JP5373512B2 - Reactor control rod - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a control rod which can suppress the generation of a stress corrosion crack by eliminating gaps. <P>SOLUTION: The control rod 1 includes four blades 2 which have cruciform cross sections and extend in four directions from a shaft of the rod 1. Fig.1 shows one of the four blades 2. A handle 3 and a lower supporting member 4 are mounted to each of the blades 2. The lateral faces of the blades 2 are welded to a tie rod 5. Neutron absorbers 10 are sealed and encapsulated into a circular tube 11, and the circular tube 11 undertakes an increase in internal pressure associated with an He gas generated by neutron absorption. The circular tube 11 into which the neutron absorbers 10 are encapsulated is inserted into a deformed tube 13, and the deformed tube 13 is made to closely contact with the outside lateral face of the circular tube 11. Upper and lower ends of the specially shaped tube 13 are hermetically joined to the handle 3 by the lower supporting member 4, thus enabling the inside of each of the blades 2 to be isolated completely from reactor water and obtaining a structure without any gaps. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a control rod for controlling output and shutting down a reactor in a boiling water reactor (hereinafter referred to as “BWR”).

  Boiling water reactor control rods are installed between multiple fuel assemblies loaded in the core, and the number of nuclear fuel material fission is limited by adjusting the amount of neutrons by inserting and removing control rods. And control reactor power.

The control rod used in BWR has a cross-shaped horizontal cross section and is filled with neutron absorbers such as boron carbide (hereinafter referred to as “B ₄ C”) and hafnium (hereinafter referred to as “Hf”) 4 wings.

  FIG. 15 shows an example of a conventional control rod. Each wing 55 is composed of a neutron absorber 56 covered with a sheath 58. There is a gap between the neutron absorber and the sheath, and when the reactor water enters the gap, crevice corrosion is likely to occur. Furthermore, stress corrosion cracking may occur when the residual tensile stress due to welding or the like and the embrittlement of the material due to neutron irradiation overlap.

  In the control rod described in Patent Document 1, neutron absorber rods enclosing a neutron absorber are arranged in parallel in a tubular member provided with corner portions at the four corners on the outer side of the circular tube so that the outer shape is substantially square. The parts are welded together to form a single wing. Since this control rod does not have a sheath, the filling amount of the neutron absorber can be increased as compared with the conventional control rod, and the rigidity of the control rod structure can be obtained.

  Further, in the control rod described in Patent Document 2, as shown in FIG. 14, a circular tube 93 filled with a neutron absorbing material is disposed in a rectangular tube 94 having a square cross section, and the rectangular tube and the rectangular tube are arranged. Further, a circular tube 93 filled with a neutron absorbing material is further arranged between them, and the rectangular tubes are coupled together by a short coupling member 91 to constitute one wing. According to this structure, even in the case of a huge earthquake, the stress relief portion provided in the coupling member 91 can be selectively damaged, and the soundness of the control rod structure can be maintained.

JP-A-1-254895 JP 2008-261673 A

  The control rod described in Patent Document 1 is provided with corner portions at the four corners on the outer side of the circular tube, encapsulating a neutron absorber in a tubular member having a substantially square outer shape, and welding them in parallel. Consists of wings. For this reason, the man-hour of welding increases and manufacturing cost increases. Moreover, if the residual stress due to welding is not properly processed, the risk of stress corrosion cracking increases.

