GB2034233A - Storage installation for Liquid Radioactive Material - Google Patents
Storage installation for Liquid Radioactive Material Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- GB2034233A GB2034233A GB7932549A GB7932549A GB2034233A GB 2034233 A GB2034233 A GB 2034233A GB 7932549 A GB7932549 A GB 7932549A GB 7932549 A GB7932549 A GB 7932549A GB 2034233 A GB2034233 A GB 2034233A
- Authority
- GB
- United Kingdom
- Prior art keywords
- cooling medium
- liquid
- tank
- radioactive material
- storage installation
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Granted
Links
- 239000007788 liquid Substances 0.000 title claims abstract description 52
- 239000012857 radioactive material Substances 0.000 title claims description 28
- 238000009434 installation Methods 0.000 title claims description 16
- 239000002826 coolant Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 46
- 238000001816 cooling Methods 0.000 claims description 14
- 238000009835 boiling Methods 0.000 claims description 7
- 238000001704 evaporation Methods 0.000 claims description 5
- 230000008020 evaporation Effects 0.000 claims description 4
- 238000005086 pumping Methods 0.000 claims 2
- 239000002002 slurry Substances 0.000 abstract description 6
- 230000002285 radioactive effect Effects 0.000 abstract description 4
- 230000007257 malfunction Effects 0.000 abstract description 3
- 238000010992 reflux Methods 0.000 abstract description 2
- 238000012958 reprocessing Methods 0.000 abstract description 2
- 239000002915 spent fuel radioactive waste Substances 0.000 abstract 1
- 230000007797 corrosion Effects 0.000 description 5
- 238000005260 corrosion Methods 0.000 description 5
- 230000004992 fission Effects 0.000 description 5
- XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N water Substances O XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 5
- YMWUJEATGCHHMB-UHFFFAOYSA-N Dichloromethane Chemical compound ClCCl YMWUJEATGCHHMB-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 3
- OKKJLVBELUTLKV-UHFFFAOYSA-N Methanol Chemical compound OC OKKJLVBELUTLKV-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 3
- 239000010857 liquid radioactive waste Substances 0.000 description 3
- KFZMGEQAYNKOFK-UHFFFAOYSA-N Isopropanol Chemical compound CC(C)O KFZMGEQAYNKOFK-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- 229910052778 Plutonium Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 239000011344 liquid material Substances 0.000 description 2
- 239000003758 nuclear fuel Substances 0.000 description 2
- OYEHPCDNVJXUIW-UHFFFAOYSA-N plutonium atom Chemical compound [Pu] OYEHPCDNVJXUIW-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- 239000013049 sediment Substances 0.000 description 2
- 229910001220 stainless steel Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 239000010935 stainless steel Substances 0.000 description 2
- VZGDMQKNWNREIO-UHFFFAOYSA-N tetrachloromethane Chemical compound ClC(Cl)(Cl)Cl VZGDMQKNWNREIO-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- 241000009298 Trigla lyra Species 0.000 description 1
- 229910052770 Uranium Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 238000009825 accumulation Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000004888 barrier function Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000010276 construction Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000000110 cooling liquid Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000007547 defect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000000151 deposition Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000012530 fluid Substances 0.000 description 1
- 150000008282 halocarbons Chemical class 0.000 description 1
- 238000010438 heat treatment Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000007774 longterm Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 description 1
- JFALSRSLKYAFGM-UHFFFAOYSA-N uranium(0) Chemical compound [U] JFALSRSLKYAFGM-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
Classifications
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G21—NUCLEAR PHYSICS; NUCLEAR ENGINEERING
- G21F—PROTECTION AGAINST X-RADIATION, GAMMA RADIATION, CORPUSCULAR RADIATION OR PARTICLE BOMBARDMENT; TREATING RADIOACTIVELY CONTAMINATED MATERIAL; DECONTAMINATION ARRANGEMENTS THEREFOR
- G21F9/00—Treating radioactively contaminated material; Decontamination arrangements therefor
- G21F9/04—Treating liquids
- G21F9/20—Disposal of liquid waste
- G21F9/22—Disposal of liquid waste by storage in a tank or other container
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Environmental & Geological Engineering (AREA)
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- High Energy & Nuclear Physics (AREA)
- Structure Of Emergency Protection For Nuclear Reactors (AREA)
Abstract
Radioactive liquids such as solutions and slurries arising from the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel are stored in coils 2 (only one shown) placed in a shielded tank 1 containing circulating cooling medium. The liquid in the coil is circulated by a fluidic pump 7 driven by a pulsing chamber 4. In the event of a failure in the pumps circulating the cooling medium the decay heat will cause the cooling medium to boil. A reflux condensor fitted to the tank prevents loss of cooling medium during such periods of pump malfunction. <IMAGE>
Description
SPECIFICATION
Storage of Radioactive Liquids
This invention relates to the storage of liquid
radio-active material.
