Assessment of the WWER-1000 reactor condition

The current state of the materials (steel, welds, anticorrosive cladding metal) of WWER-1000 RPVs has been examined, taking into consideration special features of their manufacture and operation for 30 years. The possibility of operating these reactors after their design service life has been estimated, allowing for the degradation of properties due to thermal and radiation influence, as well as damage from cyclic loads. Life extension has been shown to be possible but will require future analysis of the state of the material at the end of the design life.