ASME Code Needs for Very High Temperature Generation IV Reactors

Abstract

Subsection NH “Components in Elevated Temperature Service” of Section III was originally developed to provide structural design criteria and limits for elevated-temperature design of Liquid-Metal Fast Breeder Reactor (LMFBR) systems and some gas-cooled systems. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and its Advisory Committee for Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) reviewed the design limits and procedures in the process of reviewing the Clinch River Breeder Reactor (CRBR) for a construction permit in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and identified issues that needed resolution. In the years since then, the NRC, DOE and various contractors have evaluated the applicability of the ASME Code and Code Cases to high-temperature reactor designs such as the VHTGRs, and identified issues that need to be resolved to provide a regulatory basis for licensing. Since the 1980s, the ASME Code has made numerous improvements in elevated-temperature structural integrity technology. These advances have been incorporated into Section II, Section VIII, Code Cases, and particularly Subsection NH of Section III of the Code. The current need for designs for very high temperature and for Gen IV systems requires the extension of operating temperatures from about 1400°F (760°C) to about 1742°F (950°C) where creep effects limit structural integrity, safe allowable operating conditions, and design life. This paper (1)identifies the structural integrity issues in the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, including Section II, Section VIII, Section III, Subsection NH (Class 1 Components in Elevated Temperature Service) and Code Cases that must be resolved in order to support licensing of Generation IV Nuclear Reactors, particularly Very High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactors (VHTRs); (2) describes how the Code addresses these issues; and (3) identifies the needs for additional criteria to cover unresolved structural integrity concerns for very-high-temperature service.