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Preliminary design of reactor pressure vessel for rde

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International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Technology (IJMET)
Volume 9, Issue 6, June 2018, pp. 889–898, Article ID: IJMET_09_06_100
Available online at http://www.iaeme.com/ijmet/issues.asp?JType=IJMET&VType=9&IType=6
ISSN Print: 0976-6340 and ISSN Online: 0976-6359

© IAEME Publication Scopus Indexed

PRELIMINARY DESIGN OF REACTOR

PRESSURE VESSEL FOR RDE
Sri Sudadiyo, Taswanda Taryo, Topan Setiadipura
Center for Nuclear Reactor Safety and Technology,
National Nuclear Energy Agency,
Puspiptek Area Building 80, South Tangerang 15310. Indonesia

Ari Nugroho
Center for Assessment of Energy Nuclear System,
National Nuclear Energy Agency,
Jl. Kuningan Barat, Mampang Prapatan, Jakarta 12710. Indonesia

Krismawan
Center for Nuclear Facility Engineering,
National Nuclear Energy Agency,
Puspitek Area Building 71, South Tangerang 15310. Indonesia

ABSTRACT
In the present paper an attempt has been made to conduct the preliminary design of
main elements of the reactor pressure vessel for RDE in Indonesia. Work is performed
to find the geometry models and dimensions at materials of 2.25Cr 1Mo, Mod 9Cr 1Mo,
SA508, and SA516-70, according to ASME Section III. An iterative calculation is
performed by using Fortran code of RPV_RDE.exe. It is proven that RPV is safe for
aforementioned materials. The highest Hoop stress is 133.58 MPa for a thickness of 47
mm which occurs on the ellipsoidal head of the upper cover element.
Key words: RDE Indonesia, Reactor Pressure Vessel, Flange, Head and Shell.
Cite this Article: Sri Sudadiyo, Taswanda Taryo, Topan Setiadipura, Ari Nugroho and
Krismawan, Preliminary Design of Reactor Pressure Vessel For RDE, International
Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Technology, 9(6), 2018, pp. 889–898.
http://www.iaeme.com/ijmet/issues.asp?JType=IJMET&VType=9&IType=6

1. INTRODUCTION
Indonesia through BATAN and its stakeholders are designing a 10 MW thermal experimental
power reactor or Reaktor Daya Eksperimental (RDE). RDE is one of the candidate of small and
medium sized reactors types, basically employs spherical fuel elements for pebble bed reactor.
Spherical fuel elements technology is a main innovation of high temperature gas-cooled reactor,

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 Sri Sudadiyo, Taswanda Taryo, Topan Setiadipura, Ari Nugroho and Krismawan

which effectively improves the safety of the reactors for higher stability at high temperature
[1]. Pebble bed reactor core of the RDE type is cooled by flowing helium gas and moderated
by a certain grade of graphite. In the RDE development plan, there will be a lot of knowledge
related to the project management organization and all aspects, such as nuclear and safety,
instrumentation and control, physical and chemical processes, civil, electrical, and mechanics
particularly on reactor pressure vessel. Pressure vessel is an important component of RDE that
prevents helium leakage from the reactor core. The following researchers described the results
of further investigations on the status of reactor pressure vessel in few advanced countries in
the globe.
Ozkan, et al. scrutinized the influences of irradiation on damage to creep-fatigue for
pressure vessel walls of helium-cooled pebble bed test blanket module [2]. Perillo, et al. had
investigated experimentally on pressure vessel under low impact loads. They also evaluated the
damage events by using finite element model [3]. Scari, et al. had simulated the steady state
and transient behavior of a HTR-10 thermal model. They demonstrated a good agreement in
thermal operation conditions between steady state and transient [4]. Shen, et al. determined the
seal performance of metallic rings for a pressure vessel performance. Their results showed that
finite element analysis agreed well with the experimental data [5]. Lang, et al. had analyzed of
one control rod withdrawal out of the core. The graphite reflectors are enclosed by the carbon
bricks, which provided the neutron shielding for metallic internals and reactor pressure vessel
[6]. Jia, et al. had studied metallic rings in pressure vessel of pressurized water reactor for
sealing the bolt connected flanges [7]. Zhao, et al. had studied numerical model for simulating
heat transfer process from pressure vessel to the passive residual heat removal system at HTR-
10 [8]. Chen, et al. and Frisani, et al. also studied the passive residual heat removal systems of
the modular high temperature gas-cooled reactor and the very high temperature reactor,
respectively [9, 10]. Li, et al. provided analytic solution and model analysis on the stresses
sensitivity in the fuel particles under irradiation alteration with material properties, temperature,
and neutron fluence [11].
The objective of the present paper is to conduct the preliminary design and obtain the
geometry models and dimensions for reactor pressure vessel of RDE. The materials selected
for this study are 2.25Cr 1Mo, Mod 9Cr 1Mo, SA508, and SA516-70, which are widely used
materials for the manufacture of reactor pressure vessel. The general method for the stress
analysis of pressure vessel structures is formulated based on the circumferential wall condition.
In the theoretical approach, there is assumption that pressure vessel having a wall structure with
shear stresses of the inner and outer surfaces. Radius of the circle is accounted in the elastic
region limitation. Inner surface does not undergo a dimensional change at pressure under
maximum condition. Finally, all calculation results proved the preliminary design stage of RPV
structure for RDE are very possible to use the candidate materials previously mentioned and
manufacture technology to provide the increase of reliability, safety and vulnerability level and
to enhance the environment protection.