The term "liquid radioactive material" as used
in this specification includes within its scope
solutions and slurries.
Such solutions and slurries may arise during
the reprocessing of irradiated nuclear fuel. When
a nuclear fuel has been irradiated in a nuclear
reactor it is normally reprocessed to separate
uranium and plutonium from the fission products.
The fission products are highly radioactive and
have to be stored for very long periods. One method for the long term storage of fission
products is to store them as solutions or slurries
in large tanks fitted with cooling coils to remove
the decay heat and with means for circulating the
fission product solution or slurry within the tank.
However it is difficult to ensure that sufficient
circulation occurs within the large volume of
liquid in the tank to prevent the accumulation of
sediment on the tank walls and on the cooling
coils which tends to reduce the efficiency of the
cooling. As a safety measure there must be spare
tanks available to which to transfer the fission
product solution or slurry should any defect
become apparent in the original tank. The capital
investment in such storage tanks is large and it is
therefore desirable to reduce the number of spare
tanks which have to be provided.
According to the present invention a storage
installation for liquid radioactive material
comprises pipe circuits containing the liquid
radioactive material, means for circulating the
liquid radioactive material around the pipe circuits
and means for circulating a liquid cooling medium
over the external surface of the pipe circuits.
The liquid cooling medium may be in the tank
and the pipe circuits may be immersed in the
cooling medium and the tank. Alternatively the
liquid cooling medium may be passed through the
annular gap between co-axial pipes the inner one
of which contains the liquid radioactive material.
The liquid cooling medium may be circulated
from the tank or the annular gap between the co
axial pipes of the alternative pipe circuits
described above to a heat exchanger by means of
pumps. Should the pumps cease to operate the
temperature of the liquid radioactive material
within the pipe circuits will rise because of the
cessation of flow of the cooling medium. It is
undesirable that the liquid radioactive material
should boil within the pipe circuits. Additionally,
as the temperature of the liquid radioactive
material rises the rate of corrosion of the pipe
circuits by the liquid material therein also rises. To
prevent boiling of the liquid radioactive material
and to minimise the corrosion which could occur
during a malfunction of the cooling medium
circulating pump secondary cooling systems are
preferably provided.
In the case of pipe circuits which are immersed
in the cooling medium in a tank a condenser may be provided on the tank to prevent loss of any cooling medium should the temperature of the cooling medium be raised to a point at which evaporation of the cooling medium is occurring to a significant extent. The condenser is preferably an air condenser requiring no power input for its operation and it should be of such a size that no loss of cooling medium occurs even if the cooling medium boils.
The said means for circulating the liquid radioactive material around the pipe circuits may comprise fluidic pump means, and such means may be operated by a pulsed-liquid column controlled by air pressure.
The cooling medium may be water but if a tank is used which is fitted with a reflux condenser as described in the preceding paragraph a cooling medium having a boiling point in the range 60 80 C is preferred so that the temperature of the pipe circuits does not rise to a point where the corrosion rate is excessive. Examples of cooling media which may be used include methanol, isopropanol, methylene chloride, carbon tetrachloride and other halogenated hydrocarbons such as those sold under the trade name Freon. In a situation where the pumps circulating the cooling medium are not operating the latent heat of evaporation extracted from the pipe circuits as the cooling medium boils prevents excessive heating in the pipe circuits.
