On-line monitoring and analysis of reactor vessel integrity.

摘要

A real time monitoring and analysis of nuclear reactor vessel integrity is performed by monitoring reactor coolant temperature and pressure and fast neutron fluence, and generating therefrom a visual comparison of the reference nil-ductility transition temperature, RTndt, required for flaw initiation and the actual RTndt through the entire depth of the vessel wall at selected critical locations. Thermocouples located at the reactor core inlet and resistance temperature detectors, RTDs, disposed at cold leg conduits provide a measurement of the coolant temperature at the critical locations in the vessel. Under stagnant flow conditions, empirically developed conversion factors are applied to the RTD and thermocouple readings to provide the best estimate of coolant temperature at the critical locations.