2. REACTOR PRESSURE VESSEL

RDE can be stipulated as a demonstration power reactor for experimental intention with thermal
capacity 10 MWth in Indonesia [12, 13]. RDE core is comprised of thousands of graphite
spheres as fuel element. Each pebble contains the tri-structural-isotropic (TRISO) nuclear fuel
particles [11, 14]. The heat of the fuel particles is transmitted to a pressurized helium coolant
and can reach a high temperature of up to 700 °C. Reactor Pressure Vessel (RPV) at RDE refers
to a high temperature gas-cooled reactor (in typical case similar with HTR-10 as reference
power plant [4–7]) is a closed storage tank designed to hold helium at a pressure substantially
different from the containment pressure. Table 1 shows reference operation conditions for RPV

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 Preliminary Design of Reactor Pressure Vessel For RDE

at RDE [12, 13]. The pressure is variance between inside and outside of the RPV. The inside
pressure (primary helium pressure) is normally greater than the outside pressure (containment
pressure).

Table 1 10 MWth operating conditions for RPV of the RDE [12, 13]
NO Parameter Unit Value
1 Helium inlet temperature °C 250
2 Helium outlet temperature °C 700
3 Mass flow rate of helium kg/s 4.27
4 Primary helium pressure bar 30
5 Design pressure bar 36

3. METHODOLOGY
The RPV for RDE has a combination of pressure and high temperature, and in the case of
special materials exposed to radioactive. Table 2 shows the mechanical properties of candidate
materials at temperature of 371 °C for the manufacture of RPV [15]. These selected materials
have good yield strength, good tensile strength, good fracture toughness, good temperature
resistance, good corrosion resistance, and they can be manufactured in different several
methods except casting.
The available references have addressed the calculation of pressure vessel element design
used in engineering practice [16, 17]. An iterative calculation of the preliminary design for RPV
elements begins with developing Fortran code of RPV_RDE.exe file and executing it in
obtaining the geometry models and dimensions. Figure 1 depicts the process flowchart of
calculation steps to be solved in the RPV design. Input data are the ratio of the predicted outer
radii to the inner radii on the wall circle; the ratio of the assumed elastic region limitation over
the wall thickness; the intensity of inside pressure or primary helium pressure (as shown in
Table 1); and material properties such as shear stress, yield strength, and tensile strength (as
seen on Table 2) refer to code of American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Section
III: Rulers of construction for boiler and pressure vessel of nuclear facility components [15].
Mechanical stresses analyses are also performed with the Fortran code of RPV_RDE.exe
for each of the RPV elements. Based on Reference [16], the principal mechanical stresses can
be classified into circumferential or Hoop stress, radial stress, longitudinal or axial stress, and
von Mises stress. The von Mises is calculated by using the stress tensor. The mechanical
stresses value obtained should be less than or equal to allowable stress of materials.

