US20170263342A1 - Real-time reactor coolant system boron concentration monitor utilizing an ultrasonic spectroscpopy system - Google Patents
Real-time reactor coolant system boron concentration monitor utilizing an ultrasonic spectroscpopy system Download PDFInfo
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- US20170263342A1 US20170263342A1 US15/066,607 US201615066607A US2017263342A1 US 20170263342 A1 US20170263342 A1 US 20170263342A1 US 201615066607 A US201615066607 A US 201615066607A US 2017263342 A1 US2017263342 A1 US 2017263342A1
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- boron concentration
- acoustic
- acoustic signal
- piping
- transmitter
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- ZOXJGFHDIHLPTG-UHFFFAOYSA-N Boron Chemical compound [B] ZOXJGFHDIHLPTG-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 title claims abstract description 69
- 229910052796 boron Inorganic materials 0.000 title claims abstract description 69
- 239000002826 coolant Substances 0.000 title claims abstract description 37
- XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N water Substances O XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims abstract description 22
- 238000005259 measurement Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 9
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 9
- 238000004891 communication Methods 0.000 claims description 23
- 230000007246 mechanism Effects 0.000 claims description 11
- 238000004377 microelectronic Methods 0.000 claims description 11
- 238000012544 monitoring process Methods 0.000 claims description 4
- 239000012530 fluid Substances 0.000 claims description 3
- 230000005540 biological transmission Effects 0.000 claims description 2
- 239000007787 solid Substances 0.000 claims 2
- 230000005855 radiation Effects 0.000 abstract description 6
- 239000007788 liquid Substances 0.000 abstract description 4
- 238000012545 processing Methods 0.000 abstract description 2
- 239000000446 fuel Substances 0.000 description 10
- 230000000712 assembly Effects 0.000 description 8
- 238000000429 assembly Methods 0.000 description 8
- 230000009257 reactivity Effects 0.000 description 6
- 238000013461 design Methods 0.000 description 4
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 description 4
- 238000004458 analytical method Methods 0.000 description 3
- 239000012895 dilution Substances 0.000 description 3
- 238000010790 dilution Methods 0.000 description 3
- 238000005516 engineering process Methods 0.000 description 3
- 238000009413 insulation Methods 0.000 description 3
- 238000010521 absorption reaction Methods 0.000 description 2
- 238000013459 approach Methods 0.000 description 2
- 238000006243 chemical reaction Methods 0.000 description 2
- 239000000306 component Substances 0.000 description 2
- 239000002574 poison Substances 0.000 description 2
- 231100000614 poison Toxicity 0.000 description 2
- 239000000243 solution Substances 0.000 description 2
- 241000239290 Araneae Species 0.000 description 1
- 230000002411 adverse Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000007864 aqueous solution Substances 0.000 description 1
- QVGXLLKOCUKJST-UHFFFAOYSA-N atomic oxygen Chemical compound [O] QVGXLLKOCUKJST-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 238000005885 boration reaction Methods 0.000 description 1
- KGBXLFKZBHKPEV-UHFFFAOYSA-N boric acid Chemical compound OB(O)O KGBXLFKZBHKPEV-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 239000004327 boric acid Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000008859 change Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000004883 computer application Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000008358 core component Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000011982 device technology Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000004907 flux Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000009434 installation Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000012423 maintenance Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000004519 manufacturing process Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000012986 modification Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000004048 modification Effects 0.000 description 1
- 229910052760 oxygen Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 239000001301 oxygen Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000008569 process Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000000126 substance Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000004448 titration Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000001052 transient effect Effects 0.000 description 1
Images
Classifications
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G21—NUCLEAR PHYSICS; NUCLEAR ENGINEERING
- G21C—NUCLEAR REACTORS
- G21C17/00—Monitoring; Testing ; Maintaining
- G21C17/02—Devices or arrangements for monitoring coolant or moderator
- G21C17/022—Devices or arrangements for monitoring coolant or moderator for monitoring liquid coolants or moderators
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G21—NUCLEAR PHYSICS; NUCLEAR ENGINEERING
- G21C—NUCLEAR REACTORS
- G21C17/00—Monitoring; Testing ; Maintaining
