A new procedure for evaluating crack arrest in reactor vessels

This paper presents a fracture mechanics evaluation of a reactor vessel nearing the end of its life. The anlysis procedure used is based on a new method for calculating K1 at crack arrest, and was developed from crack arrest experiments performed by Combustion Engineering for EPRI. The method, already used to analyze data from large specimen crack arrest tests, demonstrates that cracks initiated during severe pressurized thermal shock (PTS) conditions will propagate very much shorter distances than previous methods indicated. (author)