Table 2 Mechanical properties of the selected materials at 371 °C [15]

Specification Candidate Materials
2.25Cr 1Mo Mod 9Cr 1Mo SA508 SA516-70
Product form Forging Forging Forging Plate
Yield strength, [MPa] 205 415 345 260
Tensile strength, [MPa] 415 585 550 485
Allowable stress, [MPa] 100 138 138 114

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 Sri Sudadiyo, Taswanda Taryo, Topan Setiadipura, Ari Nugroho and Krismawan

Figure 1 Calculation procedure of RPV_RDE.exe for preliminary design of reactor vessel

4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Figure 2 shows a preliminary design of the RPV for RDE. The main elements of this RPV
consist of upper cover as upper part and vessel shell as lower part. Upper cover elements are
upper closure head with ellipsoidal shape and upper flange. Vessel shell elements are lower
flange or shell flange, upper cylindrical shell, lower cylindrical shell, and lower closure head
with hemispherical shape. The upper part of the RPV is cover which connected to lower part
with bolts. The lower part of the RPV is a cylindrical shell with a hemispherical bottom head.
A metallic O-ring and an omega (Ω)-ring can be used for sealing the upper and lower parts.
During the preliminary design phase of the RPV for RDE application, a theoretical approach
is developed to provide the minimum geometry models and vessel size dimensions under
dynamic loading conditions. An iterative calculation has been undertaken to determine the
required thickness of the initial tentative vessel wall including the use of ASME Section III, but
only a limited assessment of the mechanical loading performed. The geometry models of the
main elements for RPV are displayed from Figure 3 through Figure 8. The dimensions of each
of RPV elements are shown from Table 3 to Table 8 for selected materials of 2.25Cr 1Mo, Mod
9Cr 1Mo, SA508, and SA516-70. The calculation results show that this preliminary design of
the RPV for RDE is safe as long as the value of Hoop stress is less than that occurring in a

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 Preliminary Design of Reactor Pressure Vessel For RDE

tensile test specimen at yield and allowable stress of materials. The highest Hoop stress is
133.58 MPa at an ellipsoidal head of upper cover element with a minimum wall thickness of
47 mm.

Figure 2 Reactor pressure vessel for the RDE: (a) upper part; (b) lower part

Figure 3 Geometry model of an ellipsoidal top head

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 Sri Sudadiyo, Taswanda Taryo, Topan Setiadipura, Ari Nugroho and Krismawan

Table 3 Dimensions and mechanical stresses at an ellipsoidal top head

Design Parameters Candidate Materials
2.25Cr 1Mo Mod 9Cr 1Mo SA508 SA516-70
Height, [mm] 1050 1050 1050 1050
Inner diameter, [mm] 4200 4200 4200 4200
Outer diameter, [mm] 4380 4294 4294 4320
Inner radius of curvature, [mm] 3780 3780 3780 3780
Inside knuckle radius, [mm] 714 714 714 714
Wall thickness, [mm] 90 47 47 60
Cont. rod hole diameter, [mm] 200 200 200 200
Channel diameter, [mm] 120 120 120 120
Hoop stress, [MPa] 69.31 133.58 133.06 104.47
Axial stress, [MPa] 34.66 66.79 66.53 52.23
Radial stress, [MPa] 2.94 2.97 2.97 2.96
von Mises, [MPa] 57.5 113.13 112.68 87.92

Figure 4 Geometry model of an upper flange

Table 4 Dimensions and mechanical stresses at an upper flange

Design Parameters Candidate Materials
2.25Cr1Mo Mod 9Cr 1Mo SA508 SA516-70
Height, [mm] 1221 1221 1221 1221
Inner diameter, [mm] 4200 4200 4200 4200
Outer diameter, [mm] 4736 4650 4650 4676
Wall thickness, [mm] 268 225 225 238
Bolt hole diameter, [mm] 100 100 100 100
Number of bolts 80 80 80 80
Hoop stress, [MPa] 23.43 27.92 27.89 26.44
Axial stress, [MPa] 11.71 13.96 13.95 13.22
Radial stress, [MPa] 2.81 2.84 2.84 2.83
von Mises, [MPa] 17.91 21.76 21.74 20.49

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 Preliminary Design of Reactor Pressure Vessel For RDE

