For WWER-1000 reactor pressure vessel (RPV) the metal embrittlement monitoring is performed with the usage of the radiation and the temperature surveillance specimens (SS) sets. For the fracture toughness curve indexing the critical temperature of brittleness (CTB) is used, CTB is obtained by the processing of Charpy impact energy data.
Modern codes that regulate WWER RPVs CTB prediction are based on the CTB shift ideology. According to this ideology the CTB is defined as the initial CTB value plus CTB shift due to the radiation, plus CTB shift due to the thermal ageing, plus certain margin. This margin includes the scatter of CTB in the initial state, scatter of CTB shift due to the radiation and scatter of CTB shift due to the thermal ageing.
A tendency of modern WWER RPV integrity assessment codes to provide conservatism with: choosing the CTB in the initial state for the CTB shifts determination; choosing the CTB in the initial state for the CTB determination; taking into account the scatter of CTB in the initial state, scatter of CTB shift due to the radiation and scatter of CTB shift due to the thermal ageing, leads to huge predictive values of CTB and to formal unfulfillment of brittle fracture criterion for RPVs.
This paper demonstrates that the usage of actual CTB data and their scatter (obtained directly from Charpy V-notched impact tests) instead of the shift ideology can be the one of the possible ways of adequate CTB prediction.
The CTB database for welds is created on the base of the results of WWER-1000 RPV surveillance program of all Ukrainian NPPs.
The article presents the results of the thermal aged Charpy V-notched SS tests. The thermal aging has been shown to be practically absent. The CTB thermal shift values, which were obtained in some laboratories, are caused by the CTB scattering in initial and thermal aged states only.
According to the processing results of the irradiated SS tests data, the chromium, manganese and silicon have been found to have the greatest impact on the CTB value.
The CTB dependence on the neutron fluence and chemical composition of WWER-1000 RPV beltline welds has been obtained. A new methodology of CTB curve prediction for WWER-1000 RPV welds is developed. This methodology is expected to be the basis in the modern Ukrainian normative of RPV integrity assessment since it reduces the unreasonably high conservatism inherent to the RPV project, to a more reasonable level.