  The control rod described in Patent Document 2 has a coupling member similar to a sheath. This coupling member connects square rectangular tubes to each other, and sandwiches a neutron absorber encapsulating tube therebetween. The coupling member and the neutron absorber enclosing tube are exposed to the reactor water. Also, the neutron absorber encapsulating tube arranged inside the rectangular tube is exposed to the reactor water in the same way as the portion sandwiched between the binders because the reactor water flows in from the upper and lower ends of the rectangular tube. The

  There are gaps in the constituent parts of the blades exposed in the reactor water, and crevice corrosion and stress corrosion cracking tend to occur from there. As a countermeasure, dimples are provided to ensure the water permeability of the reactor water, but it is difficult to completely suppress clad deposition and crevice corrosion. In addition, the square tube part plays the role of a strength member that constitutes the wing and needs a sufficient thickness to increase the rigidity of the control rod, so the space for storing the neutron absorber is reduced. The filling amount is reduced.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a control rod for a nuclear reactor that eliminates gaps and suppresses the occurrence of stress corrosion cracking.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is characterized in that there is no gap in each blade of the control rod, and a circular tube in which a neutron absorber is hermetically sealed is inserted into the deformed tube and deformed. The tube is in close contact with the outside of the circular tube, and the upper part of the deformed tube is sealed with the handle and the lower end is sealed with the lower support member. It is possible to suppress the occurrence of stress corrosion cracking of the control rod during operation.

  In addition, each wing can be sealed and joined with the upper part of the deformed tube with the handle and the lower support member with the lower support member without closely contacting the outer surface of the circular tube enclosing the neutron absorber and the deformed tube, The above-mentioned purpose can be achieved.

  Furthermore, it is also possible to use an off-the-shelf product called a honeycomb pipe manufactured by combining a circular tube and a deformed tube. The above-mentioned object can also be achieved by enclosing a neutron absorbing material in a circular tube portion arranged in the deformed tube portion of the honeycomb pipe, and sealing and joining the upper portion with a handle and the lower portion with a lower support member. it can.

  Furthermore, the wing length of the control rod is divided into at least an upper part, a middle part and a lower part, the neutron absorber is enclosed in a short circular tube, the short circular tube is inserted into the short deformed tube, and the short deformed tube is inserted into the short circular tube. Construct a wing block with both ends of the deformed tube sealed, or a wing block with one end sealed, or a wing block with both ends open and connected to the outside to form a wing. The above-described object can be achieved even if the upper end portion is disposed between the lower support member, the upper end portion is a handle, and the lower end portion of the deformed tube is sealed and joined by the lower support member.

In addition, when the structure using this blade block is used, the control rod upper part where the amount of neutron irradiation is large and the conditions are severe is used. For example, neutron absorbers such as B ₄ C can be used, and the type and amount of neutron absorbers and the dimensions of the plenum can be easily changed. Thereby, it becomes possible to hold down the material cost of a neutron absorber.

  The joining includes, for example, welding.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a reactor control rod capable of eliminating gaps and suppressing the occurrence of stress corrosion cracking.

It is a schematic diagram of the control rod of Example 1, which is a preferred embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic diagram which inserts the circular tube which enclosed the neutron absorber in parallel in a deformed tube. It is a schematic diagram at the time of making a deformed tube closely_contact | adhere to the outer surface of the circular tube which enclosed the neutron absorber by rolling. It is a schematic diagram at the time of making a deformed tube closely_contact | adhere to the outer surface of the circular tube which enclosed the neutron absorber by press. It is a schematic diagram at the time of making a deformed tube closely_contact | adhere to the outer surface of the circular tube which enclosed the neutron absorber by drawing process. It is a schematic diagram of the wing | blade part which made the deformed tube closely_contact | adhere to the outer side of the circular tube enclosed with a neutron absorber by rolling, a press, a drawing process, etc. It is a schematic diagram of the AA cross section of the wing | blade part shown in FIG. It is a schematic diagram of the control rod using the wing | blade which does not closely_contact | adhere a deformed tube to the outer surface of the circular tube which enclosed the neutron absorber. It is an example of a front view of an off-the-shelf product called a honeycomb pipe manufactured by combining a circular pipe and a deformed pipe. It is a schematic diagram of a control rod using a blade block in which a deformed tube is brought into close contact with an outer surface of a circular tube enclosing a neutron absorber. It is a schematic diagram of a control rod using a wing block that does not allow a deformed tube to adhere to the outer surface of a circular tube enclosing a neutron absorber. It is a schematic diagram of a wing block. It is a schematic diagram at the time of connecting a wing | blade block and comprising the wing | blade of a control rod. 10 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of a wing part of Patent Document 2. FIG. It is a perspective view of the control rod for reactors currently used conventionally.

