Computational Modelling Structural Integrity for Nuclear Power Engineering

随着对低碳电力需求的增加，英国许多民用核电设施的工作寿命得到了延长。与这些先进气冷堆（AGR）的寿命延长超过其预期设计寿命相关联的风险增加，加上整个核工业的微妙公众舆论，要求严格确保这些工厂的运行安全。由于AGR堆芯内部的恶劣运行环境，在冷却剂管道和石墨慢化剂砖等关键部件中通常会发现材料退化问题，包括蠕变和脆性断裂。必须对这些问题进行高度的研究和模拟，以确保持续的安全运行。拟议的博士学位旨在产生强大的计算解决方案，以断裂和结构完整性问题有关的各种关键组件中发现AGR。利用在格拉斯哥大学开发的MoFEM有限元代码，可以开发上述断裂问题的解决方案，其精度优于商业有限元软件包。这项研究对工业赞助商EDF Energy Nuclear Generation Ltd.非常重要，将有助于英国的能源安全。

As the demand for low carbon electricity increases, the working lifespans of many of the UK's civil nuclear power facilities have been extended. The increased risk associated with extending the lives of these Advanced Gas cooled Reactors (AGRs) beyond their intended design life combined with the delicate public opinion of the nuclear industry as a whole require that the operational safety of these plants be rigorously ensured. Due to the harsh operating environment inside the AGRs core, material degradation issues including creep and brittle fracture are commonly found in critical components such as coolant pipes and graphite moderator bricks. It is essential that these problems be studied and modelled to a high degree in order to ensure continued safe operation. The proposed PhD aims to produce robust computational solutions to fracture and structural integrity problems relating to various critical components found in AGRs. Utilising the MoFEM finite element code developed at the University of Glasgow, solutions to the aforementioned fracture problems can be developed with improved accuracy over commercial finite element packages. This research is of high importance to the industrial sponsor EDF Energy Nuclear Generation Ltd. and will contribute to the UK's energy security.