The so-called “in-vessel retention (IVR)” is a basic strategy for severe accident (SA) mitigation of some advanced nuclear power plants (NPPs). The IVR strategy is to keep the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) intact under SA like core meltdown condition. During the IVR, the core melt (∼1327 °C) is collected in the lower head (LH) of the RPV, while the external surface of RPV is submerged in the water. Through external cooling of the RPV, the structural integrity is assumed to be maintained within a prescribed period of time. The maximum thermal loading is referred to critical heat flux (CHF) on the inside, while the external surface is considered to perform in the environment of the boiling crisis point (∼130 °C). Due to the high temperature gradients, the failure mechanisms of the RPV is found to span a wide range of structural behaviors across the wall thickness, such as melt-through, creep damage, plastic yielding as well as thermal expansion. Besides CHF, the pressurized core meltdown was another evident threat to the RPV integrity, as indicated in the Fukushima accident on 2011. In illustrating the effects of internal pressures and individual CHF on the failure behaviors, three typical RPVs with geometric discontinuity caused by local material melting were adopted for the comparative study. Through finite-element method (FEM), the RPV structural behaviors were investigated in terms of deformation, stress, plastic strain, creep, and damage. Finally, some important conclusions are summarized in the concluding remark. Such comparative study provides insight and better understanding for the RPV safety margin under the IVR condition.
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April 2017
Research-Article
Comparative Study on Reactor Pressure Vessel Failure Behaviors With Various Geometric Discontinuities Under Severe Accident
Jianwei Zhu,
Jianwei Zhu
Institute of Process Equipment
and Control Engineering,
Zhejiang University of Technology,
Chaowang Road 18#,
Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310032, China;
and Control Engineering,
Zhejiang University of Technology,
Chaowang Road 18#,
Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310032, China;
School of Mechatronics and
Automobile Engineering,
Huzhou Vocational and Technical College,
Xuefu Road 299#,
Huzhou, Zhejiang 313000, China
e-mail: stormflash1978@163.com
Automobile Engineering,
Huzhou Vocational and Technical College,
Xuefu Road 299#,
Huzhou, Zhejiang 313000, China
e-mail: stormflash1978@163.com
Search for other works by this author on:
Jianfeng Mao,
Jianfeng Mao
Engineering Research Center of Process
Equipment and Re-Manufacturing,
Ministry of Education,
Institute of Process Equipment
and Control Engineering,
Zhejiang University of Technology,
Chaowang Road 18#,
Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310032, China
e-mail: maojianfeng@zjut.edu.cn
Equipment and Re-Manufacturing,
Ministry of Education,
Institute of Process Equipment
and Control Engineering,
Zhejiang University of Technology,
Chaowang Road 18#,
Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310032, China
e-mail: maojianfeng@zjut.edu.cn
Search for other works by this author on:
Shiyi Bao,
Shiyi Bao
Institute of Process Equipment
and Control Engineering,
Zhejiang University of Technology,
Chaowang Road 18#,
Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310032, China
e-mail: bsy@zjut.edu.cn
and Control Engineering,
Zhejiang University of Technology,
Chaowang Road 18#,
Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310032, China
e-mail: bsy@zjut.edu.cn
Search for other works by this author on:
Lijia Luo,
Lijia Luo
Institute of Process Equipment
and Control Engineering,
Zhejiang University of Technology,
Chaowang Road 18#,
Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310032, China
e-mail: lijialuo@zjut.edu.cn
and Control Engineering,
Zhejiang University of Technology,
Chaowang Road 18#,
Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310032, China
e-mail: lijialuo@zjut.edu.cn
Search for other works by this author on:
Zengliang Gao
Zengliang Gao
Engineering Research Center of Process
Equipment and Re-Manufacturing,
Ministry of Education,
Institute of Process Equipment
and Control Engineering,
Zhejiang University of Technology,
Chaowang Road 18#,
Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310032, China
e-mail: zlgao@zjut.edu.cn
Equipment and Re-Manufacturing,
Ministry of Education,
Institute of Process Equipment
and Control Engineering,
Zhejiang University of Technology,
Chaowang Road 18#,
Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310032, China
e-mail: zlgao@zjut.edu.cn
Search for other works by this author on:
Jianwei Zhu
Institute of Process Equipment
and Control Engineering,
Zhejiang University of Technology,
Chaowang Road 18#,
Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310032, China;
and Control Engineering,
Zhejiang University of Technology,
Chaowang Road 18#,
Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310032, China;
School of Mechatronics and
Automobile Engineering,
Huzhou Vocational and Technical College,
Xuefu Road 299#,
Huzhou, Zhejiang 313000, China
e-mail: stormflash1978@163.com
Automobile Engineering,
Huzhou Vocational and Technical College,
Xuefu Road 299#,
Huzhou, Zhejiang 313000, China
e-mail: stormflash1978@163.com
Jianfeng Mao
Engineering Research Center of Process
Equipment and Re-Manufacturing,
Ministry of Education,
Institute of Process Equipment
and Control Engineering,
Zhejiang University of Technology,
Chaowang Road 18#,
Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310032, China
e-mail: maojianfeng@zjut.edu.cn
Equipment and Re-Manufacturing,
Ministry of Education,
Institute of Process Equipment
and Control Engineering,
Zhejiang University of Technology,
Chaowang Road 18#,
Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310032, China
e-mail: maojianfeng@zjut.edu.cn
Shiyi Bao
Institute of Process Equipment
and Control Engineering,
Zhejiang University of Technology,
Chaowang Road 18#,
Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310032, China
e-mail: bsy@zjut.edu.cn
and Control Engineering,
Zhejiang University of Technology,
Chaowang Road 18#,
Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310032, China
e-mail: bsy@zjut.edu.cn
Lijia Luo
Institute of Process Equipment
and Control Engineering,
Zhejiang University of Technology,
Chaowang Road 18#,
Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310032, China
e-mail: lijialuo@zjut.edu.cn
and Control Engineering,
Zhejiang University of Technology,
Chaowang Road 18#,
Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310032, China
e-mail: lijialuo@zjut.edu.cn
Zengliang Gao
Engineering Research Center of Process
Equipment and Re-Manufacturing,
Ministry of Education,
Institute of Process Equipment
and Control Engineering,
Zhejiang University of Technology,
Chaowang Road 18#,
Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310032, China
e-mail: zlgao@zjut.edu.cn
Equipment and Re-Manufacturing,
Ministry of Education,
Institute of Process Equipment
and Control Engineering,
Zhejiang University of Technology,
Chaowang Road 18#,
Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310032, China
e-mail: zlgao@zjut.edu.cn
1Corresponding authors.
Contributed by the Pressure Vessel and Piping Division of ASME for publication in the JOURNAL OF PRESSURE VESSEL TECHNOLOGY. Manuscript received March 20, 2016; final manuscript received January 6, 2017; published online February 3, 2017. Assoc. Editor: Hardayal S. Mehta.
J. Pressure Vessel Technol. Apr 2017, 139(2): 021214 (10 pages)
Published Online: February 3, 2017
Article history
Received:
March 20, 2016
Revised:
January 6, 2017
Citation
Zhu, J., Mao, J., Bao, S., Luo, L., and Gao, Z. (February 3, 2017). "Comparative Study on Reactor Pressure Vessel Failure Behaviors With Various Geometric Discontinuities Under Severe Accident." ASME. J. Pressure Vessel Technol. April 2017; 139(2): 021214. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4035697
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