  Next, examples which are modes for carrying out the present invention will be described, but the present invention is not limited to the examples described below.

[Example 1]
A control rod according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The control rod 1 of Example 1 is used for BWR.

  The control rod 1 has a cruciform horizontal cross section and has four wings 2 extending in four directions from the axis. FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram when one of the four blades 2 is attached to the control rod. A handle 3 and a lower support member 4 are attached to each wing 2. The side surface of the wing 2 is attached to the tie rod 5 intermittently or by welding over the entire length. FIG. 1 shows an example of intermittent welding joining.

A neutron absorber 11 is hermetically sealed in the circular tube 12 (see FIG. 2). As the neutron absorber 11, powdered B ₄ C, a B ₄ C sintered body having communication holes, Hf, or the like is used. When B ₄ C is used as the neutron absorbing material, helium gas (hereinafter referred to as “He”) is generated by neutron absorption, so that the internal pressure of the circular tube 12 increases. In general, the circular tube 12 is known to have high strength against internal pressure, and by optimizing the amount of the neutron absorber 11 enclosed, the possibility of damage due to internal pressure can be eliminated.

  In the upper part of the circular tube 12 close to the handle 3, the amount of neutron irradiation is large, and the amount of He generated by neutron absorption increases. However, at the lower part of the circular tube 12 close to the lower support member 4, the amount of He generated is small because the amount of neutron irradiation is small. From this, it is possible to obtain a uniform internal pressure distribution as a whole by increasing the density of the neutron absorber in the upper part and decreasing the density in the lower part. It is preferable to pay sufficient attention to the setting of the plenum size so that the circular tube itself is not deformed even if an internal pressure rise or volume expansion occurs in the circular tube.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the blade 2 is configured by inserting a circular tube 12 in which a neutron absorber 11 is hermetically sealed in a deformed tube 13 in parallel. The deformed tube 13 is brought into close contact with the outer side of the circular tube 12 in which the neutron absorbing material is enclosed, thereby improving the thermal conductivity.

  3 to 5 each show a method of bringing the deformed tube 13 into close contact with the circular tube 12. FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing a method of bringing the deformed tube 13 into close contact with the outer surface of the circular tube 12 by the rolling roll 31. In this method, the long wings 2 can be continuously adhered. FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing a method of closely attaching by press molding. In this method, the range to be in close contact is fixed depending on the size of the press die 32, but it is useful for closely attaching the short deformed tubes of the blade blocks 21, 22 and 23 shown in FIGS. 11 to 13 to the short circular tube.

  FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a method for gradually obtaining a shape in which the deformed tube 13 is in close contact with the circular tube 12 by reducing the size of the deformed tube 13 by drawing and gradually changing the shape of the die 33. FIG. Similar to the rolling method, the long tube 2 can be obtained by continuously bringing the deformed tube 13 into close contact with the circular tube 12. FIG. 6 is a schematic view of the blade 2 in which the deformed tube 13 is closely attached to the neutron absorber encapsulating circular tube 12. FIG. 7 shows an AA cross section of FIG. By bringing the deformed tube 13 into close contact with the circular tube 12, not only the thermal conductivity is improved, but also the position of the circular tube 12 can be constrained.

  The horizontal cross sections of the handle 3 and the lower support member 4 are also cruciform. The handle 3 extends in four directions from the axis, and has a handle fitting portion 6 shown in FIG. 1, and this portion is fitted into the upper portion of the wing 2. Similarly, the lower support member 4 extends in four directions from the axis, and has a lower support member fitting portion 7, which is fitted into the lower portion of the wing 2 and sealed and joined. By forming the blade 2 in this way, the inside of the blade 2 can be made completely watertight from the reactor water.

