Irradiation Embrittlement of Reactor Pressure Vessels (RPVs) in Nuclear Power Plants

Reactor Pressure Vessels (RPVs) contain the fuel and therefore the reaction at the heart of nuclear power plants. They are a life-determining structural component: if they suffer serious damage, the continued operation of the plant is in jeopardy. This book critically reviews irradiation embrittlement, the main degradation mechanism affecting RPV steels, and mitigation routes for managing the RPV lifetime. Part I reviews RPV design and fabrication in different countries, with an emphasis on the materials required, their important properties, and manufacturing technologies. Part II then considers RVP embrittlement in operational nuclear power plants using different reactors. Chapters are devoted to embrittlement in light-water reactors, including WWER-type reactors and Magnox reactors. Finally, Part III presents techniques for studying embrittlement, including irradiation simulation techniques, microstructural characterisation techniques, and probabilistic fracture mechanics. Irradiation Embrittlement of Reactor Pressure Vessels (RPVs) in Nuclear Power Plants provides a thorough review of an issue that is central to the safety of nuclear power generation. The book includes contributions from an international team of experts, and will be a useful resource for nuclear plant operators and managers, relevant regulatory and safety bodies, nuclear metallurgists and other academics in this field Discusses reactor pressure vessel (RPV) design and the effect irradiation embrittlement can have, the main degradation mechanism affecting RPVsExamines embrittlement processes in RPVs in different reactor types, as well as techniques for studying RPV embrittlement INDICE: Contributor contact details Woodhead Publishing Series in Energy Preface Part I: Reactor pressure vessel (RPV) design and fabrication1: Reactor pressure vessel (RPV) design and fabrication: the case of the USAAbstract1.1 Introduction1.2 American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Code design practices1.3 The design process1.4 Reactor pressure vessel (RPV) materials selection1.5 Toughness requirements1.6 RPV fabrication processes1.7 Welding practices2: Reactor pressure vessel (RPV) components: processing and propertiesAbstract2.1 Introduction2.2 Advances in nuclear reactor pressure vessel (RPV) components2.3 Materials for nuclear RPVs2.4 Manufacturing technologies2.5 Metallurgical and mechanical properties of components2.6 Conclusions3: WWER-type reactor pressure vessel (RPV) materials and fabricationAbstract3.1 Introduction3.2 WWER reactor pressure vessel (RPV) materials3.3 Production of materials for components and welding techniques3.4 Future trends Part II: Reactor pressure vessel (RPV) embrittlement in operational nuclear power plants4: Embrittlement of reactor pressure vessels (RPVs) in pressurized water reactors (PWRs)Abstract4.1 Introduction4.2 Characteristics of pressurized water reactor (PWR) reactor pressure vessel (RPV) embrittlement4.3 US surveillance database4.4 French surveillance database4.5 Japanese surveillance database4.6 Surveillance databases from other countries4.7 Future trends5: Embrittlement of reactor pressure vessels (RPVs) in WWER-type reactorsAbstract5.1 Introduction5.2 Characteristics of embrittlement of WWER reactor pressure vessel (RPV) materials5.3 Trend curves5.4 WWER surveillance programmes5.5 RPV annealing in WWER reactors5.6 RPV annealing technology5.7 Sources of further information and advice6: Integrity and embrittlement management of reactor pressure vessels (RPVs) in light-water reactorsAbstract6.1 Introduction6.2 Parameters governing reactor pressure vessel (RPV) integrity6.3 Pressure-temperature operating limits6.4 Pressurized thermal shock (PTS)6.5 Mitigation methods6.6 Licensing considerations7: Surveillance of reactor pressure vessel (RPV) embrittlement in Magnox reactorsAbstract7.1 Introduction7.2 History of Magnox reactors7.3 Reactor pressure vessel (RPV) materials and construction7.4 Reactor operating rules7.5 Design of the surveillance schemes7.6 Early surveillance results7.7 Dose-damage relationships and intergranular fracture in irradiated submerged-arc welds (SAWs)7.8 Influence of thermal neutrons7.9 Validation of toughness assessment methodology by RPV SAW sampling7.10 Final remarks7.11 Acknowledgements Part III: Techniques for the evaluation of reactor pressure vessel (RPV) embrittlement8: Irradiation simulation techniques for the study of reactor pressure vessel (RPV) embrittlementAbstract8.1 Introduction8.2 Test reactor irradiation8.3 Ion irradiation8.4 Electron irradiation8.5 Advantages and limitations8.6 Future trends8.7 Sources of further information and advice9: Microstructural characterisation techniques for the study of reactor pressure vessel (RPV) embrittlementAbstract9.1 Introduction9.2 Microstructural development and characterisation techniques9.3 Transmission electron microscopy (TEM)9.4 Small-angle neutron scattering (SANS)9.5 Atom probe tomography (APT)9.6 Positron annihilation spectroscopy (PAS)9.7 Auger electron spectroscopy (AES)9.8 Other techniques9.9 Using microstructural analyses to understand the mechanisms of reactor pressure vessel (RPV) embrittlement9.10 Grain boundary segregation9.11 Matrix damage9.12 Solute clusters9.13 Mechanistic framework to develop dose-damage relationships (DDRs)9.14 Recent developments and overall summary10: Evaluating the fracture toughness of reactor pressure vessel (RPV) materials subject to embrittlementAbstract10.1 Introduction10.2 The development of fracture mechanics10.3 Plane-strain fracture toughness and crack-arrest toughness10.4 Current standard of fracture toughness curve10.5 Effects of irradiation on fracture toughness10.6 Fracture toughness versus Charpy impact energy10.7 Heavy Section Steel Technology Program and other international reactor pressure vessel (RPV) research programs10.8 Advantages and limitations of fracture toughness testing10.9 Future trends11: Embrittlement correlation methods to identify trends in embrittlement in reactor pressure vessels (RPVs)Abstract11.1 Introduction11.2 Development of the embrittlement correlation method11.3 Embrittlement correlation methods: USA11.4 Embrittlement correlation methods: Europe11.5 Embrittlement correlation methods: Japan11.6 Conclusions12: Probabilistic fracture mechanics risk analysis of reactor pressure vessel (RPV) integrityAbstract12.1 Introduction12.2 Risk evaluation procedures for assessing reactor pressure vessel (RPV) integrity12.3 Probabilistic fracture mechanics analysis software12.4 Conditional probability computational procedure12.5 Example calculations and applications12.6 Future trends Index

• ISBN: 978-0-08-101390-8
• Editorial: Woodhead Publishing
• Encuadernacion: Rústica
• Páginas: 390
• Fecha Publicación: 30/06/2016
• Nº Volúmenes: 1
• Idioma: Inglés