Heavy-section steel irradiation program: Embrittlement issues
Journal: OSTI OAI (U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information)
Year: 2025

Maintaining the integrity of the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) in a light-water-cooled nuclear power plant is crucial in preventing and controlling severe accidents and the potential for major contamination releases. The RPV is one of only two major safety- related components of the plant for which a duplicate or redundant backup system does not exist. In particular, it is vital to fully understand the degree of irradiation-induced degradation of the RPV`s fracture resistance which occurs during