Evaluation of neutron radiation damage in the VVER-1200 reactor pressure vessel

Abstract

In nuclear reactors, the structural materials of reactor pressure vessel (RPV) are damaged by the radiation that produced by fission reactions. Neutron irradiation damage is one of the most critical factors for the degradation of the reactor pressure vessel (RPV). A displacement per atom (dpa) is a standard measurement for calculating neutron-and gamma-induced radiation damage in materials. The aim of this paper was to evaluate the neutrons radiation damage in the reactor pressure vessel of VVER-1200. In this paper, neutron damage factors, including fast neutron fluxes above 1 MeV, above 0.5 MeV, above 0.1 MeV, the damage rate (dpa/s), and Integrated damage [DPA for one effective full power year (EFPY)] were investigated for VVER-1200/AES-2006 reactor pressure vessel (RPV). The calculations are performed by using NJOY code together with the MCNP6 code at beginning of Cycle (BOC). The cross section library used in present calculations is based on ENDF/B-VII.1 library (ENDF71x). The NJOY code was used for generating DPA cross sections in an ACE formatted file that suitable for using in the MCNP6 code. The MCNP6 code was used for simulating the VVER-1200 reactor core and to calculate neutron DPA rates. MCNP6 simulation of the VVER-1200 reactor core identified the area where the RPV neutron radiation is maximized. The integrated damage for a full effective year was evaluated to be 2.128E-04 DPA/EFPD for the VVER-1200 RPV.