- G21C17/10—Structural combination of fuel element, control rod, reactor core, or moderator structure with sensitive instruments, e.g. for measuring radioactivity, strain
- G21C17/108—Measuring reactor flux
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G21—NUCLEAR PHYSICS; NUCLEAR ENGINEERING
- G21C—NUCLEAR REACTORS
- G21C17/00—Monitoring; Testing ; Maintaining
- G21C17/10—Structural combination of fuel element, control rod, reactor core, or moderator structure with sensitive instruments, e.g. for measuring radioactivity, strain
- G21C17/112—Measuring temperature
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G01—MEASURING; TESTING
- G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
- G01S15/00—Systems using the reflection or reradiation of acoustic waves, e.g. sonar systems
- G01S15/88—Sonar systems specially adapted for specific applications
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G01—MEASURING; TESTING
- G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
- G01S15/00—Systems using the reflection or reradiation of acoustic waves, e.g. sonar systems
- G01S15/88—Sonar systems specially adapted for specific applications
- G01S15/89—Sonar systems specially adapted for specific applications for mapping or imaging
- G01S15/8906—Short-range imaging systems; Acoustic microscope systems using pulse-echo techniques
- G01S15/8909—Short-range imaging systems; Acoustic microscope systems using pulse-echo techniques using a static transducer configuration
- G01S15/8913—Short-range imaging systems; Acoustic microscope systems using pulse-echo techniques using a static transducer configuration using separate transducers for transmission and reception
-
- G21Y2002/104—
-
- G21Y2004/30—
-
- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
- Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
- Y02E30/00—Energy generation of nuclear origin
- Y02E30/30—Nuclear fission reactors
Definitions
- This invention relates in general to light water nuclear reactors and in particular to an instrumentation system for monitoring in real time the boron concentration within the reactor coolant.
- the primary side of nuclear reactor power generating systems which are cooled with water under pressure comprises a closed circuit which is isolated and in heat exchange relationship with the secondary side for the production of useful energy.
- the primary side comprises the reactor vessel enclosing a core internal structure that supports a plurality of fuel assemblies containing fissile material, the primary circuit within heat exchange steam generators, the inner volume of a pressurizer, pumps and pipes for circulating pressurized water; the pipes connecting each of the steam generators and pumps to the reactor vessel independently.
- Each of the parts of the primary side comprising a steam generator, a pump and a system of pipes which are connected to the vessel form a loop of the primary side.
- FIG. 1 shows a simplified nuclear reactor primary system, including a generally cylindrical reactor pressure vessel 10 having a closure head 12 (also shown in FIG. 2 ), enclosing a nuclear core 14 .
- a liquid reactor coolant such as water is pumped into the vessel 10 by pump 16 through the core 14 where heat energy is absorbed and is discharged to a heat exchanger 18 , typically referred to as a steam generator in which heat is transferred to a utilization circuit (not shown), such as a steam driven turbine generator.
- the reactor coolant is then returned to the pump 16 , completing the primary loop.
- reactor coolant piping 20 typically includes a pressurizer 19 connected to the reactor coolant loop piping 20 through a charging line 21 .
- FIG. 2 An exemplary reactor design is shown in more detail in FIG. 2 .
- the other vessel internal structure can be divided into the lower internals 24 and the upper internals 26 .
- the lower internals' function is to support, align and guide core components and instrumentation as well as direct flow within the vessel.
- the upper internals restrain or provide a secondary restraint for the fuel assemblies 22 (only two of which are shown for simplicity in this figure), and support and guide instrumentation and components, such as control rods 28 .
- FIG. 2 An exemplary reactor design is shown in more detail in FIG. 2 .
- the lower internals' function is to support, align and guide core components and instrumentation as well as direct flow within the vessel.
- the upper internals restrain or provide a secondary restraint for the fuel assemblies 22 (only two of which are shown for simplicity in this figure), and support and guide instrumentation and components, such as control rods 28 .
- coolant enters the reactor vessel 10 through one or more inlet nozzles 30 , flows down through an annulus between the vessel and the core barrel 32 , is turned 180 degrees in a lower plenum 34 , passes upwardly through a lower support plate 37 and a lower core plate 36 upon which the fuel assemblies 22 are seated and through and about the assemblies.
- the lower support plate 37 and the lower core plate 36 are replaced by a single structure, the lower core support plate, at the same elevation as the lower support plate 37 .
