Design and Analysis of a Reactor Pressure Vessel for High Temperature Application

"The following Master’s Thesis deals with the topic of the design and analysis of a reactor pressure vessel for a nuclear reactor concept meant for a high temperature application. This work finds itself within the workframe of a super critical pressurized water reactor (SPWR). The aim of the SPWR is to achieve an increase in efficiency by increasing the pressure and temperature in the primary loop in order to produce steam at higher temperature in the secondary loop. The scope of the present work is the design and dimensioning of the reactor pressure vessel in accordance with the KTA 3201.2 standard. The RPV was then modelled using CAD software and exported to a FEM software in order to perform the stress analysis. The purpose of this is to determine the viability of the model by examining if the simulated stresses exceed the limitations imposed by the standard for the different loading cases. The stress analysis chapter includes both a static structural analysis, as well as a transient analysis with thermal loadings. Finally, the possible future steps for the development of the RPV are discussed, as well as the possible challenges and improvement opportunities".