A system and a method for a passive containment vent system for a Boiling Water Reactor (BWR). The system is capable of venting and scrubbing a gaseous discharge from the primary containment of the BWR over a prolonged period of time leading up to or following a serious plant accident, without the need for monitoring by on-site plant personnel. External electrical power is not required (following initial activation of the system) in order to operate the containment vent system. The system may protect the integrity of primary containment during and following the serious plant accident.

A system and a method for a passive containment vent system for a Boiling Water Reactor (BWR). The system is capable of venting and scrubbing a gaseous discharge from the primary containment of the BWR over a prolonged period of time leading up to or following a serious plant accident, without the need for monitoring by on-site plant personnel. External electrical power is not required (following initial activation of the system) in order to operate the containment vent system. The system may protect the integrity of primary containment during and following the serious plant accident.

Safety valves accurately control closure and opening of fluid passage through the valve. Valves include a barrier that blocks the fluid until removal only by a high-energy projectile. Following removal and opening, the barrier or the projectile can flow through the valve, which remains open. Bullets, pneumatic pistons, shot, coilgun pellets and any other forceful projectile may impact and remove the barrier. The projectile is actuated with any type of chemical reaction, firing pin, spring release, accelerating circuit, ignition circuit. Catchers in the valve envelop or otherwise retain the projectile or barrier pieces and enter the fluid flow of the opened valve without blocking it. Disruptable barriers include strong but breakable glass plates, thin steel sheets, a rotatable door and other barriers that can withstand potentially over 10,000 psi of fluid pressure while closing the valve. Valves can use circuits to both monitor valve open/closed status and initiate firing the projectile.

A molten salt reactor system includes a fuel salt system configured to circulate a molten salt through a reactor vessel. The molten salt reactor system further includes an inert gas system fluidically coupled with the fuel salt system and configured to maintain a pressurized volume in a head space of a drain tank by circulating an inert gas along a first inert gas flow path. The molten salt reactor system further includes an equalization system configured to equalize pressure between head spaces of the reactor vessel and the drain tank in response to a reactor shutdown event. The inert gas system is configured to cease maintenance of the pressurized volume in response to the reactor shutdown event.