  The upper part of the control rod 1 has a severe use environment with a large amount of neutron irradiation, and high reliability is desired for the welded joint. After the handle fitting part 6 and the upper part of the blade 2 are sealed and welded together, the handle fitting part 6 and the deformed pipe 13 are also formed by using hot isostatic bonding (hereinafter referred to as “HIP bonding”). The deformed tube 13 and the circular tube 12 are diffusion-bonded, and it becomes possible to obtain high reliability and water tightness of the bonded portion. This HIP joining may be performed not only on the upper portion of the blade 2 but also on the lower support member fitting portion 7 and the lower portion of the blade 2.

  The welded portion 9 in which the deformed tube 13 is processed so as to be in close contact with the outer surface of the circular tube 12, and the welded joint between the deformed tube, the handle 3, the lower support member 4 and the tie rod 5, Since stress exists, it is preferable to improve the stress state by applying compressive stress by water jet peening (hereinafter described as “WJP”) or shot peening (hereinafter described as “SP”).

[Example 2]
Next, the control rod of Example 2 will be described with reference to FIG. The control rod 1 of Example 2 is also used for BWR.

  The control rod of Example 2 has a sufficiently good thermal conductivity in a state where the circular tube 12 enclosing the neutron absorber 11 is inserted into the deformed tube 13. Here, as shown in FIG. 8, the deformed tube 13 and the circular tube 12 are not brought into close contact with each other, the shape of the deformed tube 13 is left as it is, the handle fitting portion 6 is placed on the upper portion of the wing 2, and the lower support member fitting portion 7 is placed on the wing. It is possible to completely make the inside of the blade 2 from the reactor water into a watertight space by being respectively fitted into the lower part of 2 and hermetically joined by welding.

  Also in this case, since the tensile residual stress due to welding remains in the welded portion of the deformed tube 13, the handle 3, the lower support member 4, and the tie rod 5, compressive stress is applied by WJP or SP. It is better to improve the stress state.

[Example 3]
Next, the control rod according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The control rod of Example 3 is also used for BWR.

  Example 3 is an example in which an off-the-shelf product called a honeycomb pipe 14 manufactured by combining a circular pipe and a deformed pipe is used. In FIG. 9a), the deformed tube portion 42 has a rectangular shape, and in FIG. 9b), the deformed tube portion 42 has an elliptical shape. The neutron absorbing material 11 is sealed in the circular tube portion 41 of the honeycomb pipe 14, and the deformed tube portion 42 is brought into close contact with the circular tube portion 41 in which the neutron absorbing material 11 is sealed by the method shown in FIGS. The handle fitting portion 6 is formed at the upper part of the honeycomb pipe 14 and the lower support member fitting portion 7 is formed at the lower portion, and the blade 2 is formed by sealing and welding by fitting welding, whereby the inside of the blade 2 is completely watertight from the reactor water. It becomes possible to make a space.

  Also in this case, the contact portion 9 in which the deformed tube portion 42 is processed so as to be in close contact with the outer surface of the circular tube portion 41, and the deformed tube portion 42, the handle 3, the lower support member 4, and the tie rod 5 Since there is a tensile residual stress due to welding, it is better to apply a compressive stress by WJP, SP, etc. to improve the stress state.

  Similarly, the neutron absorbing material 11 is enclosed in the circular pipe portion 41 of the honeycomb pipe 14, and the thermal conductivity is sufficient with the circular pipe portion 41 containing the neutron absorbing material 11 disposed in the deformed pipe portion 42. If the shape of the deformed tube portion 42 is not particularly close to the circular tube portion 41 in which the neutron absorbing material 11 is sealed, the handle fitting portion 6 is placed on the upper portion of the honeycomb pipe 14 and the lower support member fitting portion 7 is placed. By forming the blade 2 by fitting and sealing each of the lower portion of the honeycomb pipe 14 by fitting welding, the inside of the blade 2 can be completely made into a watertight space from the reactor water.

