Development of leak before break assessment guidelines for sodium cooled fast reactors in Japan

Yada, Hiroki ; Wakai, Takashi ; Miyagawa, Takayuki*; Machida, Hideo*

The leak before break (LBB) assessment guidelines for sodium cooled fast reactors (SFRs) is being developed in the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers (JSME). The major purpose of the guidelines is to provide LBB assessment procedures for pipes and vessels of SFRs that retain sodium coolant. Design features of SFRs, such as high operation temperatures and low pressure coolant-systems, are taken into account. The LBB guidelines is used in connection to the fitness-for-service code that is also being developed for SFRs in JSME. If the establishment of LBB concept is successfully demonstrated, continuous leakage monitoring will be adopted as an in-service inspection for SFR components constituting sodium coolant boundary, such as sodium retaining pipe and vessels. In this article, LBB assessment procedure and individual assessment method is introduced, and major sodium piping of Japanese SFR plant was assessed.