Brittle fracture strength analysis for reactor pressure vessel of VVER-1000 reactor unit

Abstract

At the moment, 11 nuclear power plants (NPP) are under operation in the Russian Federation. More than half of the reactor units used are VVER-1000 reactors. NPP is a complex engineering structure consisting of plenty of complex equipment. Equipment operates under severe conditions: hard radiation, high temperatures, and high pressure. Nuclear reactor has a finite lifespan of 30 years. Most nuclear power plants based on VVER-1000 reactors have almost exhausted their lifespan. Therefore, these reactors require a life extension analysis. This paper demonstrates an analysis of brittle fracture strength for VVER-1000 reactor pressure vessel. According to the findings, calculated parameters do not outreach the 10 % limit.