Document: NUREG-0800
Document ID: d8b522d4-dee5-4122-89d4-b2b45d0ca729
Document Type: srp
Title: REACTOR COOLANT PRESSURE BOUNDARY MATERIALS
Source: NUREG-0800
Source URL: https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML0520/ML052070420.pdf
Revision Date: 2023-06
Chapter: 5
Section ID: 5.2.3
CFR Part: 
CFR Title: 

Content:
ot likely to occur. 3. GDC 14 requires that the RCPB be designed, fabricated, erected, and tested so as to have an extremely low probability of abnormal leakage, of rapidly propagating failure, and of gross rupture. The RCPB provides a fission product barrier, a confined volume for the inventory of reactor coolant, and flow paths to facilitate core cooling. Application of GDC 14 to the RCPB materials assures that they are selected, fabricated, installed, and tested to provide a low probability of significant degradation and in the extreme, gross failure of the RCPB that could cause substantial reduction in capability to contain reactor coolant inventory, reduction in capability to confine fission products, or interference with core cooling. 4. GDC 31 requires that the RCPB be designed with sufficient margin to assure that when stressed under operating, maintenance, testing, and postulated accident conditions (1) the DRAFT Rev. 3 - April 1996 5.2.3-14 boundary behaves in a nonbrittle manner and (2) the probability of rapidly propagating fracture is minimized. The design is required to reflect consideration of service temperatures and other conditions of the boundary material under operating, maintenance, testing, and postulated accident conditions and the uncertainties in determining (1) material properties, (2) the effects of irradiation on material properties, (3) residual, steady state and transient stresses, and (4) size of flaws. The RCPB provides a fission product barrier, a confined volume for the inventory of reactor coolant, and flow paths to facilitate core cooling. Application of GDC 31 to the RCPB materials assures that they are selected to provide sufficient design margin to account for uncertainties associated with flaws and the effects of service and operating conditions, and thereby to provide a minimum probability of material degradation leading to rapid failure. The probability of substantial reduction in capability to contain reactor coolant