The Basic Principles of Assessment of the Structural Integrity and Lifetime of the BN-Type Fast Neutron Reactor Components Considering Material Degradation

The paper presents an overview of the basic principles of extending the lifetime of BN-600 fast reactors. These principles based on analysis of the main in-service mechanisms of material embrittlement and damage underlie the normative documents of the Rosatom State Corporation and were used by the authors in their developments for justification of the design lifetime of the BN-800 and BN-1200 fast reactors. The so-called critical events and limit states that determine the structural integrity and lifetime of fast reactor components have been formulated. On the basis of the results of this work, the repost “Basic Principles for Lifetime and Structural Integrity Assessment of BN-600 and BN-800 Fast Reactor Components with Regard to Material Degradation” was made at the International Conference on Fast Reactors and Related Fuel Cycles: Next Generation Nuclear Systems for Sustainable Development (FR17) held by the IAEA in Yekaterinburg in 2017.