Pressurized thermal shock in nuclear power plants: Good practices for assessment. Deterministic evaluation for the integrity of reactor pressure vessel

Starting in the early 1970s, a series of coordinated research projects (CRPs) was sponsored by the IAEA focusing on the effects of neutron radiation on reactor pressure vessel (RPV) steels and RPV integrity. In conjunction with these CRPs, many consultants meetings, specialists meetings, and international conferences, dating back to the mid-1960s, were held. Individual studies on the basic phenomena of radiation hardening and embrittlement were also performed to better understand increases in tensile strength and shifts to higher temperatures for the integrity of the RPV. The overall objective of this CRP was to perform benchmark deterministic calculations of a typical pressurized thermal shock (PTS) regime, with the aim of comparing the effects of individual parameters on the final RPV integrity assessment, and then to recommend the best practices for their implementation in PTS procedures. At present, several different procedures and approaches are used for RPV integrity assessment for both WWER 440-230 reactors and pressurized water reactors (PWRs). These differences in procedures and approaches are based, in principle, on the different codes and rules used for design and manufacturing, and the different materials used for the various types of reactor, and the different levels of implementation of recent developments in fracture mechanics. Benchmark calculations were performed to improve user qualification and to reduce the user effect on the results of the analysis. This addressed generic PWR and WWER types of RPV, as well as sensitivity analyses. The complementary sensitivity analyses showed that the following factors significantly influenced the assessment: flaw size, shape, location and orientation, thermal hydraulic assumptions and material toughness. Applying national codes and procedures to the benchmark cases produced significantly different results in terms of allowable material toughness. This was mainly related to the safety factors used and the approaches to postulated defects, postulated transients and representation of material toughness