Reliability Problems of Reactor Pressure C om po ne nts Proceedings of a Sym posium , Vienna, 10-13 October 1977 RELIABILITY PROBLEMS OF REACTOR PRESSURE COMPONENTS V O L . I I The following States are Members of the International Atomic Energy Agency: AFGHANISTAN HOLY SEE PHILIPPINES ALBANIA HUNGARY POLAND ALGERIA ICELAND PORTUGAL ARGENTINA INDIA QATAR AUSTRALIA INDONESIA ROMANIA AUSTRIA IRAN SAUDI ARABIA BANGLADESH IRAQ SENEGAL BELGIUM IRELAND SIERRA LEONE BOLIVIA ISRAEL SINGAPORE BRAZIL ITALY SOUTH AFRICA BULGARIA IVORY COAST SPAIN BURMA JAMAICA SRI LANKA BYELORUSSIAN SOVIET JAPAN SUDAN SOCIALIST REPUBLIC JORDAN SWEDEN CANADA KENYA SWITZERLAND CHILE KOREA, REPUBLIC OF SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC COLOMBIA KUWAIT THAILAND COSTA RICA LEBANON TUNISIA CUBA LIBERIA TURKEY CYPRUS LIBYAN ARAB JAMAHIRIYA UGANDA CZECHOSLOVAKIA LIECHTENSTEIN UKRAINIAN SOVIET SOCIALIST DEMOCRATIC KAMPUCHEA LUXEMBOURG REPUBLIC DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE’S MADAGASCAR UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF KOREA MALAYSIA REPUBLICS DENMARK MALI UNITED ARAB EMIRATES DOMINICAN REPUBLIC MAURITIUS UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT ECUADOR MEXICO BRITAIN AND NORTHERN EGYPT MONACO IRELAND EL SALVADOR MONGOLIA UNITED REPUBLIC OF ETHIOPIA MOROCCO CAMEROON FINLAND NETHERLANDS UNITED REPUBLIC OF FRANCE NEW ZEALAND TANZANIA GABON NICARAGUA UNITED STATES OF AMERICA GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC NIGER URUGUAY GERMANY, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA VENEZUELA GHANA NORWAY VIET NAM GREECE PAKISTAN YUGOSLAVIA GUATEMALA PANAMA ZAIRE HAITI PARAGUAY ZAMBIA PERU The Agency’s Statute was approved on 23 October 1956 by the Conference on the Statute of the IAEA held at United Nations Headquarters, New York; it entered into force on 29 July 1957, The Headquarters of the Agency are situated in Vienna. Its principal objective is “to accelerate and enlarge the contribution of atomic energy to peace, health and prosperity throughout the world". Printed by the IAEA in Austria June 1978 PROCEEDINGS SERIES RELIABILITY PROBLEMS OF REACTOR PRESSURE COMPONENTS PROCEEDINGS OF A SYMPOSIUM ON APPLICATION OF RELIABILITY TECHNOLOGY TO NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS ORGANIZED BY THE INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY AND HELD IN VIENNA, 10-13 OCTOBER 1977 In two volumes V O L. II INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY VIENNA, 1978 RELIABILITY PROBLEMS OF REACTOR PRESSURE COMPONENTS, VOL. II IAEA, VIENNA, 1978 STI/PUB/467 ISBN 92-0-050178-9 FOREWORD This Symposium was a follow-up to the Symposium on Reliability of Nuclear Power Plants, held in Innsbruck, Austria, in April 1975; the pro­ ceedings of that Symposium, organized by the IA E A in co-operation with the Secretariat of the U N Economic Commission for Europe, were published by the IA E A in the same year. The scope of the previous Sym posium ranged from nuclear power plant reliability data systems to the practical application of reli­ ability analysis in plant design, and questions of testing, operation and maintenance. The present Symposium, held by the IA EA in Vienna on 10— 13 October 1977, paid special attention to the reliability problems of reactor pressure com ­ ponents, because of their importance for the safety of nuclear power plants. Reliability of reactor pressure vessels and other pressure com ponents is of major concern to reactor owners, designers, material suppliers, manufacturers, and regulatory and licensing bodies. The Symposium considered the general approaches for evaluating the reliability of components, operating experience, failure data and their analysis, and touched on some economic aspects. Papers discussed reliability criteria for design, materials selection, fabrication, operation and inspection of components, and studies and models evaluating potential behaviour of materials in reactor service. One session dealt primarily with national and international codes and practices related to pressure components. In a concluding Round Table discussion, subjects covered included the question as to what were the m ost profitable areas of w ork to improve reliability, the scope offered by im provements in design and materials, and reliability through inspection. A total of 154 participants from 29 member states and four international organizations took part. In publishing the proceedings, which include 52 papers presented and a record of the discussions, the Agency wishes to thank all those who contributed to the success of the Sym posium , particularly the Chairmen of the Sessions and the Chairman and Members of the Round Table, and hopes to have made a worthwhile contribution to the subject of reliability technology and its applications. EDITORIAL NOTE The papers and discussions have been edited by the editorial staff of the International