Figure 5 Geometry model of a lower flange

Table 5 Dimensions and mechanical stresses at a lower flange

Design Parameters Candidate Materials
2.25Cr 1Mo Mod 9Cr 1Mo SA508 SA516-70
Height, [mm] 1222 1222 1222 1222
Inner diameter, [mm] 4200 4200 4200 4200
Outer diameter, [mm] 4736 4650 4650 4676
Wall thickness, [mm] 268 225 225 238
Bolt hole diameter, [mm] 100 100 100 100
Number of bolts 80 80 80 80
Hoop stress, [MPa] 23.43 27.92 27.89 26.44
Axial stress, [MPa] 11.71 13.965 13.95 13.22
Radial stress, [MPa] 2.81 2.84 2.84 2.83
von Mises, [MPa] 17.91 21.76 21.74 20.49

Figure 6 Geometry model of an upper cylindrical shell

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 Sri Sudadiyo, Taswanda Taryo, Topan Setiadipura, Ari Nugroho and Krismawan

Table 6 Dimensions and mechanical stresses at an upper cylindrical shell

Design Parameters Candidate Materials
2.25Cr 1Mo Mod 9Cr 1Mo SA508 SA516-70
Height, [mm] 2929 2929 2929 2929
Inner diameter, [mm] 4200 4200 4200 4200
Outer diameter, [mm] 4380 4294 4294 4320
Wall thickness, [mm] 90 47 47 60
Hoop stress, [MPa] 69.31 132.17 131.66 104.47
Axial stress, [MPa] 34.66 66.09 65.83 52.23
Radial stress, [MPa] 2.94 2.97 2.97 2.96
von Mises, [MPa] 57.5 111.91 111.46 87.92

Figure 7 Geometry model of a lower cylindrical shell

Table 7 Dimensions and mechanical stresses at a lower cylindrical shell

Design Parameters Candidate Materials
2.25Cr 1Mo Mod 9Cr 1Mo SA508 SA516-70
Height, [mm] 3394 3394 3394 3394
Inner diameter, [mm] 4200 4200 4200 4200
Outer diameter, [mm] 4460 4374 4374 4400
Wall thickness, [mm] 130 87 87 100
Nozzle diameter, [mm] 1700 1700 1700 1700
Hoop stress, [MPa] 48.13 71.86 71.71 62.81
Axial stress, [MPa] 24.07 35.93 35.86 31.4
Radial stress, [MPa] 2.91 2.94 2.94 2.93
von Mises, [MPa] 39.19 59.71 59.58 51.88

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 Preliminary Design of Reactor Pressure Vessel For RDE

Figure 8 Geometry model of a hemispherical bottom head

Table 8 Dimensions and mechanical stresses at a hemispherical bottom head

Design Parameters Candidate Materials
2.25Cr 1Mo Mod 9Cr 1Mo SA508 SA516-70
Height, [mm] 1864 1864 1864 1864
Inner diameter, [mm] 4200 4200 4200 4200
Outer diameter, [mm] 4380 4294 4294 4320
Wall thickness, [mm] 90 47 47 60
Man hole diameter, [mm] 678 678 678 678
Hoop stress, [MPa] 69.31 132.74 132.22 104.47
Axial stress, [MPa] 34.66 66.37 66.11 52.23
Radial stress, [MPa] 2.94 2.97 2.97 2.96
von Mises, [MPa] 57.5 112.39 111.95 87.92

5. CONCLUSION
In the present work, the preliminary design of the RPV for RDE has been conducted. Computer
code of Fortran is developed to perform an iterative calculation of the design. The geometry
models and dimensions of RPV elements have also been obtained by employing materials of
2.25Cr 1Mo, Mod 9Cr 1Mo, SA508, and SA516-70. The selection of these materials has been
carried out according to ASME Section III. Regarding the geometry models, RPV elements
referred to HTR-10 as reference power plant. In the calculation analysis has been gained the
dimensions for the minimum wall thicknesses namely 90 mm for 2.25Cr 1Mo, 47 mm for Mod
9Cr 1Mo and SA508, and 60 mm for SA516-70. The highest value of Hoop stress is 133.58
MPa at the candidate material of Mod 9Cr 1Mo. The above results show that this preliminary
design of the RPV for RDE is safe.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors are grateful for the financial support of Ministry of Research, Technology and
Higher Education of Indonesia (under Program of Insinas – Flagship for RDE BATAN 2018).
The authors acknowledge Head of Center for Nuclear Reactor Technology and Safety –
BATAN for strong support in this work.

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 Sri Sudadiyo, Taswanda Taryo, Topan Setiadipura, Ari Nugroho and Krismawan

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