Conclusion

The main aim of chemical control of the various circuits in a PWR power plant is to limit corrosion of the materials involved, with the dual aim of ensuring the plant's safety and ensuring its long-term operation without the need for costly interventions. In fact, to guarantee the integrity of the three barriers (fuel sheath, primary circuit and containment) preventing the radioactivity of the nuclear fuel from being disseminated outside the reactor building, non-destructive testing is carried out at each shutdown. Their purpose is to ensure that the integrity of one of these barriers is not compromised until the next inspection (safety objective), and that no incident occurs that would force the operator to shut down the plant unexpectedly during the cycle (economic objective). In addition to the objective of material integrity, chemical options and control of their correct application...