Published 1993 | Version v1
Book

Leak-before-break in CANDU pressure tubes: Recent advances

  • 1. AECL CANDU, Mississauga, Ontario (Canada)
  • 2. AECL Chalk River Labs., Chalk River, Ontario (Canada)
  • 3. Ontario Hydro, Mississauga, Ontario (Canada)
  • 4. Ontario Hydro, Toronto, Ontario (Canada)

Description

In the CANDU reactor, the fuel and pressurized coolant are contained in Zr-2.5Nb pressure tubes that are joined to stainless steel end fittings by rolled joints. A Zircaloy tube surrounds the pressure tube, and the annular space between the tubes contains a recirculating gas. If a leak develops in the pressure tube, it is detected by monitoring the moisture in the annulus gas and the appropriate actions taken by the operators. This leak-before-break (LBB) capability is a defense in depth used in CANDU reactors to avoid unstable fracture of the pressure tube. Recent advances in the experimental data used in LBB assessments is presented and discussed

Part of:
Creep, fatigue, flaw evaluation, and leak-before-break assessment

Additional details

Publishing Information

Publisher
American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
Imprint Place
New York, NY (United States)
ISBN
0-7918-0993-5
Imprint Title
Creep, fatigue, flaw evaluation, and leak-before-break assessment
Imprint Pagination
301 p.
Journal Page Range
p. 205-215.

Conference

Title
1993 pressure vessel and piping conference.
Dates
25-29 Jul 1993.
Place
Denver, CO (United States).

Optional Information

Secondary number(s)
CONF-930702--Vol.266.