Activities of Working Group on Verification of PASCAL; Fiscal year 2015

Li, Y. ; Hayashi, Shotaro*; Itabashi, Yu*; Nagai, Masaki*; Kanto, Yasuhiro*; Suzuki, Masahide*; Masaki, Koichi*

For the improvement of the structural integrity assessment methodology on reactor pressure vessels (RPVs), the probabilistic fracture mechanics (PFM) analysis code PASCAL has been developed and improved in JAEA based on latest knowledge. The PASCAL code evaluates the failure probabilities and frequencies of Japanese RPVs under transient events such as pressurized thermal shock considering neutron irradiation embrittlement. In order to confirm the reliability of the PASCAL as a domestic standard code and to promote the application of PFM on the domestic structural integrity assessments of RPVs, it is important to verify the probabilistic variables, functions and models incorporated in the PASCAL and summarize the verification processes and results as a document. On the basis of these backgrounds, we established a working group, composed of experts on this field besides the developers, on the verification of the PASCAL3 which is a PFM analysis module of PASCAL, and the source program of PASCAL3 was released to the members of working group. Through one year activities, the applicability of PASCAL in structural integrity assessments of domestic RPVs was confirmed with great confidence. This report summarizes the activities of the working group on the verification of PASCAL in FY2015.