Application of new design methodologies to very high-temperature metallic components of the HTTR

The high-temperature piping and helium-to-helium intermediate heat exchanger of the High-Temperature Engineering Test Reactor (HTTR) are designed to be operating at very high temperatures of about 900deg C among the class 1 components of the HTTR. At such a high temperature, mechanical strength of heat-resistant metallic materials is very low and thermal expansions of structural members are large. Therefore, innovative design methodologies are needed to reduce both mechanical and thermal loads acting on these components. To the HTTR, the design methodologies which can separate the heat-resistant function from the pressure-retaining functions and allow them to expand freely are applied to reduce pressure and thermal loads. Since these design methodologies need to verify their applicability, the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI) has been performing many design and research works on their verifications. The details of the design methodologies and their verifications are given in this paper. (orig.)