Reactor Pressure Vessel and Reactor Coolant Circuit Cast Duplex Stainless Steel Components: Contribution of the Expertise for Life Management Studies

The life management of French Nuclear Power Plants is a major stake from an economic and a technical point of view considering the aging management assessment of the key components of the plant. The actual life evaluation is the results of prediction of life assessment from important program of expertises for the 3-loop PWR and 4-loop PWR plants in operation. To optimize the strategic in order to achieve the best possible performance and to prepare the technical and economical choice and decision, the paper presents the association of life management strategy and the program of expertises considering: • the identification of degradation for different components and prediction criteria proposed, • the large database from cast reactor coolant and component removed from nuclear power plants and expertised to confirm the prediction, • the life evaluation of RPV with radiation surveillance program based on the expertises of irradiation capsules, it is particularly shown how the expertise is in the center of the strategic choice. The French utility has organized the life management of Nuclear Plant in function of several program of expertises of knowledge on the long term experience feedback and the maintenance program for life. This paper shows updated on RPV and reactor coolant equipments activities engaged by utility on: • periodic maintenance and volume of expertise, • Alternative maintenance actions, • Large volume of expertises and how are managed these results to predict the aging management.