Structural integrity and its role in nuclear safety: recent UK advances in the development of high temperature design procedures

This paper takes the liquid metal fast breeder reactor as an example and identifies those topics where research has had a role to play in providing improved design rules. Many of the previously adopted procedures contained large amounts of pessimism to allow for uncertainties in the prediction of long-term structural behaviour. The aim has therefore been to gain an improved physical insight into the phenomena which govern performance and to develope less restrictive procedures which, at the same time, guarantee the high standards of integrity which are required. (orig.)