Fracture mechanics assessment of reactor pressure vessel irradiated structural steel for short column type supports and neutron shield tank

As plants apply for 80 year licensure (subsequent license renewal), the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (U.S. NRC) has queried the nuclear power plant industry to investigate the impact of neutron embrittlement (radiation effects) on the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) structural steel supports due to extended plant operation past 60 years. The radiation effects on RPV supports were previously investigated and resolved as part of Generic Safety Issue No. 15 (GSI-15) in NUREG-0933 Revision 3 [1], NUREG-1509 [2] (published in May 1996), and NUREG/CR-5320 [3] (published in January 1989) for design life (40 years) and for first license renewal (20 additional years). The conclusions in NUREG-0933, Revision 3 stated that there were no structural integrity concerns for the RPV support structural steels; even if all the supports were totally removed (i.e. broken), the piping has acceptable margin to carry the load of the vessel. Nevertheless, for plants applying for 80 year life licensure, the U.S. NRC has requested an evaluation to show structural integrity of the RPV supports by accounting for radiation embrittlement (radiation damage) for continued operation into the second license renewal period (i.e. 80 years). The RPV support designs in light water reactors are grouped into one of five categories or types of supports: (1) skirt; (2) long-column; (3) shield-tank; (4) short column; and (5) suspension. In this paper, two of these RPV support configurations (short column supports and neutron shield tank) will be investigated using fracture mechanics to evaluate the effect of radiation embrittlement of the structural steel supports for long term operations (i.e. 80 years). The technical evaluation of other support configurations will be provided in a separate technical publication at a future date.