US3308030A

US3308030A - Core suspension system for swimming pool type reactor

Info

Publication number: US3308030A
Application number: US359982A
Authority: US
Inventors: Aizu Tadashi; Kiryu Kiyomi
Original assignee: Hitachi Ltd
Current assignee: Hitachi Ltd
Priority date: 1963-04-16
Filing date: 1964-04-15
Publication date: 1967-03-07
Anticipated expiration: 1984-03-07

Description

March 7, 1967 TADASHI AlZU ETAL 3,

CORE SUSPENSION SYSTEM FOR SWIMMING POOL TYPE REACTOR Filed A ril 15, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INUEHTO% dash'a Qiau Kiqom': Hiru ATTORNEYS March 7, 1967 TADASHI AlZU ETAL 3,308,030

coma SUSPENSION SYSTEM FOR SWIMMING POOL TYPE REACTOR Filed April 15, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 J *Dfrecfian ofmovemenf Urea/7'00 0f movemenf InuEnToRs Tsdaskn fi au Kiwom'l Kin u ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,308,030 CORE SUSPENSION SYSTEM FOR SWIMMING POOL TYPE REACTOR Tadashi Aizu and Kiyomi Kiryu, Hitachi-shi, Japan, as-

signors to Hitachi, Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, a corporation of Japan Filed Apr. 15, 1964, Ser. No. 359,982 Claims priority, application Japan, Apr. 16, 1963, 38/ 18,191 2 Claims. (Cl. 176-27) This invention relates to a swimming pool type reactor.

As an experimental reactor, a swimming pool type reactor with its core submerged in considerably deep water is used, generally, due to its convenience for experiments and its simplicity in operation. For this swimming-pool reactor, there are two types of the device; one of which is provided with various experimental arrangements in the wall or the pool of the reactor with a centrally disposed fixed core, and the other is provided with a bridge stretched over the pool, the core being movable by fixing the core to the bridge and by moving the bridge. Since these reactors have been constructed in rectangular shape, their construction and the experimental space are considerably restricted so that their use has been inconvenient and also uneconomical.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a swimming pool type reactor with a relatively small pool capable of performing various experiments more effectively than the conventional large pool type reactor and also capable of performing the experimental operations easily and safely. This is accomplished by making the core freely movable in the pool by forming the swimming pool type reactor circularly and providing a supporting frame movable on a rotatable bridge so that the dead space'in the pool is eliminated relative to the conventional swimming pool type reactor.

According to the present invention, there is provided a swimming pool type reactor characterized which that it comprises a circular pool surrounded by a cylindrical side wall constructed to shield against radiation. The inside of said side wall is filled with water and also provided with a core. A plurality of experimental bores are provided through said side wall of the pool and these are adapted to be inserted with test material for experimentals. A rail is circularly disposed on the top end surface of said pool along its circumference. A bridge having wheels mounted on its opposite ends is stretched over this pool and adapted to run along the rail. A carriage is constructed to run on this bridge. The core is adapted to be brought into any position before the experimental bores in which irradiation is desired by suspending said core from said carriage.

The technical construction of the invention suitable to fulfill these objects will be understood from the following description of an embodiment according to the present invention taken together with the accompanying drawings in which;

FIG. 1 shows a longitudinal section of a reactor illustrating an embodiment according to the present invention, and

FIG. 2 shows a plan view of the reactor shown in FIG. 1.

Referring now to the drawings, and particularly to FIG. 1 thereof, an illustrative embodiment of this invention is seen to comprise a biological shield 1 formed in circular ICC shape, the interior wall of the shield being provided with lining 2. On the top surface of the circular formed biological shield there is provided a circumferential rail 8 on which the bridge 7 is carried to extend it over the reactor.

The core 4, which is covered with a reflector 5, is submerged in cooling water 3 in the pool and is suspended by means of a supporting frame 6.

The biological shield 1 is provided with several experimental bores 9 therein in circumferential positions of the member. The core 4 may be capable of running linearly on the bridge 7 so that it can be presented to an experimental bore 9 as desired, or the core 4 may be disposed in a position in which the center of the core 4 is aligned with the center of the experimental bore 9. The supporting frame 6 may be fixed to the bridge 7 so that the core 4 is disposed in a position adjacent the beam tube 9. In all cases the effects are the same.

Beam tubes 9 are disposed radially around the circumference of the reactor, and when an experiment is performed with beam tube 9, the bridge 7 is rotated so that the center of the core 4 is aligned with the center of the beam tube 9. After the alignment is confirmed, the supporting frame 6 is moved horizontally until the reflector 5 contacts with the interior surface of the lining 2, and then the supporting frame 6 is fixed there. Thereafter, the operation of the reactor is initiated. When reactor core 4 is against a side wall, and only a few of beam tubes 9 are being irradiated, the remaining space in the pool and the unused beam tubes 9 may be utilized in many Ways. For example, as shown in FIGURE 1, test body 10 may be placed in the pool and other experiments performed using the nonirradiated beam tubes. This is possible since these tubes are separated from core 4 and shielded by the water in the pool.

When it is desired to use several beam tubes 9 simultaneously, any beam tube 9 can be connected to the core 4 by providing a movable beam tube of small neutron loss.

Thus, with radially arranged beam tube 9, the space for one of the beam tubes may be made sufficiently large, and the mounting of the experimental device and the shielding member and the experimental operations are made very easily. When a large shielding experiment is performed, the shielding body may be disposed in the circular pool and the instrument tube in the biological shield utilized, or a measuring pool may be provided such as shown by the double dot and dashed line in FIG. 2.

What is claimed is:

1. In a pool-type reactor, the combination, comprising:

a circular pool having sidewalls, forming a radiation shield, and a bottom, constructed to retain a cooling agent,

guide means disposed around the upper periphery of said sidewalls,

bridge means movably mounted on said guide means for rotational movement around the periphery of said pool,

carriage means mounted for movement along said bridge means,

reactor core means suspended from said carriage means into said pool,

irradiation station means disposed along the sidewalls ofdsaid pool for containing experimental samples, an

control means for selectively positioning said bridge by the combined rotational motion of said bridge means and translational motion of said carriage means.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,992,176 7/1961 Schoessow 17662 X 3,006,834 10/1961 Loeb 176-62 X 3,042,601 7/1962 Loeb 176-62 X CARL D. QUARFORTH, Primary Examiner.

L. DEWAYNE RUTLEDGE, Examiner.

Claims

2. IN A CIRCULAR POOL-TYPE REACTOR, THE SUBCOMBINATION, COMPRISING; BRIDGE MEANS MOUNTED TO BE ROTATED ABOUT THE UPPER PERIPHERY OF SAID POOL, CARRIAGE MEANS MOUNTED ON SAID BRIDGE MEANS TO MOVE ALONG SAID BRIDGE MEANS, SAID CARRIAGE MEANS INCLUDING REACTOR CORE MEANS SUSPENDED THEREFROM INTO SAID POOL, CONTROL MEANS FOR INDEPENDENTLY ACTIVATING AND MOVING SAID BRIDGE MEANS AND SAID CARRIAGE MEANS TO LOCATE SAID REACTOR CORE IN ANY POSITION WITHIN THE POOL BY THE COMBINED ROTATIONAL MOTION OF SAID BRIDGE MEANS AND TRANSLATIONAL MOTION OF SAID CARRIAGE MEANS.