- the coolant flowing through the core 14 and surrounding area 38 is typically large on the order of 400,000 gallons per minute at a velocity of approximately 20 feet per second.
- Coolant exiting core 14 flows along the underside of the upper core plate 40 and upwardly through a plurality of perforations 42 .
- the coolant then flows upwardly and radially to one or more outlet nozzles 44 .
- the upper internals 26 can be supported from the vessel 10 or the vessel head 12 and include an upper support assembly 46 . Loads are transmitted between the upper support assembly 46 and the upper core plate 40 , primarily by a plurality of support columns 48 . A support column is aligned above a selected fuel assembly 22 and perforations 42 in the upper core plates 40 .
- the rectilinearly movable control rods 28 typically include a drive rod 50 and a spider assembly 52 of neutron poison rods 28 that are guided through the upper internals 26 and into aligned fuel assemblies 22 by control rod guide tubes 54 .
- the guide tubes are fixedly joined to the upper support assembly 46 and connected to the top of the upper core plate 40 .
- reactor coolant system boron concentration It is also necessary to monitor the reactor coolant system boron concentration to ensure that reactor Shutdown Margin is maintained when the reactor is shutdown. Boron concentration values are required during operation to ensure that the reactor is behaving in agreement with design expectations. Managing reactor coolant system boron concentration changes to compensate for fuel depletion during operation also requires detailed information on the value and changes in reactor coolant system boron concentration. Reactor coolant system boron dilution is required daily to compensate for fuel depletion. Ensuring that the desired reactor coolant system boron concentration change is occurring or has occurred is affected by the time lag caused by the current reactor coolant system boron concentration measurement process. Mistakes in the required amount of dilution required are only detected after they have already occurred.
- the approach described in this specification is difficult to employ in the locations described above using conventionally available technology because of the radiation fields generated by the decay of N-16 produced from the oxygen in the water when it flows through or near the reactor core.
- the radiation field degrades the reliability of the electronics required to digitize and wirelessly transmit the sensor readings.
- the difficulty is also increased by the fact that temperature of the water flowing through the pipes exceeds the Curie point of typical piezoelectric materials used to produce and measure the ultrasonic radiation.
- This invention eliminates the foregoing concerns by using electronics, transmitters, and signal measurement devices that utilize vacuum micro-electronic device technology, allowing the critical features of these devices to be replaced by micro-scale vacuum tube technology having performance characteristics shown to be essentially impervious to radiation damage and very high temperatures.
- An application of the vacuum micro-electronic devices wireless transmitter technology is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,767,903, entitled “Wireless In-Core Neutron Monitor.”
- a boron concentration monitor for measuring, in real time, the boron concentration of coolant within the piping servicing a primary loop of a nuclear reactor.
- the boron concentration monitoring system comprises an acoustic transmitter acoustically coupled to or through the piping that is operable to transmit an acoustic signal substantially through an interior of the piping.
- An acoustic receiver is supported at a location around a circumference of the piping that is spaced from the acoustic transmitter, for receiving the acoustic signal from the transmitter.
- a communication mechanism is in electrical communication with the acoustic transmitter and the acoustic receiver and is configured to convey the transmitted acoustic signal and the received acoustic signal to a remote location.
- An analyzer is in communication with the remote location and is configured to receive the received acoustic signal and the transmitted acoustic signal from the communication mechanism and compare the received acoustic signal and the transmitted acoustic signal and from the comparison determine the boron concentration within the piping.
- the analyzer compares the signal comparison to a standard to determine the boron concentration in the piping.
- the acoustic transmitter and acoustic receiver are at a known linear distance from each other and the standard is established from an experimental determination of the attenuation of an acoustic signal in a borated water solution over the known distance at a plurality of known boron concentrations.
- the communication mechanism comprises a wireless transmitter coupled to the acoustic transmitter and the acoustic receiver.
- the wireless transmitter is configured to wirelessly transmit both the transmitted acoustic signal and the received acoustic signal to the remote location.
- the communications mechanism also comprises a wireless receiver configured to receive the wirelessly transmitted, transmitted acoustic signal and received acoustic signal at the remote location and communicate the transmitted acoustic signal and the received acoustic signal to the analyzer.
