Chemical composition effect on VVER-1000 RPV weld metal thermal aging

Temperature and fast neutron flux simultaneously affect the material of welded joints of reactor pressure vessels under irradiation. Understanding thermal aging effects on the weld metal allows for an explanation of the mechanisms that govern an increase in the ductile-to-brittle transition temperature of the reactor pressure vessel materials under long term irradiation at operation temperature. This paper reports on new results and reassessment of the VVER-1000 weld metal surveillance specimen database performed at the National Research Center “Kurchatov Institute”. The current database of VVER-1000 weld metal thermal aging at 310-320 °C includes 50 transition temperature values with the maximum holding time of 208,896 h. The updated database completed with the information on intergranular fracture shear and phosphorous content in the grain boundaries has allowed us to propose a new mechanism of VVER-1000 weld materials thermal aging at 310-320 °C and develop models of ductile-to-brittle transition temperature shift for VVER-1000 weld metal during a long-term exposure at 310-320 °C.