Publications Details
Nuclear power plant accident simulations of gasket materials under simultaneous radiation plus thermal plus mechanical stress conditions
In order to probe the response of silicone door gasket materials to a postulated severe accident in an Italian nuclear power plant, compression stress relaxation (CSR) and compression set (CS) measurements were conducted under combined radiation (approximately 6 kGy/h) and temperature (up to 230{degrees}C) conditions. By making some reasonable initial assumptions, simplified constant temperature and dose rates were derived that should do a reasonable job of simulating the complex environments for worst-case severe events that combine overall aging plus accidents. Further simplification coupled with thermal-only experiments allowed us to derive thermal-only conditions that can be used to achieve CSR and CS responses similar to those expected from the combined environments that are more difficult to simulate. Although the thermal-only simulations should lead to sealing forces similar to those expected during a severe accident, modulus and density results indicate that significant differences in underlying chemistry are expected for the thermal-only and the combined environment simulations. 15 refs., 31 figs., 15 tabs.