- the acoustic transmitter, the acoustic receiver and the wireless transmitter are powered from a thermoelectric generator having a hot junction in thermal communication with the piping and a cold junction in thermal communication with a surrounding environment.
- the hot junction is in thermal communication with the piping through a heat pipe.
- the wireless transmitter comprises two separate wireless transmitters respectively connected to the acoustic transmitter and the acoustic receiver.
- the acoustic transmitter and the acoustic receiver are supported at substantially diametrically opposite positions around the circumference of the piping.
- the acoustic transmitter and the acoustic receiver employ one or more vacuum micro-electronic devices and desirably those vacuum micro-electronic devices are vacuum micro-electronic devices.
- the transmitter employs one or more vacuum micro-electronic devices.
- the acoustic receiver is an ultrasonic energy measurement sensor.
- the piping may be a charging line in fluid communication with the primary loop or a hot leg or a cold leg of the primary loop of the nuclear reactor.
- Each of the foregoing embodiments may further include a temperature sensor for determining the temperature of water flowing in the piping at the location of the acoustic transmitter and acoustic receiver that transmits a signal representative of the temperature through the communication mechanism to the analyzer which determines the boron concentration as a function of temperature.
- the boron concentration monitor may also include a pressure sensor for determining a pressure of the water flowing in the piping at the location of the acoustic transmitter and acoustic receiver that transmits a signal representative of the pressure of the coolant through the communication mechanism to the analyzer which determines the boron concentration as a function of temperature and pressure.
- FIG. 1 is a simplified schematic of a nuclear reactor system to which this invention can be applied;
- FIG. 2 is an elevational view, partially in section, of a nuclear reactor vessel and internals components to which this invention can be applied;
- FIG. 3 is schematic of a cross-section of an exemplary reactor system piping with the devices of one embodiment of this invention shown in block form.
- FIG. 3 A preferred embodiment of this invention is illustrated in FIG. 3 .
- the system comprises one or more pairs of ultrasonic transmitter 56 and ultrasonic energy measurement sensors or receivers 58 coupled with wireless transmitters 60 , 62 that broadcasts a signal representing the intensity of the transmitted and received ultrasonic energy.
- the ultrasonic transmitter 56 and receiver 58 are coupled directly to the surface of the piping containing the fluid.
- the wireless signal transmitter 60 , 62 is positioned on the insulation 64 surrounding the piping 66 .
- the power 72 required by the ultrasonic transmitter 56 and the wireless signal transmitter 60 , 62 is generated via one or more thermo-electric generators 68 that have the heated junction connected to a heat pipe 70 that penetrates the insulation 64 surrounding the piping 66 and a cold junction located on or above the outer surface of the insulation 64 on the piping 66 .
- the hot junction of the thermoelectric generator 68 can be directly connected to the piping 66 .
- the transmitted frequency used is selected to optimize the ability of the system to measure and detect changes in the boron concentration.
- An embodiment of this system can be used to track changes in bulk temperature corrected transmitted signal intensity and convert the changes in intensity to changes in boron concentration relative to a periodically manually updated reference established from current boron concentration titration measurements using existing methods.
- the system can be installed on either the reactor coolant system hot or cold leg piping or the charging line providing flow into the reactor coolant system.
- An alternate embodiment would be the installation of the hardware on the pressurizer surge line piping 21 .
- the preferred embodiment of the sensors, signal processing, and transmission electronics devices utilizes vacuum micro-electronic device based electronics and materials. Such devices, known as SSVDs, are commercially available from Innosys Inc., Salt Lake City, Utah. An example of such a device can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 7,005,783.
- An alternate embodiment would be to use less radiation and temperature tolerant materials and will require an increase in the required maintenance cycle.
- Another embodiment would allow the use of power and/or signal cables to provide transmitter power or receive transmitter and receiver output data.
- the measured signals are filtered to remove electronic noise in an analyzer 74 to meet user defined accuracy requirements using techniques well known to those skilled in the art.
- T is the temperature(°C.)
- S is the salinity( ⁇ )
- D is the depth (m).
- the boron concentration in the liquid is obtained by solving the relationship for pH of the liquid and converting the pH information to boron concentration using the known properties of boron in an aqueous solution.
- Temperature and Pressure (Depth) information can be determined from existing sensors.
