Design and fabrication to assure vessel integrity

The integrity and reliability of the pressure vessel of a nuclear reactor is a dominant object in West Germany in all public discussions concerning safety of nuclear power plants. In West Germany, therefore, it has been evident for many years that in designing and manufacturing pressure vessels for nuclear power plants, precautions have to be taken by which - at least in a technical sense - a catastrophic failure can be, with absolute safety, excluded. The subject is discussed under the headings: design considerations; vessel manufacturing considerations. (author)