Report on possible hazards due to failure of the

reactor pressure vessel of a pressurized water

reactor
Thesis submitted in the fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the
degree of

MASTER OF TECHNOLOGY (HONS.)

IN
INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING
BY
B.Venkata Sainath
Roll No: 10MF3IM05
Under the guidance of

Prof. J.Maiti

DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRIAL & SYSTEMS

ENGINEEERING
INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY KHARAGPUR

Table of Contents
1. Introduction:- ...................................................................................................................................... 4
2. Reactor pressure vessel:-..................................................................................................................... 5
2.1. Reactor vessel body:- ................................................................................................................... 5
2.2. Reactor core:- ............................................................................................................................... 7
2.3. Coolant/moderator:- ................................................................................................................... 11
3. Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) of Reactor Pressure vessel of PWR ........................... 14
3.1 Reactor pressure vessel (System ) breakdown using hardware approach (bottom-up
approach)........................................................................................................................................... 14
3.2. Failure modes of the components of Reactor pressure vessel.................................................... 15

Table of figures
Figure 1Cutaway View of Reactor Vessel................................................................................................ 6
Figure 2 PWR fuel assembly with control rods ....................................................................................... 8
Figure 3 Nuclear fission reaction of Uranium-235 ............................................................................... 12
Figure 4 Breakdown of reactor pressure vessel into components ....................................................... 14

1. Introduction:Since the demonstration of a sustained fission reactor in 1942, nuclear

power has emerged as a proven technology and as a method for producing
electricity in the world. Because of the worlds continuously improving living
standards, increased population and concern over the increased concentration of
greenhouse gas emissions caused by burning fossil fuels, it is not surprising
that there is likely to be an increasing demand for nuclear power.
About 5.7% of the worlds energy and 13% of the worlds electricity in
2012 was generated from the nuclear power plants (excluding the contribution
from naval nuclear fission reactors) [1].Since power plants are very complex
systems ,consisting of many sub-systems and thousands of components,
operation and maintenance of them is a challenging task. Sometimes, failure of
a single component may lead to the failure of the subsystem which can
drastically affect the operation of the plant. One of the most important
components in a nuclear power plant is the reactor pressure vessel where the
nuclear fission reaction takes place and heat is generated. The present study
aims at identification of different failure modes of the reactor pressure vessel
and possible hazards due to its failure.

2. Reactor pressure vessel:A reactor pressure vessel in a nuclear power plant is the pressure vessel
that contains nuclear reactor core, coolant and core shroud. It is of the highest
priority sub-system in nuclear power plants because it contains the reactor core
and is generally considered irreplaceable.
A reactor pressure vessel of a PWR can be divided primarily into 3
subsystems.
They are:-

1) Reactor vessel body (shields that protect reactor core remain

outside the core)
2) Reactor core
3) Coolant/moderator

2.1. Reactor vessel body:It is one of the largest components in the nuclear power plant and is
designed to contain the coolant/moderator, reactor core and fittings to support
coolant flow and support structures inside it. It is a cylindrical vessel with a
hemispherical bottom head and a removable hemispherical top head. The top
head is removable to allow for the refuelling of the reactor. A typical
pressurized water reactor pressure vessel is shown in the figure1[3]. The length
and diameter of the pressure vessel is around 13m and 4-6m respectively. It is
made of low carbon steel and has a wall a thickness of about 23cm. A stainless
steel cladding of around 3mm is included on the inner surface of the vessel. It is
necessary to have a thick wall because the vessel has to withstand high
operating pressure of about 2300psi (158 bar). The primary coolant enters the
vessel through two or more inlet nozzles, flows downward between the vessel
and core barrel, flows upward through the reactor core removing the heat from
the fuel pins, and then leaves the vessel through outlet nozzles. Its overall
weight when empty of fuel and water is nearly 500 tonne. So its fabrication and
transportation is considered as a daunting task.