- Salinity (S) is determined based on known water properties. The frequency used is selected to optimize the ability to measure and detect changes in the boron concentration.
- the boron concentration can be determined by comparing the attenuation of the transmitted signal over a known travel path through the coolant with a standard obtained by transmitting a like acoustic signal over the known travel path through a plurality of different boron concentrations in water solutions with the concentrations determined by conventional chemical analysis.
- a real-time reading of the boron concentration can be had from a computer mathematical analysis from the foregoing mathematical correlation.
Abstract
Description
- 1. Field
- This invention relates in general to light water nuclear reactors and in particular to an instrumentation system for monitoring in real time the boron concentration within the reactor coolant.
- 2. Related Art
- The primary side of nuclear reactor power generating systems which are cooled with water under pressure comprises a closed circuit which is isolated and in heat exchange relationship with the secondary side for the production of useful energy. The primary side comprises the reactor vessel enclosing a core internal structure that supports a plurality of fuel assemblies containing fissile material, the primary circuit within heat exchange steam generators, the inner volume of a pressurizer, pumps and pipes for circulating pressurized water; the pipes connecting each of the steam generators and pumps to the reactor vessel independently. Each of the parts of the primary side comprising a steam generator, a pump and a system of pipes which are connected to the vessel form a loop of the primary side.
- For the purpose of illustration,
FIG. 1 shows a simplified nuclear reactor primary system, including a generally cylindricalreactor pressure vessel 10 having a closure head 12 (also shown inFIG. 2 ), enclosing anuclear core 14. A liquid reactor coolant, such as water is pumped into thevessel 10 bypump 16 through thecore 14 where heat energy is absorbed and is discharged to aheat exchanger 18, typically referred to as a steam generator in which heat is transferred to a utilization circuit (not shown), such as a steam driven turbine generator. The reactor coolant is then returned to thepump 16, completing the primary loop. Typically, a plurality of the above described loops are connected to asingle reactor vessel 10 byreactor coolant piping 20. At least one of those loops normally includes apressurizer 19 connected to the reactorcoolant loop piping 20 through acharging line 21. - An exemplary reactor design is shown in more detail in
FIG. 2 . In addition to thecore 14 comprised of a plurality of parallel, vertical,co-extending fuel assemblies 22, for purposes of this description, the other vessel internal structure can be divided into thelower internals 24 and theupper internals 26. In conventional designs, the lower internals' function is to support, align and guide core components and instrumentation as well as direct flow within the vessel. The upper internals restrain or provide a secondary restraint for the fuel assemblies 22 (only two of which are shown for simplicity in this figure), and support and guide instrumentation and components, such ascontrol rods 28. In the exemplary reactor shown inFIG. 2 , coolant enters thereactor vessel 10 through one ormore inlet nozzles 30, flows down through an annulus between the vessel and thecore barrel 32, is turned 180 degrees in alower plenum 34, passes upwardly through alower support plate 37 and alower core plate 36 upon which thefuel assemblies 22 are seated and through and about the assemblies. In some designs, thelower support plate 37 and thelower core plate 36 are replaced by a single structure, the lower core support plate, at the same elevation as thelower support plate 37. The coolant flowing through thecore 14 and surroundingarea 38 is typically large on the order of 400,000 gallons per minute at a velocity of approximately 20 feet per second. The resulting pressure drop and frictional forces tend to cause the fuel assemblies to rise, which movement is restrained by theupper internals 26, including a circularupper core plate 40.Coolant exiting core 14 flows along the underside of theupper core plate 40 and upwardly through a plurality ofperforations 42. The coolant then flows upwardly and radially to one ormore outlet nozzles 44. - The
upper internals 26 can be supported from thevessel 10 or thevessel head 12 and include anupper support assembly 46. Loads are transmitted between theupper support assembly 46 and theupper core plate 40, primarily by a plurality ofsupport columns 48. A support column is aligned above a selectedfuel assembly 22 andperforations 42 in theupper core plates 40. - The rectilinearly
movable control rods 28 typically include adrive rod 50 and aspider assembly 52 ofneutron poison rods 28 that are guided through theupper internals 26 and into alignedfuel assemblies 22 by controlrod guide tubes 54. The guide tubes are fixedly joined to theupper support assembly 46 and connected to the top of theupper core plate 40. By inserting and withdrawing the neutron poison rods into and out of guide thimbles within the fuel assemblies within the core the control rods regulate the extent of the nuclear reactions within the core. Boron, dissolved within the reactor coolant water, also functions to control the nuclear reactions and manages more gradual changes in reactivity than the control rods. - There is currently no direct method employed to continuously measure the boron concentration in the reactor coolant system. Current measurements rely on samples drawn from taps in the reactor coolant system that have piping running from inside the Reactor Containment Building to Chemistry Analysis Offices located in the Auxiliary Building. This methodology results in a significant time lag between the boron concentration measured in the sample drawn and the current reactor coolant system boron concentration during reactor coolant system boron concentration dilution and boration transient conditions. This necessitates monitoring for uncontrolled changes in reactor coolant system boron via changes in reactor reactivity using changes in reactor neutron flux levels. This approach is not typically capable of detecting core reactivity changes until significant reactivity changes have already occurred. This situation has resulted in many adverse “Reactivity Management” Operating Event incidents associated with inadvertent changes in reactor coolant system boron concentration resulting in uncontrolled core reactivity changes.
