Thermal ageing mechanisms of VVER-1000 reactor pressure vessel steels

In this paper a complex of microstructural studies (TEM and SEM) and a comparative analysis of the results of these studies with the data of mechanical tests of temperature sets of VVER-1000 RPV surveillance specimens with exposure times up to ∼200,000 h were conducted. Special annealing of control and temperature sets of SS which provides the dissolution of grain boundary segregation was performed to clarify the mechanisms of thermal ageing. It was demonstrated that during long-term exposures up to 200,000 h at the operating temperature of about 310–320 °C thermal ageing effects reveal themselves only for the weld metal (Ni content ⩾ 1.35%) and are the result of grain boundary segregation accumulation (development of reversible temper brittleness). The obtained results improve the accuracy of prediction of the thermal ageing rate of VVER-1000 materials in case of RPV service life extension up to 60 years.