Figure 1Cutaway View of Reactor Vessel

The core barrel slides down inside of the reactor vessel and contains the
reactor core assembly. There exists a lower support plate towards the bottom of
the core barrel on which fuel assemblies sit. The core barrel and all of the lower
internals actually hang inside the reactor vessel from the internals support ledge.
Neutron shield panels are attached to the core barrel opposite the core corners,
where neutron flux tends to be higher. There will be irradiation specimen
holders on the outside of the core barrel in which samples of the material used
to manufacture the vessel will be placed. These samples are removed and tested
at periodic intervals to examine the influence of radiation on the strength of the
material.

2.2. Reactor core:It is the heart of the nuclear power plant since it contains the nuclear fuel
components where the nuclear reaction takes place. It is the region where the
nuclear fuel assemblies are located and all of the heat is generated in a nuclear
reactor. It is one of the most complicated systems in the nuclear power plant and
consists of hundreds of fuel assemblies, control rods, instrumentation guide
tubes, sensor for measuring coolant levels, core supporting components like
core shroud, core support column etc,. But it can be divided into four subsystems for based on the functionality as follows:
1. Fuel rod assembly
2. Control rod assembly
3. Core support assembly
4. Shim rods (burnable poisons)

1 Fuel rod assembly:

The typical nuclear fuel used in the nuclear reactor core of a nuclear power
plant is cylindrical pellets of uranium dioxide(An alternate pellet used is a mix
of natural uranium and reactor grade plutonium, 240Pu; this is called mixed
oxide fuel, or MOX).
Slightly enriched UO2 pellets (3.3%) of diameter about 9mm are stacked
inside a zirconium alloy tube of length 3.8m and thickness 0.64mm known as
fuel rod or fuel pin. These fuel rods are assembled in a 17*17 square pattern pin
locations to form a fuel assembly. However, in many of these assemblies, 24
locations are occupied by guide tubes in which control-rod "fingers," held at the
top by a "spider," move up and down in the assembly to provide coarse
reactivity control. Fuel assemblies of around 200-300 are loaded vertically in a
nuclear reactor core. Generally, fuel assemblies spend around 3 years before
they are replaced by the new ones.

Figure 2 PWR fuel assembly with control rods

2. Control rod assembly

Control rods are used in nuclear reactors to control the fission rate
of uranium and plutonium. They are made of chemical elements, such as boron
, silver, indium and cadmium , that are capable of absorbing many neutrons
without fissioning themselves. Because these elements have different capture
cross sections for neutrons of varying energies, the composition of the control
rods must be designed for the neutron spectrum of the reactor they are supposed
to control.
Short term or emergency reactivity control is provided by the 24 control
rod fingers in many of the assemblies. These control fingers usually contain
B^C or, more recently, a mixture of silver (80%), indium (15%), and cadmium
(5%) to produce slightly weaker absorbers. Generally, 4-9 adjacent control-rod
spiders (which connect all the control rod fingers in an assembly) are grouped
together and moved together as a single control-rod bank. The various control
rod banks then provide coarse reactivity control.

3. Core support assembly:

It includes all the components that support the reactor core structurally
and functionally. These include core shroud, instrumentation guide tubes, core
baffle, core support column, lower core plate etc.
The reactor internals consist of the lower core support structure, the upper
core support structure, and the in core instrumentation support structure. The
internals are designed to support, align, and guide the core components; direct
coolant flow to and from core components; and guide and support the in core
instrumentation. The core barrel supports and contains the fuel assemblies and
directs the coolant flow. The core barrel is a cylindrical shell 147.25 inches in
diameter and 330.75 inches long. The barrel hangs from a ledge on the reactor
vessel flange and is aligned by four flat sided pins which are press fitted into the
barrel at 90-degree intervals.
The upper core support structure provides structural support for the fuel
assemblies and in core instrumentation. The structure consists of an upper
support assembly, upper support columns, RCCA guide columns, thermocouple
columns, and the upper core plate.

The in core instrumentation support structure consists of an upper system

to convey and support in core temperature monitors (thermocouples)
penetrating the vessel through the head and a lower system to convey and
support in core nuclear instrumentation flux thimbles penetrating the vessel
through the bottom.