The invention is illustrated by the following description of storage installations for liquid radioactive waste, given by way of example only.
The description has reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
Figure 1 is a diagrammatic representation of a storage installation for liquid radioactive waste and
Figure 2 is a diagrammatic representation of a further storage installation for liquid radioactive waste showing a cooling system for the circulating liquid cooling medium in normal operation and a secondary cooling system.
Referring to Figure 1, the installation illustrated therein comprises a tank 1 containing a liquid cooling medium which may be water and which is circulated by pumps (not shown) through heat exchangers (not shown) to remove the decay heat of the radioactive material. Five pipe circuits 2 (of which only one is shown) are immersed side-byside in the cooling medium in the tank 1. Each pipe circuit 2 is manufactured from seamless stainless steel tube and is provided with a side arm 3 which has a pulsing chamber 4. The liquid in the pulsing chamber is caused to oscillate by air-flow controllers 5, 6 which alternatively introduce air into the pulsing chamber 4 and withdraw it. The oscillating motion of the liquid in the pulsing chamber is converted by a fluidic pump 7 into a circulatory motion around the pipe circuit 2 in the direction of the arrows.The fluidic pump 7 operates on the pulsed fluid diode principle and has no moving parts within the tank 1. A further side arm 8 extends from the pipe circuit to a point above the liquid level in the tank and this further side arm is used for filling and emptying the pipe circuit 2, for removing samples of the liquid for analysis and for providing access for instruments to be lowered into the liquid, for example to measure the temperature of the liquid.
Conveniently the pipe circuit 2 shown in the figure may be manufactured from 108 diameter seamless stainless steel tube and may contain 450 feet of such tube. A pipe circuit so formed would have a capacity of 7 cubic metres.
The pipe circuits 2 are placed in the tank 1 in close packed array to maximise the number of pipe circuits in the tank. Pipe circuits of different shapes, sizes and pipe diameters may be utilised within a tank to maximise the utilisation of the space within the tank.
In use the fluidic pump 7 circulates the liquid radioactive material round the pipe circuit 2. This circulation minimises the possibility of sediment depositing on the walls of the coil which reduces the heat transfer properties of the walls. If water is used as the cooling medium in the tank, it is chemically treated to ensure minimum corrosion of the pipe,.,circuits and tank. The cooling liquid is preferably monitored to detect any increase in radioactivity level which would indicate that a pipe circuit was leaking. In the event that one pipe circuit in a tank leaks only the radioactive material in that circuit has to be transferred to alternative storage faciiities. Thus the amount of spare storage capacity which has to be provided is less than is required for storage in tanks.If one pipe circuit leaks the remaining pipe circuits can remain in the tank and the faulty circuit can be isolated or replaced. Thus the failure of one pipe circuit does not necessitate abandoning the tank and its associated shielding whereas a failure in the tank used for tank storage of radioactive
liquids may mean that the tank and the shielding surrounding it become heavily contaminated and
cannot be re-used.
An alternative embodiment may be
manufactured from tubing having two co-axial
tubes. The liquid radioactive material is stored in
the inner tube and the cooling medium is
circulated through the annular gap between the
tubes. The pipe circuit formed from co-axial tubes
may be placed in a tank, for example as shown in
Figure 1, and may be further cooled by the
circulation of a liquid medium such as water in
the tank.
Referring now to Figure 2 a tank 1 and a pipe
circuit 2 are shown. The pipe circuit is similar to
that shown in Figure 1 and the same reference
numerals are used to identify the parts thereof. In
normal use the cooling medium is withdrawn
from the tank 1 through a pipe 10 and passed
through a heat exchanger 11 by a pump 12 and
returned to the base of the tank 1. The heat
exchanger is cooled by water which is circulated
by a pump 13 and which is passed down a
cooling tower 14. The tank 1 is fitted with an air
cooled condenser 1 5 to condense any vapour
evaporating from the cooling medium and return
it to the tank.
