{"id":435,"date":"2015-12-03T20:05:21","date_gmt":"2015-12-03T20:05:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sitepourvtc.com\/?p=435"},"modified":"2022-03-02T13:26:59","modified_gmt":"2022-03-02T13:26:59","slug":"reactor-coolant-pump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sitepourvtc.com\/reactor-coolant-pump\/","title":{"rendered":"Reactor Coolant Pump"},"content":{"rendered":"
Reactor coolant pumps (RCPs)<\/b> are used to pump primary coolant around the primary circuit. The purpose of the reactor coolant pump is to provide forced primary coolant flow<\/b> to remove and transfer the amount of heat generated in the reactor core<\/a>.<\/div><\/div>\n

Nuclear power plants<\/strong> rely on cooling systems to ensure safe, continuous operation of the nuclear reactor<\/a>. Cooling systems<\/strong> naturally ensure a heat transfer<\/strong> from a reactor core to steam generators, which is the main purpose of the cooling systems. Because of the large amount of heat generated in the reactor core by the fission reaction<\/a>, the cooling systems demand a large volumetric flow of water (~80000 m3\/hr)<\/strong> to ensure a sufficient and safe heat transfer. The cooling water is usually supplied by two or more large centrifugal pumps<\/strong> called reactor coolant pumps (RCPs)<\/b>. RCPs are not usually \u201csafety system\u201d, as defined. After the loss of RCPs the reactor must be shutdown immediately. Sufficient and safe residual heat removal is then ensured by a natural circulation<\/b> flow through the reactor. However, natural circulation is not sufficient to remove the heat being generated when the reactor is at power.<\/p>\n

\"Reactor<\/a>Reactor coolant pumps (RCPs)<\/b> are used to pump primary coolant around the primary circuit. The purpose of the reactor coolant pump is to provide forced primary coolant flow<\/b> to remove and transfer the amount of heat generated in the reactor core<\/a>. There are many designs of these pumps and there are many designs of primary coolant loops. There are significant differences between pumps for different reactor types<\/a>. This article is focused on RCPs for pressurized water reactors<\/a>. Most of \u00a0PWRs use four RCPs in two or four loops design.<\/p>\n

Generally reactor coolant pumps are powerful, they can consume up to 6 MW each<\/b> and therefore they can be used for heating the primary coolant before a reactor startup.<\/p>\n

Most of \u00a0RCPs are vertical<\/strong> installed on a cold leg of a primary loop<\/strong>, but also a direct connection to a steam generator is possible. The reactor coolant enters the suction side of the pump at high pressure and temperature (~16MPa; 290\u00b0C; 554\u00b0F<\/b>). The water is increased in velocity by the pump impeller<\/strong>. This increase in velocity is converted to pressure in the discharge volute. At the discharge of the reactor coolant pump, the reactor coolant pressure will be approximately 0,5MPa higher than the inlet pressure. After the coolant leaves the discharge side of the pump, it will enter the cold leg and continue to the reactor. \u00a0The coolant will then pass through the nuclear core and through the fuel<\/a>, where collects heat and is sent back to the steam generators<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The main components of a reactor coolant pump<\/h2>\n