Safety of the pressure vessels of water reactors. Prevention of sudden failure

From the safety view point the primary circuit is considered as the essential barrier against the diffusion of radioactive products in the event of fuel element failure. The safety of the vessel itself, the failure of which is not accounted for in accident analyses, is based chiefly on a series of preventive measures such as the suitable choice of materials and manufacturing process, compliances with detailed specifications concerning tests and defect tolerances, supervision in service. All these points are examined in detail when the safety analysis is performed. In this context the Service de Recherches Metallurgiques Appliquees assists the Department de Surete Nucleaire in the study of special problems such as the prevention of sudden failure and the characterisation of steels as a function of working conditions, particularly neutron irradiation. The report is thus devoted mainly to the presentation of methods to prevent sudden failure, with special emphasis on the limits of application. Some results obtained at the Service de Recherches Metallurgiques Appliquees on steels typical of those used for water reactor vessels (A533 and A508Cl.3) are given by way of example. Part two concentrates on the role of various factors influencing embrittlement by irradiation