In the event of a malfunction of any of the components of the cooling system which prevent or reduce the circulation of the cooling medium the decay heat emitted by the liquid radioactive material in the pipe circuit 2 will raise the temperature of the liquid material in the piper circuit and of the cooling medium in the tank. If the rise in temperature proceeds for a sufficient length of time the temperature of the cooling medium will rise to its boiling point. The cooling medium then boils and the vapour condenses in the condenser 15 and is returned to the tank 1. As the liquid medium boils, its latent heat of evaporation is extracted from the pipe circuits and the temperature in the pipe circuits will be maintained at a value similar to the boiling point of the medium.The use of a cooling medium having a boiling point in the range 60-800C ensures that the temperature within the pipe circuits does not rise to the boiling point of the liquid radioactive material or to a point where the corrosion rate of the pipe circuits by the liquid radioactive material becomes excessive. In normal use the circulating cooling medium ensures that the temperature of the liquid radioactive material is kept as low as possible and it is only in the situation where the normal circulatory cooling is not operative that the secondary cooling system utilizing the condenser 1 5 is operative.
The cooling medium surrounding the pipe circuits in the present invention acts as an additional barrier facilitating the containment of any leakage which may occur from the pipe circuits. Storage in the pipe circuits rather than in tanks facilitates criticality control of liquids containing plutonium as the pipe circuits can be designed to be safe by geometry. The construction of storage installations according to the present invention is facilitated as thepipe circuits can be tested before being installed. The circulation of the liquid radioactive material and of the cooling medium and the large surface area of the pipe circuits facilitates heat transfer from the liquid radioactive material to the cooling medium.
Claims (9)
1. A storage installation or liquid radioactive material, comprising pipe circuits for containing the liquid radioactive material, means for circulating the liquid radioactive material around the pipe circuits, and means for circulating a liquid cooling medium over the external surface of the pipe circuits.
2. A storage installation according to claim 1, wherein the liquid cooling medium is in a tank, with the pipe circuits immersed in the cooling
medium in the tank.
3. A storage installation according to claim 1, wherein the liquid cooling medium is passed through the annular gap between co-axial pipes of
which the inner one is for containing the liquid -radioactive material.
4. A storage installation according to either of
claims 2 or 3, including a heat exchanger, and pumping means for circulating liquid cooling medium from the tank or the annular gap between the co-axial pipes (as the case may be) to the heat exchanger for cooling said medium.
5. A storage installation according to claim 4, wherein a secondary cooling system is provided to alleviate the consequences of a failure of said pumping means for said cooling medium, said secondary cooling system including, in the case of the pipe circuits being immersed in cooling medium in a tank, a condenser for condensing any vapour produced by evaporation of the cooling medium and means for returning condensate to said tank.
6. A storage installation according to claim 5, wherein said condenser is an air condenser of sufficient size to avoid loss of cooling medium even under boiling conditions.
7. A storage installation according to claim 1, wherein the means for circulating the liquid radioactive material around the pipe circuits comprises fluidic pump means.
8. A storage installation according to claim 7, wherein operation of the fluidic pump is means by a pulsed-liquid column controlled by air pressure.
9. A storage installation for liquid radioactive material, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB7932549A GB2034233B (en) | 1978-11-07 | 1979-09-19 | Storage installation for liquid radioactive material |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB7843505 | 1978-11-07 | ||
| GB7932549A GB2034233B (en) | 1978-11-07 | 1979-09-19 | Storage installation for liquid radioactive material |
Publications (2)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| GB2034233A true GB2034233A (en) | 1980-06-04 |
| GB2034233B GB2034233B (en) | 1982-09-15 |
Family
ID=26269482
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB7932549A Expired GB2034233B (en) | 1978-11-07 | 1979-09-19 | Storage installation for liquid radioactive material |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| GB (1) | GB2034233B (en) |
-
1979
- 1979-09-19 GB GB7932549A patent/GB2034233B/en not_active Expired
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| GB2034233B (en) | 1982-09-15 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCNP | Patent ceased through non-payment of renewal fee |