Containment vessel is an important structure to prevent a significant and sudden radioactive release, however, the safety margin of the containment vessel against the internal or external pressure are not numerically clarified. Namely, the safety margins due to the relationship of the ultimate toughness of containment vessel structures and maximum design pressure is not clear. Indeed, to clarify the progress of events under the beyond design basis events (BDBE) and to design the BDBE countermeasure equipment, it is necessary to evaluate the pressure toughness of containment vessel adequately. The containment vessel of fast reactor is composed of the various structures. The head plate that composes the boundary between primary and secondary coolant in intermediate heat exchanger has an important role when the progress of the BDBE is considered. Therefore, in order to develop the evaluation method of the pressure toughness of the head plate under the BDBE, the pressure failure tests and finite element analysis of head plate structure subjected to convex side pressure was performed in this study.
Two types of head plates were applied for pressure failure tests. ED type and AD type head plates were chosen as a representative to clarify the effect of shape. These head plates have 250mm diameter and 3mm thickness. The head plates were subjected to pressure on convex side by water in the pressure failure tests. In tests, almost completely inside-out of each head plate was caused after buckling.
Then after that, leakage was observed near the rim. Two types of head plates had similar failure mode in spite of difference original shapes. The circumferential through-wall crack was observed near the rim of each head plates.
According to the results of pressure failure tests, it is seemed that the circumferential crack was caused by straightening following bending associated with large deformation as inside-out. To clarify the relationship between bending radius and crack initiation, straightening following the bending deformation (bending-straightening) tests were performed.
As a result, the crack was initiated in the test case of the bending radius smaller than 3 mm. 3 mm of bending radius generate 33 % strain. The bending radius at the time of leakage observed of head plates was estimated almost similar value at which crack initiated. Therefore, it can be concluded that a failure mode of a head plate subjected convex side pressure is circumferential through-wall crack caused by straightening following bending deformation near the rim.
