Consideration of Environmental Degradation of Reactor Pressure Vessel Steels for the Safety Assessment

Maintaining the integrity of the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) is of highest safety priority. The task is not trivial because the material is exposed to operation conditions that change the material properties and consequently reduce the safety margins. In the common view, this concerns above all the effects of neutron irradiation, which causes a reduction of the toughness. It is state-of-the-art to monitor the effect by an in-service surveillance programme. Recently, there are results that further environmental degradation effects could be of significance. Primarily the influence of gamma radiation and the irradiation-induced hydrogen embrittlement could also affect the material behaviour. Gamma rays produce a high rate of surviving point defects, which can accelerate ageing embrittlement. Hydrogen reduces the fracture toughness of RPV steels. Enhanced uptake of hydrogen can locally occur due to the radiolysis of water in water-starved condition existing in gaps or cracks. Irradiation defects can trap hydrogen and, thus, the hydrogen concentration can increase additionally. Several results are shown and the consequences for the RPV safety assessment and the embrittlement monitoring are discussed.