METHOD FOR ERECTING A STRUCTURE FROM BUILDING BLOCKS AND/OR SLABS

Abstract

The group of inventions relates to constructing structures, such as the buildings of nuclear power plants, which are erected from monolithic blocks or slabs made of concrete or reinforced concrete. A block or a slab contains a built-in container with components for the sorption extraction, from water, of radionuclides or toxic substances. The container has elements for feeding-in contaminated water and for evacuating treated water. An erection method includes building a structure using the said blocks or slabs. A method for manufacturing a building block or slab includes forming a body out of concrete, embedding into same at least one container having water-treatment components, and having fittings or flanges for feeding-in contaminated water and for evacuating treated water. The invention provides for safe operations when erecting structures, and prevents the spread of radionuclides beyond the boundaries of a structure.

Claims

1. A method of constructing a structure from building blocks and/or slabs, preferably made of concrete, blocks and/or slabs equipped with such components as pipes, junction pipes or flanges to supply water, containing radionuclides, preferably cesium and/or toxic materials, and to discharge treated water, encased or installed in accordance with the accepted design of the structure, while one or one of them shall have a container, placed within the block during the production, containing sorbents to extract radionuclides, preferably cesium or toxic materials, from water.

2. A method per item 1, differing by having a block and/or slab, with encased container in them during production, with used up sorbents to extract radionuclides, preferably cesium and/or toxic materials, from water, are further encased by introducing hardeners and self-hardeners.

3. A method per item 1, differing by having at least a part of blocks and/or slabs placed with a possibility to contact at least one of the surfaces, subjected to treatment of water from radionuclides, and when all sorbents are used up, the contents of that container are encased, and the block or slab are placed in a design position within the structure.

4. A method per any of items 1-3, differing by having the structure designed with blocks and/or slabs as a foundation, walls, covers, support wall, restricting a potentially hazardous object, placed inside or outside of the erected structure.

5. A method per item 1, differing by having several containers within the block or slab connected to each other in parallel and/or in series.

6. A structure made of building blocks and/or slabs, where at least one or one of them contains at least one container with sorbents for extracting radionuclides, preferably cesium or toxic materials, from water, and equipped with, preferably, pipes, junction pipes or flanges to supply radionuclides, preferably cesium, water and to discharge treated water, encased in the structure's concrete or reinforced concrete body.

7. A structure per item 6, differing by having it placed in water, subject to being treated from radionuclides, contacting, at least, with one of its surfaces.

8. A structure per item 6 or 7, differing by having it designed as a foundation or a support wall.

9. A structure per item 8, differing by having it placed between water, undergoing treatment from radionuclides and treated water.

10. A structure per item 6, differing by using several containers designed as a cascade, connected to each other in parallel and/or in series and to water tanks with various degrees of treatment.

11. A building block structure per item 6, differing by having sorbents to extract radionuclides or toxic materials from water encased in containers, used for that purpose, connected, preferably, with each mentioned container.

12. A method of producing building blocks or slabs by molding, preferably as a multi-layered concrete or reinforced concrete body, with at least one encased container with sorbents to extract toxic materials and/or radionuclides, preferably cesium, from water, equipped with junction pipes or flanges to supply water, containing toxic materials and/or nuclides, preferably cesium, and to discharge treated water.

13. A method per item 12, differing by having a tank with used up sorbents to extract radionuclides or toxic materials from water, encased when molding a block and/or a slab.

14. A method per item 12, differing by having sulfur concrete or polymer concrete used for a whole body or one of the layers.

15. A building block or slab, monolithic or factory made, preferably designed as a concrete or reinforced concrete multi-layer body with encased, at least, one junction pipe or flanges to supply and discharge water, containing toxic materials and/or radionuclides, preferably cesium, container with sorbents to extract toxic materials and/or radionuclides, preferably cesium, from water.

16. A building block or a slab per item 15, differing by using several containers, where at least two of them are connected to each other in parallel or in series.

17. A building block or a slab per item 15 or 16, differing by having a system to shut off channels of junction pipes or flanges either mechanically or by introducing a self-hardener, preferably from a tank with such a self-hardener, while the shutoff system may be controlled remotely.

18. A building block or a slab per any item 15-18, differing by having sulfur concrete or polymer concrete used for the whole body or one of its layers.

