Probabilistic fracture mechanics analysis of nuclear structural components: a review of recent Japanese activities

This paper describes a review of recent Japanese activities on probabilisti c fracture mechanics (PFM) analyses. Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI) has sponsored research committees on PFM organized by Japan Societ y of Mechanical Engineers (JSME) and Japan Welding Engineering Society (JWE S) for more than 10 years. The purpose of the continuous activity is to est ablish standard procedures for evaluating failure probabilities of Japanese nuclear structural components such as PV&P and steam generator tube, combi ning the state-of-the-art knowledge on structural integrity of nuclear stru ctural components and modem computer technology such as parallel processing . This paper shows two topics of the newest results of JWES committee, PFM analysis of aged reactor pressure vessel considering embedded cracks and PF M analysis of piping considering seismic loading, and one topic by JAERI it self, development of PTS analysis code for transient loading (PASCAL). (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.