- It is also necessary to monitor the reactor coolant system boron concentration to ensure that reactor Shutdown Margin is maintained when the reactor is shutdown. Boron concentration values are required during operation to ensure that the reactor is behaving in agreement with design expectations. Managing reactor coolant system boron concentration changes to compensate for fuel depletion during operation also requires detailed information on the value and changes in reactor coolant system boron concentration. Reactor coolant system boron dilution is required daily to compensate for fuel depletion. Ensuring that the desired reactor coolant system boron concentration change is occurring or has occurred is affected by the time lag caused by the current reactor coolant system boron concentration measurement process. Mistakes in the required amount of dilution required are only detected after they have already occurred.
- The approach described in this specification is difficult to employ in the locations described above using conventionally available technology because of the radiation fields generated by the decay of N-16 produced from the oxygen in the water when it flows through or near the reactor core. The radiation field degrades the reliability of the electronics required to digitize and wirelessly transmit the sensor readings. The difficulty is also increased by the fact that temperature of the water flowing through the pipes exceeds the Curie point of typical piezoelectric materials used to produce and measure the ultrasonic radiation.
- This invention eliminates the foregoing concerns by using electronics, transmitters, and signal measurement devices that utilize vacuum micro-electronic device technology, allowing the critical features of these devices to be replaced by micro-scale vacuum tube technology having performance characteristics shown to be essentially impervious to radiation damage and very high temperatures. An application of the vacuum micro-electronic devices wireless transmitter technology is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,767,903, entitled “Wireless In-Core Neutron Monitor.”
- Thus, in accordance with a broad concept of this invention, a boron concentration monitor is provided for measuring, in real time, the boron concentration of coolant within the piping servicing a primary loop of a nuclear reactor. The boron concentration monitoring system comprises an acoustic transmitter acoustically coupled to or through the piping that is operable to transmit an acoustic signal substantially through an interior of the piping. An acoustic receiver is supported at a location around a circumference of the piping that is spaced from the acoustic transmitter, for receiving the acoustic signal from the transmitter. A communication mechanism is in electrical communication with the acoustic transmitter and the acoustic receiver and is configured to convey the transmitted acoustic signal and the received acoustic signal to a remote location. An analyzer is in communication with the remote location and is configured to receive the received acoustic signal and the transmitted acoustic signal from the communication mechanism and compare the received acoustic signal and the transmitted acoustic signal and from the comparison determine the boron concentration within the piping.
- In one embodiment of the boron concentration monitor, the analyzer compares the signal comparison to a standard to determine the boron concentration in the piping. Preferably, the acoustic transmitter and acoustic receiver are at a known linear distance from each other and the standard is established from an experimental determination of the attenuation of an acoustic signal in a borated water solution over the known distance at a plurality of known boron concentrations.