Description

[0016] The term “monolithic” means a product, manufactured directly in the design position at the constructed structure.

[0017] FIG. 1 shows a schematic structure from blocks and slabs, made by a previously described method without tanks with radionuclides and sorbents.

[0018] FIG. 2 shows one of examples of manufacturing a monolithic block with a container placed in it, containing sorbents for the consequent extraction of radionuclides, preferably cesium or toxic materials, from water. Arrows show the movement direction of a liquid, containing radionuclides and treated water, through a block.

[0019] FIG. 3 shows an example of the implementation of the proposed technical solution as a monolithic block corresponding to FIG. 2, but with a tank, placed inside the block, to harden medium, containing radionuclides or toxic materials, within the block container.

[0020] A building block or a slab is designed, preferably, as a multi-layered concrete (concrete mixture) or reinforced concrete body. A block or a slab is manufactured in accordance with all process requirements applicable to high quality reinforced concrete products (reinforced carcass, additives to cement mixture, increasing moisture resistance, density and durability of concrete). The purpose of the concrete block or slab is a maximum protection of at least one container (filter with selective sorbent), placed within it, containing sorbents to extract toxic materials and/or radionuclides, preferably cesium, from filtered water. The block or slab must be well protected from any external impacts. To a certain degree, they must absorb radioactive isotope emissions, concentrated in the container (filter) and correspond to design requirements when building special sites (radioactive waste or toxic material storage units). At least one container 2, equipped with junction pipes and flanges to supply water 3, containing toxic materials and/or radionuclides, preferably cesium, and to discharge treated water 4, is encased within the manufactured block. Sorbents to extract toxic materials and/or radionuclides, preferably cesium, from water, are placed within the container 2 prior to or after its placement within the block. A building block or a slab may have a system (not shown in drawings) to mechanically shut off channels of junction pipes or flanges by supplying a self-hardening material preferably from a tank containing this material. Sulfur concrete or polymer concrete may be used as a concrete for the building block, or as one of its layers in accordance with abovementioned requirements. The mechanical shutoff of junction pipes or flanges and/or supplying a self-hardener may be remotely controlled (not shown on drawings). A block or a slab may be equipped with a self-hardener, preferably supplied from tank 5, connected by the supplying pipe 6 or from another block or slab tank in a nearby proximity.

[0021] When building a structure out of building blocks and/or slabs, at least one or one of them contains one encased abovementioned container 2 in its concrete or reinforced concrete body, containing sorbents to extract radionuclides, preferably cesium, or toxic materials, from water. The structure, to reinforce its technical result, may be designed as a cascade, with tanks connected to each other in parallel and/or in series, containing water with various degrees of purification. Furthermore, the structure may be placed within water subjected to treatment from radionuclides, e.g. in a connected cesspool or natural body of water, which would require treatment of water from radionuclides. In that case, the structure contacts at least one of the structure surfaces. Depending on the accepted design, the structure may be designed as a foundation or support wall. The structure may be placed between water, undergoing treatment, and treated water. The structure may be equipped, within it or without, a system to encase used containers with sorbents to extract radionuclides or toxic materials from water, preferably connected to each mentioned container.

[0022] An example of technical solution implementation.

[0023] A cylindrical container (filter), 0.70 m high, 0.30 m in diameter, containing 50 kg of selective sorbent based on Berlin blue (modified iron ferro-cyanide) was placed into the center of the concrete cube during its production (1.7 m rib). Using container (filter) junction pipes, 200 m.sup.3 of natural water (fresh or mixed with sea water) was supplied, which was previously used to decontaminate structures located in a radioactive contamination zone. The content of the radionuclide Cs.sup.137 (cesium-137) in treated water was approximately 10,000 Bq/L, while water contamination, after filtering, did not exceed 5 Bq/L (according to current sanitary regulations, it is possible to discharge into environment without any restrictions).

[0024] After a completion of supplying treatable water, the container (filter) and channels within the concrete block, which were used to supply water into filter, were filled with a self-hardening adhesive to encase the sorbent and to make the container (filter) airtight.

[0025] The measurements have shown that gamma radiation dosage on all concrete cube surfaces (containing filter container with used sorbent) does not exceed the gamma ray background of environment (less than 0.5 rem/year), which means that this product is suitable to use as a building component.