  In this case as well, there is tensile residual stress due to welding in the welded part of the deformed pipe and the handle 3, lower support member 4 and tie rod 5, so compressive stress is applied by WJP, SP, etc. It is preferable to improve the condition.

[Example 4]
The control rod of Example 4 will be described with reference to FIGS. The control rod of Example 4 is also used for BWR.

  In the first to third embodiments, each of the four blades of the control rod is one over the entire length, but in the fourth embodiment, the total length of one blade is divided into at least an upper part, a middle part, and a lower part. Has become. The short circular tube 15 enclosing the neutron absorber 11 is inserted into the short deformed tube 16, and the short deformed tube 16 is brought into close contact with the outer surface of the short circular tube 15. Thereafter, the upper and lower ends of the deformed pipe are sealed to produce a sealed wing block 21a. This block is placed between the handle 3 and the lower support structure 4 as shown in FIG. Join to make up the entire length of the wing.

  Here, for example, as shown in FIG. 12a), the one-end sealed blade block 22a in which only one end of the deformed tube is sealed by the deformed tube bottom connecting member 24 is manufactured, and both ends without using the deformed tube bottom connecting member 24 are used. Two types of wing blocks 23a may be manufactured. Then, as shown in FIG. 13 a), one end sealed wing block 22 a is connected to the upper and middle parts, and the both ends are connected to each other by welding using both end open wing blocks 23 a, and the handle 3 and the lower support member 4 are connected. The handle fitting portion 6 and the lower support member fitting portion 7 are fitted from the top and bottom, respectively, and hermetically joined to form the entire length of the blade, whereby the inside of the blade 2 can be made completely water-tight from the reactor water. .

  Also in the above case, if the thermal conductivity is good just by inserting the short circular tube 15 enclosing the neutron absorber 11 into the short deformed tube 16, the short deformed tube 16 is connected to the outer surface of the short circular tube 15. It is possible to completely make the inside of the blade 2 from the reactor water into a watertight space by performing the same operation as described above without making the contact with each other. FIGS. 11 and 13b) show the situation in this case.

  In the case of using the wing block described above, the type and amount of neutron absorber in the control rod upper block where the neutron irradiation amount is large and the irradiation conditions are strict, and the control rod lower block where the irradiation amount is low and the conditions are loose, The dimensions of the plenum can be adjusted, the effective arrangement of the neutron absorber is facilitated, and the material cost can be reduced.

  Further, even when a wing block is used, the contact portion 9 of the short deformed tube 16 processed so as to be in close contact with the outer surface of the short circular tube 15, and further the handle 3, the lower support member 4, the tie rod 5 and the wing block 21, It is preferable to apply a compressive stress by WJP, SP, or the like to a region where tensile residual stress exists, such as a connecting portion where 22 and 23 are welded, to improve the stress state.

  The present invention can be applied to a control rod for BWR.

1 ... Control rod, 2 ... Wings, 3 ... Handle, 4 ... Lower support member, 5 ... Tie rod, 6 ... Handle fitting part, 7 ... Lower support member fitting part, 8 ... Welding part, 9 ... Contact part, 11 ... Neutron Absorbent, 12 ... Circular tube, 13 ... Deformed tube, 14 ... Honeycomb pipe, 15 ... Short circular tube, 16 ... Short deformed tube, 21 ... Both ends sealed blade block, 22a, 22b ... One end sealed blade block, 23a, 23b ... Both ends open blade block, 24 ... Blade block bottom connecting member, 31 ... Roll, 32 ... Die, 33 ... Die, 41 ... Circular tube, 42 ... Deformed tube, 51 ... Conventional control rod, 52 ... Tie rod, 53 ... handle, 54 ... lower support member, 55 ... wing, 56 ... plate-like neutron absorber, 57 ... cooling hole, 58 ... sheath, 91 ... coupling member, 92 ... center post, 93 ... circular tube, 94 ... rectangular tube

Claims (12)

