Integrity Evaluation of a Reactor Pressure Vessel Based on a Sequential Abaqus-FRANC3D Simulation Method

The safety-risk pressurized thermal shock (PTS) have on a reactor pressure vessel (RPV) is one of the most important studies for the lifetime ageing management of a reactor. Several studies have investigated PTS induced by postulated accidents and other anticipated transients. However, there is no study that analyzes the effect of PTS induced by one of the most frequent anticipated operational occurrences—inadvertent operation of the safety injection system. In this paper, a sequential Abaqus-FRANC3D simulation method is proposed to study the integrity status of an ageing pressurized water reactor subjected to PTS induced by inadvertent actuation of the safety injection system. A sequential thermal-mechanical coupling analysis is first performed using a three-dimensional reactor pressure vessel finite element model (3D-FEM). A linear elastic fracture mechanics submodel with a postulated semielliptical surface crack is then created from the 3D-FEM. Subsequently, the submodel is used to evaluate the stress intensity factors based on the M-integral approach coupled within the proposed simulation method. Finally, the stress intensity factors (SIFs) obtained using the proposed method are compared with the conventional extended finite element method approach, and the result shows a good agreement. The maximal thermomechanical stress concentration was observed at the inlet nozzle-inner wall intersection. In addition, The ASME fracture toughness of the reactor vessel’s steel compared with SIFs show that the PTS event and crack configuration analysed may not pose a risk to the integrity of the RPV. This work serves as a critical reference for the ageing management and fatigue life prediction of reactor pressure vessels.