Festigkeitsanalyse für den Reaktordruckbehàlter des High Performance Light Water Reactor (HPLWR)

Abstract

The High Performance Light Water Reactor (HPLWR) is one of the concepts of the Generation IV program. The main difference compared to current Light Water Reactors (LWR) results from the supercritical steam condition of the coolant. Due to the supercritical pressure of 25 MPa, water, used as moderator and coolant, flows as a single phase through the core. The temperatures at the outlet are above 500 °C. These conditions have a major impact on the design of the Reactor Pressure Vessel (RPV). For the modelling a RPV concept is proposed, which resembles the design of current LWR and allows the use of approved materials on one side and also meets the additional demands on the other side. A first dimensioning of the RPV wall thicknesses and the geometrical proportions has been performed using the german KTA-guidelines. To verify these results, a stress analysis using the finite element method has been performed with the program ANSYS. The combined mechanical and thermal calculations provide the primary, secondary and peak stresses which are evaluated using the KTA-guidelines design loading (Level 0) and service loading level A for the different components. The results confirm the wall thicknesses estimated by Fischer et al. (2006), but there are peak stresses in the vicinity of the inlet and outlet flanges, which are very close to the allowed design limit. For larger diameters of the RPV those regions will become critical and the stresses might exceed the design limits. Design optimizations for those regions are proposed and evaluated. A readjusted geometry of the inlet flange reduces those stresses by 65%.