EMERGENCY CONTROL ARRANGEMENT FOR NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS Russian patent published in 1999 - IPC

FIELD: nuclear power engineering. SUBSTANCE: reactor unit is placed inside enclosed pressurized structure designed to take desired pressure of explosion products preventing their escape into the atmosphere. Arrangement is provided with two cavities communicating at bottom and permanently filled with water. Main cavity is free to communicate with reactor unit interior and is located directly under it; its bottom part is used as faulty reactor disposal pit. Second cavity is spaced apart from main one; it is plugged on top and easily communicates at bottom with main cavity through inclined channel. Reactor-to-unit fastenings are equipped with controlled devices for breaking these fastenings before dropping faulty reactor into main-seal pit. In this way, faulty reactor is buried beyond reactor unit and date of starting repair work is independent of nuclear fuel decay time. EFFECT: improved protection of environment against radioactive emissions in case of unexpected explosions of nuclear power unit and provision for confining explosion products within reactor unit and within arrangement proper. 1 dwg