4. Shim rods (burnable poisons) :For long-term reactivity control, burnable poisons are placed in some
of the lattice positions of the fuel assemblies. These shim rods, from 9 to 20 per
assembly, are stainless steel clad boro-silicate glass or Zirc-aloy clad diluted
boron in aluminium oxide pellets.

2.3. Coolant/moderator:All the PWR nuclear reactors in the world are light water reactors and
they use water as coolant and neutron moderator. Operating mechanism and
functionality of the water as both the coolant and neutron moderator is
explained below.
a. Coolant:Primary Coolant enters the pressure vessel through an inlet nozzle on the
vessel from a pipeline connected to it, cools the elements inside the core and
exists through outlet nozzle.
The flow path for the reactor coolant through the reactor vessel would be
as follows [3]:
The coolant enters the reactor vessel at the inlet nozzle and hits against
the core barrel.
The core barrel forces the water to flow downward in the space between
the reactor vessel wall and the core barrel.
After reaching the bottom of the reactor vessel, the flow is turned upward
to pass through the fuel assemblies.
The coolant flows all around and through the fuel assemblies, removing
the heat produced by the fission process. Flow holes in the lower core
plates are sized to permit a higher coolant flow rate through the centre of
the core where power generation is greater than at the periphery.
The now hotter water enters the upper internals region, where it is routed
out to the outlet nozzle and goes on to the steam generator.
Large amount of heat is generated in the reactor core during the nuclear
fission chain reaction. This heat must be captured from the core and transferred
for use in electricity generation. If coolant fails in removing the heat generated
by fission reaction, fuel elements inside the core may melt and it may lead to
severe nuclear accident known as core melt accident or nuclear meltdown.
This may be triggered by the unavailability of adequate coolant to remove the
heat from the core, commonly known as Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA) or
fall of coolant pressure below the specification limit without any means to
restore it known as Loss of Coolant Pressure Accident.

b. Neutron moderator:-

A neutron moderator is a medium that slows down the fast moving

electrons released from a nuclear reaction, thereby turning them into thermal
neutrons capable of sustaining nuclear chain reaction involving Uranium235.
Almost 75% of the worlds reactors use light water as neutron moderator.
Others include solid graphite (20%), heavy water (5%).

Most of the nuclear power plant reactors in the world are thermal neutron
reactors. In such reactors, a slow moving free electron is absorbed by the heavy
nucleus of Uranium and the Uranium atom becomes unstable and splits to two
products emitting two or three fast moving free neutrons and some amount of
energy. The nuclear fission reaction of 235U is shown in figure 3.

Figure 3 Nuclear fission reaction of Uranium-235

Energy of the free neutrons would be around 2Mev.Since three free fast
neutrons are released in the fission reaction, the reaction can become a chain
reaction under controlled conditions. This results in the liberation of tremendous
amount of energy. The probability of further fission depends on the fission cross
section which in turn depends on its speed of neutron. Slow moving thermal
neutrons are much more likely to cause fission in thermal nuclear reactors
unlike fast neutrons. The nuclear cross section of uranium-235 for slow thermal
neutrons is about 1000 barns, while for fast neutrons it is in the order of 1 barn.
Newly released fast neutrons have a velocity of around 10% of light velocity.
They must be slowed down to a speed of few km/sec for the nuclear fission
reaction to occur and for the continuation of chain reaction. This vital task is
performed by the moderator. When the fast moving neutrons collide with
nucleus of atoms of moderator, kinetic energy is transferred from fast moving
neutron to atoms of moderator. After a series of collisions, fast neutron turns
into thermal neutrons enabling sustaining the fission reaction.

In some light water nuclear reactors, boric acid is added to moderator to

absorb the neutrons. Such a soluble neutron absorber is called a chemical
shim. By varying the concentration of the boric acid, extent of absorption of
neutrons by moderator can be varied. This helps in reduction of excessive
movement of control rods.

3. Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) of Reactor

Pressure vessel of PWR

3.1 Reactor pressure vessel (System ) breakdown using hardware

approach (bottom-up approach)

Figure 4 Breakdown of reactor pressure vessel into components

3.2. Failure modes of the components of Reactor pressure vessel

Total components identified = 20
I. Sub-assembly 1: Coolant
Component 1 - Coolant:Failure modes: 1. LOCA (Loss of Coolant Accident)
2. LCP (Loss of Coolant Pressure)
1. Loss of Coolant Accident LOCA[2]:There will be either physical loss of coolant or insufficient flow rate of
the coolant in loss of coolant accident (LOCA). In a loss of forced circulation
accident, a gas cooled reactors circulators (generally motor or steam driven
turbines) fail to circulate the gas coolant within the core. This results in
impeding of heat transfer through forced circulation though natural circulation
through convection will keep the fuel cool as long as the reactor is not
depressurized.
2. Loss of Coolant Pressure -LCP:In a loss of pressure control accident, the pressure of the confined coolant
falls below specification limit without any means to restore it. This results in the
reduction of heat transfer efficiency if coolant is an inert gas and in some cases,
formation of an insulating bubble of steam surrounding the fuel assemblies
(for pressurized water reactor).

Causes of LOCA: 1) physical loss of coolant

2) Insufficient flow rate of coolant
Consequences of LOCA: 1) melting of fuel rods
2) may lead to nuclear meltdown
Causes of LCP: 1) pressure of the coolant falls below specification limit
Consequences of LCP: 1) Formation of an insulating bubble of steam
surrounding fuel assemblies

Sl. Name of the

No component

Location of
the
component.

Function of
the
component

Failure mode
of the
component

Cause(s) of
each failure
mode

Consequence(s)
of each failure
mode

Coolant

Through out
the reactor
pressure
vessel

.Removes
heat
generated
from
nuclear
fission
reaction and
cools down
the reactor
core
components

LOCA,
LCP

physical
loss of
coolant,
Insufficient
flow rate of
coolant,
pressure of
the coolant
falls below
specification
limit

melting of fuel
rods, may lead
to nuclear
meltdown,
Formation of
an insulating
bubble of
steam
surrounding
fuel assemblies

Fuel rod

Contains
the UO2
pellets

Deformation
of the fuel rod

Thermal
stress

Causes trouble
in insertion of
control rod

Fuel assembly
alignment plate

Middle
portion of
the reactor
core
upper ends
of the fuel
assemblies
and the
lower ends
of the
control rod
guide tubes

[6] cracking
of fuel
assembly
alignment
pins

Thermal
stress

Dislocation of
guides tubes,
inadvertent rate
of coolant flow
from lower
core part to
upper core part

Guide tubes

interacts
with the
core by
positioning
the fuel
assemblies
and the
guide
tubes
Support to
Fuel rods

Absorption
of neutrons
and
controlling
rate of
nuclear
fission
reaction
[5]
Provides
cylinder for
hollow
piston
connect
all the
control rod

Slower rate of
insertion,
[4]
Inadvertent
control rod
withdrawal,
cracking of
control rods

Surrounding
fuel rods

Control rods

Control rod
shroud tubes

Control rod
spider

Upper part
of the
reactor core
and in
between the
fuel rods

Surrounding
control rods
Upper part
of the core,
below the

Swelling of
the guide
tubes
,cracking

Thermal
stress

Leakage of
radioactive
material into
primary coolant
is high
Deformation boron carbide
of the fuel
being dissolved
rod
into the
primary coolant
(in case of
cracking)

Distort; higher Residual

friction
stress

Distortion

Reduced drive
life

Deformation Improper
of the fuel
insertion of
rod
control rods in

pressure
vessel head

fingers in an
assembly)

It contains
penetrations
to allow
the control
rod driving
mechanism
to attach to
the control
rods in the
fuel
assembly.

