Air-cooled heat exchanger and system and method of using the same to remove waste thermal energy from radioactive materials

This invention describes a system designed to cool radioactive materials using air. A liquid coolant circulates in a closed loop, absorbing heat from the radioactive source, then flows through tubes inside a heat exchanger. Air passes around these tubes, carrying the heat away. The claims specifically detail a heat exchanger with multiple air inlets at different heights and a combination of finned and non-finned tubes.

Why it matters: Since 2017, the drive for passive safety in advanced nuclear reactors and SMRs has intensified, making air-cooled decay heat removal more critical. Improved computational fluid dynamics can now better optimize the complex multi-inlet air flow described in the claims.

Status: Not in forceListed as no longer active. The specific reason is not in the record we hold.
How hard to build: SpecializedNuclear-grade heat exchanger, specific multi-inlet tube design

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