Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
PVP2013
July 14-18, 2013, Paris, France
PVP2013-97291
ABSTRACT lifetime of the whole NPP since they are considered as not
Structural integrity of the Reactor Pressure Vessel (RPV) is reasonably replaceable.
one of the main considerations regarding safety and lifetime of The RPV core area is subjected to a cumulative neutron
Nuclear Power Plants (NPP) since this component is considered irradiation exposure over its operating life, resulting in
as not reasonably replaceable. Brittle fracture risk associated embrittlement of steel. Under a PTS event, the aggregate effect
with the embrittlement of RPV steel in irradiated areas is the of embrittlement and stresses caused by rapid cooling and
main potential damage. pressure is an increase in the potential for brittle fracture,
In France, deterministic integrity assessment for RPV is accepted as being the main possible damage, if a pre-existing
based on the crack initiation stage. The stability of an under- fabrication or inservice-induced flaw is present. Under-clad
clad postulated flaw in the core area is currently evaluated flaws are of primary concern as far as the PTS event produces
under a Pressurized Thermal Shock (PTS) through a fracture most serious cooling in the inner vessel wall and the fracture
mechanics simplified method. toughness is lower in this region. Therefore, the integrity
One of the axes of EDF’s implemented strategy for NPP assessment for RPV is based on the stability evaluation, through
lifetime extension is the improvement of the deterministic a fracture mechanics simplified method, of an under-clad
approach with regards to the input data and methods so as to postulated flaw in the core area under a PTS event.
reduce conservatisms. In this context, 3D finite element elastic- EDF’s implemented strategy for NPP lifetime extension
plastic calculations with flaw modelling have been carried out beyond 40 years favours as many improvements as possible of
recently in order to quantify the enhancement provided by a the deterministic approach with regards to the input data and
more realistic approach in the most severe events. analysis methods so as to reduce conservatisms. 3D finite
The aim of this paper is to present both simplified and 3D element elastic-plastic calculations with flaw modelling are one
modelling flaw stability evaluation methods and the results of the improvements that are intended.
obtained by running a small break LOCA event. This paper presents both simplified and 3D modelling flaw
stability evaluation methods and compares the results obtained
by running a small break LOCA event for a generic postulated
INTRODUCTION under-clad flaw.
With the concrete containment, the Reactor Pressure Vessel
is one of the two components which have a direct impact on the
( )
Generic and inservice-detected flaw analyses are both
based on the same fracture mechanics simplified approach. In K CP (t ) = K I (t ) + K CP max
− KI max
(8)
the following paragraphs, only the generic study is considered.
In accordance with the performance of in-service Where:
inspection methods (qualified ultrasonic process), the
36 ⋅ ryclad
dimensions for the generic analysis crack are 5mm x 25mm. It
β = 1 + C ⋅ tanh (8)
is an under-clad longitudinally postulated flaw placed at the
most stressed and irradiated position in the RPV ring of the
tclad
vessel with highest RTNDT among the PWR French fleet.
2
Consistently with the latest hypotheses assumed for the 1 K Iclad
structural integrity demonstration of the French 1300 MWe ryclad = (9)
PWR, the flaw is considered as semi-elliptical, as shown on Fig. 6π Syclad
2 (a=5mm, 2c=25mm).
For a longitudinal flaw, C = 0.465*(1+a/100) for the base
metal side analysis.
According to the French regulations, loads are multiplied
by safety coefficients Cs.
In the brittle range, the safety coefficients are defined in the
table below:
Level Cs
A-B (normal and upset situations) 2
C (emergency situations) 1.6
D (faulted situations) 1.2
TABLE 1: SAFETY COEFFICIENTS IN THE BRITTLE
RANGE
2. 3D F. E. FLAW MODELING
As part of EDF’s implemented strategy for NPP lifetime
extension beyond 40 years for the deterministic approach, 3D
finite element elastic-plastic calculations with flaw modelling
have been carried out recently. They are presented in this
section.
Fig. 3: 3D MODELING AND SEMI-ELLIPTICAL FLAW Fig. 5: MESH 2 VIEW IN THE FLAW VECINITY
VIEW
2
Rint
PEF = P. (11)
Rext − Rint
2 2
E.G
KI = (12)
1 −ν 2
Fig. 11 shows the temporal evolution of both K IB
(obtained by simplified method) and K IB−3 D (provided by 3D
F. E. calculation) in the same graphic.
Fig. 9: REFERENCE SOLUTION FOR THE ELASTIC
STRESS INTENSITY FACTOR K IB IN THE BASE A very good agreement is obtained between these two
METAL TIP quantities: the difference between K IB max
and K IB −3D max
is
less than 1%.
2.6. 3D F. E. modelling – elastic case validation
The 3D F.E. modelling is thus verified in the elastic case by
The next step is to determine the K IB−3 D values provided comparison to the reference value of the stress intensity factor.
by 3D F.E. calculation.
3. Conclusion
In France, deterministic integrity assessment for RPV is
based on the crack initiation stage. The stability of an under-
clad postulated flaw in the core area is currently evaluated
under a Pressurized Thermal Shock (PTS) through a fracture
mechanics simplified method.
One of the axes of EDF’s implemented strategy for NPP
lifetime extension is the improvement of the deterministic
approach with regards to the input data and methods so as to
reduce conservatisms. In this context, 3D finite element elastic-
plastic calculations with flaw modelling have been carried out
recently in order to quantify the enhancement provided by a
more realistic approach in the most severe events. They are one
of the improvements that are intended since they could provide
a gain on the final results.
This paper presents both simplified and 3D modelling flaw
stability evaluation methods and compares the results obtained
by running a small break LOCA event for a generic postulated
under-clad flaw. The geometry chosen is representative of a
French 1300MWe RPV.
A gain of 20% has been obtained for the maximum value of
the elastic-plastic stress intensity factor. A similar gain can be
expected on the margins calculation.
In this example, 3D Modelling Flaw Calculations meet the
objectives expected.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors are grateful to the EDF R&D and AREVA
correspondents who worked on this subject.
REFERENCES
[1] Beaufils R. et al. “Using a probabilistic approach in the
brittle fracture deterministic integrity assessment of a
nuclear reactor pressure vessel”, 2011 ASME PVP,
Baltimore, Maryland, USA
[2] Churier H. et al. “French nuclear reactor pressure vessel
integrity assessment and life management strategy”,
2011 ASME PVP, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
[3] Churier H. “French reactor vessel integrity”, 2012
ASME PVP, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
[4] Appendix 5.4 of the RSE-M Code, 2010, AFCEN.
[5] Appendix ZI of the RCC-M Code, 2000 and addendum
2007.
[6] Appendix 5.6 of the RSE-M Code, 2010, AFCEN.
[7] www.code-aster.org