Surveillance programmes for advanced pressurized water reactors

An overview is presented of the general principles of surveillance sample monitoring of PWR pressure vessels. The need for surveillance programmes for condition assessment of vessel support structures and core internals is also considered. The scope for improvements to reactor surveillance which could be applied to advanced PWR systems with extended lifetimes is evaluated in the light of recent developments in the fields of mechanical property test procedures, microstructural characterization techniques and neutron dosimetry, and a series of recommendations is put forward. (author)