Leak-Area Evaluations in Fast Breeder Reactor Piping

Abstract

In an earlier paper, a simplified method giving lower bound results for leak areas of circumferential through cracks in piping was presented in view of its application in demonstrating the leak-before-break behaviour of pipes. The method was validated against experimental results and numerical analysis coming from different sources.

The Fast Breeder Reactor pipes, due to their geometrical parameters (large thin pipes) present favourable characteristics to the demonstration of leak-before-break concept. The application of this method is thus particularly useful for such type of reactors.

The objective of this paper is therefore to describe briefly the method and apply it on some experiments conducted on large FBR straight pipes. These tests were conducted under a joint cooperative programme between INTERATOM (Federal Republic of Germany), EDF (Electricité de France) and NOVATOME (France) on piping instability behaviour.

The results obtained are very encouraging and the method seems more and more promising for applications in demonstrating the leak-before-break behaviour of pipes.