Avaliação numérica do comportamento à fratura de um protótipo de vaso de pressão de reator PWR submetido a choque térmico pressurizado / Numerical evaluation of the fracture behavior of a PWR reactor pressure vessel prototype under pressurized thermal shock

AUTOR(ES)
DATA DE PUBLICAÇÃO

2005

RESUMO

In the primary system of a pressurized water reactor (PWR) nuclear power plant, the reactor coolant is kept at internal temperature around 300 C and internal pressure in the order of 15,0 MPa, during normal operation. The reactor pressure vessel (RPV) contains the fuel assemblies and is considered the most important component of the reactor primary system. The RPV integrity must be assured all along its useful life to protect the general public against radiation liberation damage. One of the most severe load conditions that may threaten the integrity of a RPV is caused by a transient known as pressurized thermal shock (PTS). The RPV may be subjected to such a condition during a loss of coolant accident. In an event like that, the emergency core cooling system is activated, what leads to a sudden cooling of the RPV wall. The thermal stresses due to this thermal shock on the vessel wall, in combination with the pressure stresses from repressurization of the system, results in large tensile stresses, which are maximum at the inside surface of the vessel. In addition, the low temperature causes a decrease in the material fracture toughness. Such a scenario may lead to the propagation of relatively small cracks through the vessel wall. Therefore, analysis tools to predict crack growth behavior during a PTS event are important and necessary. The theme of the present work is connected with this research area. In the first place, the critical issues involved with the PTS problem were reviewed. These issues are related to the fracture behavior of ferritic steels in the ductile-to-brittle transition region, the PTS analysis procedures available in industry codes and standards, and the use of numerical analysis tools for calculation of temperature and stress distribution and for computation of crack driving force parameter. As the main goal, finite element models were developed for the assessment of the structural behavior of a RPV prototype, containing surface cracks, used in a PTS experiment. Fracture mechanics procedures were applied to predict crack growth through the vessel wall. The results of numerical analyses were compared with those obtained with the use of a simplified methodology and measurements from the PTS experiment.

ASSUNTO(S)

usinas nucleares análise numérica thermal chock numerical analysis mecânica da fratura reatores tipo pwr fracture mechanics engenharia nuclear choque térmico nuclear power plants pwr type reactors

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