In a control rod having four wings extending in four directions from the control rod axis, a handle attached to the upper end of the wing, and a lower support member attached to the lower end of the wing,
Each wing is
A circular tube that encloses a neutron absorbing material and has sufficient strength against an increase in internal pressure due to He gas generated by neutron absorption by the neutron absorbing material;
A deformed tube that closely contacts the outside of the circular tube group in which the circular tubes are arranged in parallel and surrounds the circular tube group,
The upper end of the deformed pipe is joined to the handle, and the lower end of the deformed pipe is joined to the lower support member so that the inside of the blade is watertight from the reactor water ,
The control rod for a nuclear reactor, wherein the circular tube and the deformed tube are ready-made honeycomb pipes manufactured in advance . In a control rod having four wings extending in four directions from the control rod axis, a handle attached to the upper end of the wing, and a lower support member attached to the lower end of the wing,
Each wing is
A circular tube that encloses a neutron absorbing material and has sufficient strength against an increase in internal pressure due to He gas generated by neutron absorption by the neutron absorbing material;
Provided with a profiled tube surrounding said circular tube group with no close contact with the outer circle shape tube group arranged the circular tube in parallel,
The upper end of the profiled tube on the said handle, a lower end portion of the profiled tube on the lower support member are joined to each a watertight inner blade from the reactor water,
The control rod for a nuclear reactor, wherein the circular tube and the deformed tube are ready-made honeycomb pipes manufactured in advance . In the control rod for a nuclear reactor according to claim 1 or 2,
Each of the wings is composed of a plurality of divided wing blocks in the vertical direction,
Wherein each wing block, provided with the circular tube and the profiled pipe,
Wherein the upper end of the profiled tube is a top end portion of the uppermost of said profiled tube of the wing block, the lower end of the profiled tube is a lower end of the lowermost of said profiled tube of the blade block Reactor control rod. In the control rod for a nuclear reactor according to claim 1 or 2 ,
Each of the blades is composed of at least an upper stage, a middle stage, and a lower stage blade block in the vertical direction. In the control rod for a nuclear reactor according to claim 1 or 2 ,
Each of the wings is constituted by combining a wing block sealed at both ends, a wing block sealed at one end, or a wing block opened at both ends. In the control rod for a nuclear reactor according to any one of claims 3 to 5 ,
Each of the blades is composed of a blade block in which the type or amount of the neutron absorbing material sealed in a circular tube in the blade block arranged in the longitudinal direction or the size of the plenum is adjusted according to the neutron irradiation amount. A control rod for nuclear reactors. In the control rod for a nuclear reactor according to claim 1 or 2 ,
A control rod for a nuclear reactor, wherein the circular tube itself is made of a neutron absorber. In the control rod for a nuclear reactor according to claim 1 or 2 ,
A control rod for a nuclear reactor, wherein the material of the circular tube is a hafnium-based alloy, a gadolinium-based alloy, or a cadmium-based alloy. In the nuclear reactor control rod according to claim 1,
The reactor control rod according to claim 1, wherein the deformed tube is in close contact with the outer surface of the circular tube group , and is processed by any one of press forming, rolling, and drawing. In the control rod for a nuclear reactor according to claim 1 or 2 ,
Preparative with the lower end of the the fitting portion upper ends of the blades and the respective wing portion and the lower support member fitting portion of the handle, by applying hot isostatic compression bonding, the fitting portion and the deformed tube However, the reactor control rod is characterized in that the deformed tube and the circular tube are diffusion-bonded. In the control rod for a nuclear reactor according to claim 1 or 2 ,
After the control rod is completed, water jet peening or shot peening is applied to apply a compressive residual stress to a welded portion or a processed portion when the reactor control rod is manufactured. Control rod for. In the control rod for a nuclear reactor according to claim 1 or 2 ,
A control rod for a nuclear reactor, wherein the neutron absorber is powdered B ₄ C, a B ₄ C sintered body having a communication hole, or Hf.

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