Radiative Changes in Concrete in the Shaft of Water-Water Power Reactors during the Extension of NPP Operation
Abstract
Radiative Changes in Concrete in the Shaft of Water-Water Power Reactors during the Extension of NPP Operation
Incoming article date: 19.02.2023Computational and analytical studies of the influence of the duration of operation of nuclear power plants during the extension of their operation on the radiation changes in the concrete of the shaft of water-water power reactors (VVER) on various aggregates have been carried out. The studies were carried out using the existing experimentally tested methods for the analytical determination of radiation changes in concrete and their components. It has been established that during the extension of the operation of nuclear power plants with VVER reactors, the radiation changes in the concrete of the reactor shaft can be commensurate with the allowable changes in concrete or exceed them. It is shown that the radiation changes in the concrete of the reactor shaft increase with an increase in the duration of operation and depend on the power of the reactor (440 or 1000 MW), the thickness of the "dry" shield around the reactor, and the material of the concrete filler used. Radiation changes in all concrete of the NPP shaft with VVER-440 reactors will be more significant than in the concrete of the NPP shaft with VVER-1000 reactors. It has been established that the radiation changes in the concrete of the reactor shaft and the maximum duration of operation when using aggregates from various rocks differ significantly. It is noted which concretes (on which aggregates) have the smallest, largest and intermediate radiation changes. It is shown that with an increase in the operating temperature, the radiation changes in concrete will decrease, and the allowable operating time of the NPP will increase.
Keywords: radiation changes, reactor shaft concretes, concrete aggregates, rocks, water-water power reactors VVER-440 and VVER-1000, extension of NPP operation