Power reactor pressure vessel benchmarks. An overview

The continued assurance of the safety and integrity of nuclear reactor components requires an understanding of the changes in material properties that such components sustain as a function of irradiation and the radiation flux and spectrum to which these components are exposed over the lifetime of the system. For current generation power reactors, interest is focused on radiation induced changes to the mechanical characterization of the pressure vessel. The paper contains the characterization of the neutron environment at the pressure vessel of operating power reactors, operational benchmark requirements and the current operating reactor benchmark status. In addition, the neutron field requirements for LWR experimental calibration and recommendations on further research are given