- In another embodiment, the communication mechanism comprises a wireless transmitter coupled to the acoustic transmitter and the acoustic receiver. The wireless transmitter is configured to wirelessly transmit both the transmitted acoustic signal and the received acoustic signal to the remote location. In the latter embodiment, the communications mechanism also comprises a wireless receiver configured to receive the wirelessly transmitted, transmitted acoustic signal and received acoustic signal at the remote location and communicate the transmitted acoustic signal and the received acoustic signal to the analyzer. In one configuration of the latter embodiment the acoustic transmitter, the acoustic receiver and the wireless transmitter are powered from a thermoelectric generator having a hot junction in thermal communication with the piping and a cold junction in thermal communication with a surrounding environment. In one arrangement of the latter embodiment the hot junction is in thermal communication with the piping through a heat pipe. Preferably, the wireless transmitter comprises two separate wireless transmitters respectively connected to the acoustic transmitter and the acoustic receiver.
- In still another embodiment, the acoustic transmitter and the acoustic receiver are supported at substantially diametrically opposite positions around the circumference of the piping. Preferably, the acoustic transmitter and the acoustic receiver employ one or more vacuum micro-electronic devices and desirably those vacuum micro-electronic devices are vacuum micro-electronic devices. In such an arrangement, desirably, the transmitter employs one or more vacuum micro-electronic devices.
- In another embodiment, the acoustic receiver is an ultrasonic energy measurement sensor. In each of the foregoing embodiments, the piping may be a charging line in fluid communication with the primary loop or a hot leg or a cold leg of the primary loop of the nuclear reactor. Each of the foregoing embodiments may further include a temperature sensor for determining the temperature of water flowing in the piping at the location of the acoustic transmitter and acoustic receiver that transmits a signal representative of the temperature through the communication mechanism to the analyzer which determines the boron concentration as a function of temperature. The boron concentration monitor may also include a pressure sensor for determining a pressure of the water flowing in the piping at the location of the acoustic transmitter and acoustic receiver that transmits a signal representative of the pressure of the coolant through the communication mechanism to the analyzer which determines the boron concentration as a function of temperature and pressure.
- A further understanding of the invention can be gained from the following description of the preferred embodiments when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
-
FIG. 1 is a simplified schematic of a nuclear reactor system to which this invention can be applied; -
FIG. 2 is an elevational view, partially in section, of a nuclear reactor vessel and internals components to which this invention can be applied; and -
FIG. 3 is schematic of a cross-section of an exemplary reactor system piping with the devices of one embodiment of this invention shown in block form. - A preferred embodiment of this invention is illustrated in
FIG. 3 . The system comprises one or more pairs ofultrasonic transmitter 56 and ultrasonic energy measurement sensors orreceivers 58 coupled withwireless transmitters ultrasonic transmitter 56 andreceiver 58 are coupled directly to the surface of the piping containing the fluid. Thewireless signal transmitter insulation 64 surrounding thepiping 66. Thepower 72 required by theultrasonic transmitter 56 and thewireless signal transmitter electric generators 68 that have the heated junction connected to aheat pipe 70 that penetrates theinsulation 64 surrounding the piping 66 and a cold junction located on or above the outer surface of theinsulation 64 on thepiping 66. Alternatively, it should be appreciated that the hot junction of thethermoelectric generator 68 can be directly connected to thepiping 66. The transmitted frequency used is selected to optimize the ability of the system to measure and detect changes in the boron concentration. An embodiment of this system can be used to track changes in bulk temperature corrected transmitted signal intensity and convert the changes in intensity to changes in boron concentration relative to a periodically manually updated reference established from current boron concentration titration measurements using existing methods. - The system can be installed on either the reactor coolant system hot or cold leg piping or the charging line providing flow into the reactor coolant system. An alternate embodiment would be the installation of the hardware on the pressurizer
surge line piping 21. The preferred embodiment of the sensors, signal processing, and transmission electronics devices utilizes vacuum micro-electronic device based electronics and materials. Such devices, known as SSVDs, are commercially available from Innosys Inc., Salt Lake City, Utah. An example of such a device can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 7,005,783. An alternate embodiment would be to use less radiation and temperature tolerant materials and will require an increase in the required maintenance cycle. Another embodiment would allow the use of power and/or signal cables to provide transmitter power or receive transmitter and receiver output data. The measured signals are filtered to remove electronic noise in ananalyzer 74 to meet user defined accuracy requirements using techniques well known to those skilled in the art. - An example of the parameters required to develop a correlation between the boron concentration in the reactor coolant system and the attenuation of the transmitted acoustic or ultrasonic energy is contained in an article entitled “Modeling of Acoustic Wave Absorption in Ocean” by T. B. Mohite-Patil, et al. International Journal of Computer Applications, November 2010:
- Absorption coefficient due to Boric Acid
-
- Where c is the sound speed (m/s), given by
- c=1412+3.21T+1.19 S+0.0167 D,
- T is the temperature(°C.),
- θ=273+T,
- S is the salinity(‰), and D is the depth (m).