Atomic Energy Agency to the extent considered necessary for the reader’s assistance. The views expressed and the general style adopted remain, however, the responsibility o f the named authors or participants. In addition, the views are not necessarily those of the governments of the nominating Member States or o f the nominating organizations. Where papers have been incorporated into these Proceedings without resetting by the Agency, this has been done with the knowledge o f the authors and their government authorities, and their cooperation is gratefully acknowledged. The Proceedings have been printed by composition typing and photo-offset lithography. Within the limitations imposed by this method, every effort has been made to maintain a high editorial standard, in particular to achieve, wherever practicable, consistency of units and symbols and conformity to the standards recommended by competent international bodies. The use in these Proceedings o f particular designations of countries or territories does not imply any judgement by the publisher, the IAEA, as to the legal status of such countries or territories, o f their authorities and institutions or o f the delimitation o f their boundaries. The mention of specific companies or of their products or brand names does not imply any endorsement or recommendation on the part o f the IAEA. Authors are themselves responsible for obtaining the necessary permission to reproduce copyright material from other sources. CONTENTS OF VOLUM E II FRACTURE MECHANICS AND DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS (Session V) Subcritical crack growth in the ligament between the instrumentation r o d s o f th e B B R p re ssu re v e sse l b o t t o m ( I A E A - S M - 2 1 8 / 1 5 ) ..................... 3 G. Marci, E. Bazant, H.P. Kautz The growth of underclad flaws in fatigue loading (IA EA -SM -218/16) ........ 17 K. Rahka, J. Forsten Analyse tridimensionnelle de la propagation en fatigue d’un defaut de f o r m e s e m i-e llip tiq u e ( I A E A - S M - 2 1 8 / 4 3 ) ..................................................... 33 J.M. Boissenot Discussion on papers IAEA -SM -218/15, 16, 43 ................................................ 4 9 Som e aspects relating to the reliability of steel reactor pressure vessels ( I A E A - S M - 2 1 8 / 3 ) ............................................................................................ 53 G. P ran tl, T. Varga, D .H . N jo D i s c u s s i o n ............................................................................................................ 61 Som e aspects of the assessment of pipework integrity ( I A E A - S M - 2 1 8 / 1 2 ) ............................................................................................ 63 B.J.L. Darlaston D i s c u s s i o n ............................................................................................................ 81 Som e design considerations for improved reliability of nuclear reactor c o m p o n e n t s ( I A E A - S M - 2 1 8 / 2 8 ) ..................................................................... 83 A. Kakodkar D i s c u s s i o n ............................................................................................................ 9 2 Prediction of failure risk in a pressure vessel due to a manufacturing d e fe c t ( I A E A - S M - 2 1 8 / 3 3 ) ................................................................................ 9 5 D.L. Marriott, J.M. Hudson D i s c u s s i o n .............................................................................................................. 113 CODES, STANDARDS AND PRACTICES (Session Via) Codes, standards and practices and their influence on the reliability of nuclear plants (IAEA-SM -218/29) ................................................................. 1 1 9 L. J. Chockie D i s c u s s i o n .............................................................................................................. 132 World-wide standardization of power reactor technology by ISO (IAEA-SM-218/30) ........................................................................................... 133 K. B e c k e r D i s c u s s i o n ........................................................................................................... 142 The role of the American Society for Testing and Materials (A STM ) in providing standards to support reliability technology for nuclear power plants (IAEA-SM -218/31) ....... .•............................................. 145 L. E. Steele Nuclear reactor pressure vessel surveillance capsule examinations: application of American Society for Testing and Materials standards (IAEA-SM-218/24) ......................................... .................................................. 161 J.S. Perrin D is c u s s io n o n p a p e r s I A E A - S M - 2 18 / 3 1 a n d 2 4 ............................................... 173