683-B2
Application number	US-201113296313-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 15, 2011
Priority date	Dec 9, 2010
Publication date	Mar 7, 2017
Grant date	Mar 7, 2017

Abstract

A reactor shutdown system includes a reactor, a control-rod drive unit that can drive a control rod in pulling and inserting directions with respect to a fuel assembly, a power source that can supply power to the control-rod drive unit, and a power converter that is provided between the control-rod drive unit and the power source, in which when power supply is cut off, the control-rod drive unit inserts the control rod into the fuel assembly to stop nuclear reaction in the reactor, and the reactor shutdown system includes a reactor trip breaker provided between the power converter and the control-rod drive unit, a safety protection-system device that controls the reactor trip breaker to cut off power supply to the control-rod drive unit, and a CCF device that controls the power converter to cut off power supply to the control-rod drive unit.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A reactor shutdown system that stops nuclear reaction in a reactor in an event of a malfunction in a nuclear facility including
a reactor that accommodates therein a control rod pulled out from or inserted into a fuel assembly,
a control-rod drive unit that drives the control rod in pulling and inserting directions,
a power source that supplies power to the control-rod drive unit, and
a power converter that is provided between the control-rod drive unit and the power source and that converts power supplied from the power source to supply the power to the control-rod drive unit, wherein
when power supply is cut off, the control-rod drive unit inserts the control rod into the fuel assembly to stop the nuclear reaction in the reactor,
comprising:
a breaker that is interposed between the power converter and the control-rod drive unit and that is configured to shut the power supplied from the power converter to the control-rod drive unit;
a main stop-control device that is configured to control the breaker to cut off the power supply to the control-rod drive unit in the event of a malfunction in the nuclear facility, the main stop-control device being a digital device including a storage unit and an arithmetic unit configured to execute various programs stored in the storage unit for safety protection of the nuclear facility;
an auxiliary stop-control device that is configured to control the power converter to cut off the power supply to the control-rod drive unit in the event of a malfunction in the nuclear facility, the auxiliary stop-control device being an analog device and being configured by using electric circuit parts such as a switch and a relay and connecting respective contact points with an electric wire; and
a detection sensor connected to the main stop-control device and configured to detect an operating condition of the nuclear facility, wherein
the main stop-control device is configured to receive the detection signal issued from the detection sensor and configured to transmit the received detection signal to the auxiliary stop-control device,
when having determined to stop the nuclear reaction in the reactor based on the received detection signal, the main stop-control device is configured to transmit a first reactor-shutdown signal to the breaker,
when having determined to stop the nuclear reaction in the reactor based on the received detection signal, the auxiliary stop-control device is configured to transmit a second reactor-shutdown signal to the power converter,
upon reception of the first reactor-shutdown signal, the breaker is configured to cut off the power supply to the control-rod drive unit and configured to transmit a block signal to the auxiliary stop-control device, and
the auxiliary stop-control device includes a block circuit that is configured to block the second reactor-shutdown signal transmitted to the power converter, based on the received block signal, wherein the block circuit is configured to block the second reactor-shutdown signal from the auxiliary stop-control device when the main stop-control device is operated normally, and the auxiliary stop-control device is configured to operate only when the main stop-control device is not functioning normally due to a failure.

2. The reactor shutdown system according to claim 1 , wherein the auxiliary stop-control device includes a delay circuit that delays time for transmitting the second reactor-shutdown signal to the power converter by an amount of delay time since reception of the detection signal by the main stop-control device until transmission of the block signal from the breaker to the auxiliary stop-control device.

Assignees

• Fujimoto Hiroshi
• Shinohara Hironobu
• Akizuki Yasutake
• Fukui Toshiki
• Tanaka Yuichi
• Kiuchi Shinji
• Shirasawa Hiroshi
• Matsumura Toshiaki
• Mitsubishi Heavy Ind Ltd
• Mitsubishi Electric Corp

Inventors

• Fujimoto Hiroshi
• Shinohara Hironobu
• Akizuki Yasutake
• Fukui Toshiki
• Tanaka Yuichi
• Kiuchi Shinji
• Shirasawa Hiroshi
• Matsumura Toshiaki

Classifications

• G21C7/12

  Means for moving control elements to desired position (dropping rods in an emergency G21C9/02) · CPC title

• Y02E30/40

  Cross-Sectional Technologies · mapped topic

• G21C9/027

  by fast movement of a solid, e.g. pebbles · CPC title

• G21C7/08

  by displacement of solid control elements, e.g. control rods · CPC title

• G21C9/02 Primary

  Means for effecting very rapid reduction of the reactivity factor under fault conditions, e.g. reactor fuse; {Control elements having arrangements activated in an emergency}(control elements per se G21C7/00) · CPC title