Fabrication aspects of large pressure vessels for light-water nuclear reactors. Chapter 3

The present status of fabrication techniques for large and heavy pressure vessels to be used for the reactor vessels of light-water nuclear plant has been reviewed. Workshops with large capacity can fabricate the large completed vessels as heavy as approximately 800 tons to meet the stringent quality requirements relevant to this application. Various problems relating to heat treatments and to weld crackings which are inherent in heavy section steels have been solved after extensive investigations by research laboratories, and the resulting advanced techniques have been applied to the actual fabrication. To assure the quality of the completed vessels, the quality must be confirmed at each step of design, procurement and fabrication. (author)