Entrainment-reducing assembly, system including the assembly, and method of reducing entrainment of gases with the assembly

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9738440-B2
Application number	US-201213721346-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 20, 2012
Priority date	Dec 20, 2012
Publication date	Aug 22, 2017
Grant date	Aug 22, 2017

Abstract

An entrainment-reducing assembly may include a container configured to hold a liquid. A venting arrangement may extend into an upper portion of the container and be configured to direct condensable and non-condensable gases into the container. A suction structure may extend into a lower portion of the container and be configured to carry out an extraction of excess liquid from the container caused by condensed gases. A deflector may be disposed between the suction structure and the venting arrangement within the container. As a result, an entrainment of uncondensed gases during the extraction of the liquid by the suction structure may be reduced or prevented, thereby protecting the pump from cavitation and failure.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An entrainment-reducing assembly, comprising:
a container configured to hold a liquid, the container including an upper portion and a lower portion;
a venting arrangement extending into the container, the venting arrangement configured to direct gases into the container;
a suction structure extending into the lower portion of the container, the suction structure configured to carry out an extraction of the liquid from the container; and
a deflector disposed between the suction structure and the venting arrangement within the container, the deflector having perforations extending therethrough and configured to allow entry of the liquid while deflecting uncondensed gases upward toward a surface of the liquid to reduce the entrainment of the uncondensed gases during the extraction of the liquid, the deflector having a center line and a through-hole line, the center line being orthogonal to a midpoint of the deflector, the through-hole line corresponding to a longitudinal axis of at least one of the perforations, the center line and the through-hole line intersecting to define an angle therebetween, the angle ranging from about 45° to 135°, the center line being an axis of symmetry of the deflector.

2. The entrainment-reducing assembly of claim 1 , wherein the venting arrangement extends into the upper portion of the container.

3. The entrainment-reducing assembly of claim 1 , wherein the suction structure includes a suction pipe and a strainer secured to the suction pipe within the container, the deflector disposed between the strainer and the venting arrangement.

4. The entrainment-reducing assembly of claim 3 , wherein the deflector is secured to the container such that the deflector does not directly contact the strainer.

5. The entrainment-reducing assembly of claim 1 , wherein a spacing distance between the deflector and the suction structure is equal to or less than half of a total distance between the venting arrangement and the suction structure.

6. The entrainment-reducing assembly of claim 1 , wherein the deflector flares away from the venting arrangement and toward the suction structure with increasing distance from the venting arrangement.

7. The entrainment-reducing assembly of claim 1 , wherein the deflector is in a form of a curved shield, the curved shield including a concave side that faces the suction structure.

8. The entrainment-reducing assembly of claim 1 , wherein the deflector has a louvered arrangement, the louvered arrangement including a plurality of overlapping slats defining a plurality of slits therebetween.

9. The entrainment-reducing assembly of claim 1 , wherein the deflector includes a periphery that slopes away from the suction structure.

10. The entrainment-reducing assembly of claim 1 , wherein the deflector is directly below a discharge outlet of the venting arrangement.

11. The entrainment-reducing assembly of claim 1 , wherein the center line bisects the deflector.

12. The entrainment-reducing assembly of claim 1 , wherein the center line is equidistant to adjacent surfaces of the deflector.

13. An entrainment-reducing assembly, comprising:
a container configured to hold a liquid, the container including an upper portion and a lower portion;
a venting arrangement extending into the container, the venting arrangement configured to direct gases into the container;
a suction structure extending into the lower portion of the container, the suction structure configured to carry out an extraction of the liquid from the container; and
a deflector disposed between the suction structure and the venting arrangement within the container, the deflector having perforations extending therethrough and configured to allow entry of the liquid while deflecting uncondensed gases upward toward a surface of the liquid to reduce the entrainment of the uncondensed gases during the extraction of the liquid, the deflector having a center line and a through-hole line, the center line being orthogonal to a midpoint of the deflector, the through-hole line corresponding to a longitudinal axis of at least one of the perforations, the center line and the through-hole line intersecting to define an angle therebetween, the angle ranging from about 45° to 135°, the deflector being in a form of a bent sheet, the bent sheet including a furrow that faces the suction structure.

14. The entrainment-reducing assembly of claim 13 , wherein the furrow is defined by two opposing sloping surfaces, an angle between the two opposing sloping surfaces being between about 155° to 170°.

15. An entrainment-reducing assembly, comprising:
a container configured to hold a liquid, the container including an upper portion and a lower portion;
a venting arrangement extending into the container, the venting arrangement configured to direct gases into the container;
a suction structure extending into the lower portion of the container, the suction structure configured to carry out an extraction of the liquid from the container; and
a deflector disposed between the suction structure and the venting arrangement within the container, the deflector configured to reduce the entrainment of uncondensed gases during the extraction of the liquid,
wherein the deflector is in a form of a corrugated sheet, the corrugated sheet including a plurality of alternating ridges and furrows that expand outward radially from a point of common convergence toward the suction structure.

Assignees

• Loewen Eric Paul
• Triplett Brian Scott
• Dooies Brett Jameson
• Hagaman Jordan E
• Ge Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas Llc

Inventors

• Loewen Eric Paul
• Triplett Brian Scott
• Dooies Brett Jameson
• Hagaman Jordan E

Classifications

• B65D90/22 Primary

  Safety features · CPC title

• B01D29/01

  with flat filtering elements (B01D29/39 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G21C15/18

  Emergency cooling arrangements; Removing shut-down heat · CPC title

• G21C9/012 Primary

  by thermal accumulation or by steam condensation, e.g. ice condensers · CPC title

• Y02E30/40

  Cross-Sectional Technologies · mapped topic