- The boron concentration in the liquid is obtained by solving the relationship for pH of the liquid and converting the pH information to boron concentration using the known properties of boron in an aqueous solution. Temperature and Pressure (Depth) information can be determined from existing sensors. Salinity (S) is determined based on known water properties. The frequency used is selected to optimize the ability to measure and detect changes in the boron concentration. Thus, the boron concentration can be determined by comparing the attenuation of the transmitted signal over a known travel path through the coolant with a standard obtained by transmitting a like acoustic signal over the known travel path through a plurality of different boron concentrations in water solutions with the concentrations determined by conventional chemical analysis. Alternatively, with the pressure and temperature of the coolant known a real-time reading of the boron concentration can be had from a computer mathematical analysis from the foregoing mathematical correlation.
- While specific embodiments of the invention have been described in detail, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various modifications and alternatives to those details could be developed in light of the overall teachings of the disclosure. Accordingly, the particular embodiments disclosed are meant to be illustrative only and not limiting as to the scope of the invention which is to be given the full breadth of the appended claims and any and all equivalents thereof
Claims (20)
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US15/066,607 US20170263342A1 (en) | 2016-03-10 | 2016-03-10 | Real-time reactor coolant system boron concentration monitor utilizing an ultrasonic spectroscpopy system |
PCT/US2017/016337 WO2017155645A1 (en) | 2016-03-10 | 2017-02-03 | Real-time reactor coolant system boron concentration monitor utilizing an ultrasonic spectroscopy system |
KR1020187029083A KR102648153B1 (en) | 2016-03-10 | 2017-02-03 | Real-time reactor cooling system boron concentration monitor using ultrasonic spectrum analysis system |
EP17763706.3A EP3427271B1 (en) | 2016-03-10 | 2017-02-03 | Real-time reactor coolant system boron concentration monitor utilizing an ultrasonic spectroscopy system |
CN201780016183.8A CN108713229B (en) | 2016-03-10 | 2017-02-03 | Real-time reactor cooling system boron concentration monitor using ultrasonic spectroscopy system |
US16/840,498 US11238996B2 (en) | 2016-03-10 | 2020-04-06 | Real-time reactor coolant system boron concentration monitor utilizing an ultrasonic spectroscpopy system |
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EP (1) | EP3427271B1 (en) |
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WO2017155643A1 (en) | 2016-03-10 | 2017-09-14 | Westinghouse Electric Company Llc | Reactor coolant system piping temperature distribution measurement system |
CN108760572A (en) * | 2018-08-19 | 2018-11-06 | 戴红梅 | The measuring device and its method of boric acid concentration in a kind of boron recovery system |
CN110232980A (en) * | 2019-07-09 | 2019-09-13 | 阳江核电有限公司 | Sampler and online boron table calibration system for the online boron table calibration of nuclear power plant |
US11238996B2 (en) | 2016-03-10 | 2022-02-01 | Westinghouse Electric Company Llc | Real-time reactor coolant system boron concentration monitor utilizing an ultrasonic spectroscpopy system |
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CN109036598B (en) * | 2018-08-03 | 2021-08-24 | 中国核动力研究设计院 | Reactor coolant water quality control method suitable for rod-controlled reactor core |
CN110289113A (en) * | 2019-06-18 | 2019-09-27 | 中广核核电运营有限公司 | Liquid detecting method, device and computer equipment based on nuclear power container |
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US11238996B2 (en) | 2022-02-01 |
EP3427271A4 (en) | 2019-12-04 |
CN108713229B (en) | 2022-08-09 |
WO2017155645A1 (en) | 2017-09-14 |
US20200335234A1 (en) | 2020-10-22 |
KR102648153B1 (en) | 2024-03-14 |
KR20180115337A (en) | 2018-10-22 |
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