Integrity assessment of the high temperature engineering test reactor (HTTR) control rod at very high temperatures

The high temperature engineering test reactor (HTTR) is the first high temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) in Japan with a reactor outlet coolant temperature of 950 degrees C at high temperature test operation. The HTTR contains 16 pairs of control rods for which Alloy 800H is chosen of the metallic parts. Because the maximum temperature of the control rods reaches about 900 degrees C at reactor scrams, structural design guideline and design material data on Alloy 800H are needed for the high temperature design. The design guideline for the HTTR control rod is based on ASME Code Case N-47-21. Design material data is also determined and shown in this paper. Under the guideline, temperature and stress analysis was conducted, and it is confirmed that the target life of the control rods of 5 years can be achieved. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science S.A.