Probabilistic assessment of the reactor vessel lifetime

Abstract

A simple and rapid method is proposed for assessing the reduction in the lifetime of steel walls of the reactor vessel under neutron irradiation. The method is based on modeling the number of radiation defects by the behavior of a general time-dependent random process of death and birth and queuing theory. Necessary data for assessments: the estimated operating time of the reactor (in years), the actual operating time of the reactor, the accumulated fluence depending on time, the temperature on the walls of the reactor vessel, the neutron absorption cross section of the steel of the reactor walls, the energy of fast neutrons striking the walls. The main problem: getting this accurate data.