Reactor vessel
head

top of the
reactor
vessel body

Shim rods

long-term
lattice
positions of reactivity
control
the fuel
[6]
assemblies

10

Instrumentation
Guide tubes
Core Baffle
surround the
outer faces
of the
peripheral
fuel
assemblies

11

12
13

Core support
column
Neutron shield
pad

Attached to
the core
barrel

directs
coolant flow
through the
core

attenuate
fast
neutrons
that would
otherwise
excessively
irradiate
and
embrittle
the vessel
walls,
attenuate
gamma
radiation

cracking of Thermal
the reactor
stress
vessel upper
head internals,
around some
of the control
drive
penetrations

the guide tubes

affects
reactivity
control
Leakage of
coolant,
LOCA,
Ejection of
control rod,
temporary
shutdown of
the reactor

Failure in
insertion of
Shim rod

Failure of
the button

Increase in
fission rate and
heat released

[9]

age-related
inter
granular
stresscorrosion
cracking
process
influenced
by bolt
material,
fluence,
stress, and
temperature

[4]

cracking of
baffle former
bolts

Thermal
stresses are
induced in the
vessel
Embrittlement
of the reactor
pressure wall

14

15

Irradiation
attached to
specimen guide neutron
shield pad
Lower core
Bottom of
support plate
the core
barrel,
below the
fuel
assembly

16

Core barrel

17

Inlet nozzle
Of the pressure
vessel

18

Outlet nozzle
Of the pressure
vessel

19

Outer wall of
pressure vessel

20

Core shroud

Between the
reactor
vessel body
and reactor
core

Between
reactor core
and core
barrel

[10]

carries
the weight
of the fuel
assemblies
and
distributes
the coolant
flow to the
fuel
assemblies
It acts as a
supporting
structure
and
contains the
fuel
assemblies
and direct
the coolant
flow.[7]
Entering the
coolant into
the reactor
pressure
vessel
Exiting the
coolant into
Steam
generator
from the
pressure
vessel
1)Vital
safety
barrier to
fission
product
release
2)Directs
reactor
coolant
Directing
the coolant
flow ,
protecting
reactor core

Corrosion of
the vessel

Contamination
of the coolant

[11]

Crack-like
separations,
Failure of
nozzle weld

normal
stress at the
nozzle

Crack-like
separations,
Failure of
nozzle weld

normal
stress at the
nozzle

Loss of coolant
pressure

Radiation
Thermal
embrittlement, radiation,
fatigue
Residual
stress

Release of
radioactive
materials to
atmosphere

Stress
corrosion
cracking[8]

Nuclear
meltdown

Heat from
the nuclear
reactions
combined
with
constant

flowing
water
eventually
wear out the
steel plates
of core
shroud

4. Conclusion:Reactor pressure vessel system has been divided into sub-assemblies and
then into its components. Failure modes of each of these components and causes
and consequences of the failure mode have been identified.

5. References:1. "Nuclear Energy" - Energy Education is an interactive curriculum

supplement for secondary-school science students, funded by the U. S.
Department of Energy and the Texas State Energy Conservation Office
(SECO). U. S. Department of Energy and the Texas State Energy
Conservation Office (SECO). July 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-10.
2. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_meltdown
3. Reactor concepts manual on Pressurized water reactor systems by United
States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (U.S NRC).
4. Nuclear Power Plant Operating Experiences from the IAEA / NEA
Incident Reporting System 1996-1999
5. Nuclear Regulatory commission U.S.- ABWR -RS-5146900 Rev. 1Design Control Document/Tier 2-15B Failure Modes and Effects
Analysis (FMEA)
6. Source :
http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/hss/Enforcement%20and%20Oversight/
Enforcement/docs/els/Boulden_to_Grossenbacher_BEA_Sept2009.pdf
7. Westinghouse Technology Systems Manual -Section 3.1 -Reactor Vessel
and Internals
8. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Core_shroud
9.

U.S.NRC - Information Notice No. 98-11: Cracking of Reactor Vessel

Internal Baffle Former Bolts in Foreign Plants-March 25, 1998

10. 3.1-7 Westinghouse Technology Systems Manual -Section 3.1 -Reactor

Vessel and Internals
11. Bottom nozzle failure mechanism of water reactor pressure vessel under
severe accident conditions - Young J. Oh , Joon Lim, Kwang J. Jeong, Il
S. Hwang