Advanced structural integrity assessment tools for safe long term operation:Atlas+ project - Status of the activities of the WP3 on modelling in 2020

The main objective and mission of the ATLAS+ project is to develop advanced structural assessment tools to address the remaining technology gaps for the safe and long term operation of nuclear reactor pressure coolant boundary systems. ATLAS+ WP3 focuses mainly on ductile tearing prediction for large defect in piping and associated components: Several approaches have been developed to accurately model the ductile tearing process and to take into account phenomena such as triaxiality effects, or the ability to predict large tearing in industrial components. These advanced models include local approach coupled models or advanced energetic approaches. Unfortunately, the application of these tools is currently rather limited to R&D expertise. However, because of the continuous progress in the performance of calculation tools and accumulated knowledge, in particular by members of the ATLAS+ consortium, these models can now be considered as relevant for application in the context of engineering assessments.