TRIGA Mark-II Reactor – Cracking-Investigation

The research reactor of the Institute of Atomic and Subatomic Physics of the University of Technology Vienna is a reactor type TRIGA Mark II whose biological shield is formed in the lower half of a 2 m thick weakly reinforced barite concrete and in the upper half of a 1 m thick setup of normal concrete. During years of operation, numerous cracks have arisen in the shielding concrete.

Experimental, analytical and numerical investigations included the computation of the temperature profile and the associated stress state due to the temperature difference between the reactor – core and the exterior of the shielding concrete as well as the heating in consequence of the gamma emission. The assessment of the damage potential generally was performed by means of the stress spectrum [1,2].