1982. An international survey of in service inspection experience with prestressed concrete pressure vessels and containments for nuclear reactors.

This report contains the collected thoughts of engineers from all parts of the globe who have contributed either directly from personal experience or indirectly through freely available published literature. In many ways, it can be seen as a mirror, reflecting the present state of the art as the members of the Task Group found it during the period 1978 to 1981.

Engineering is not an exact science, and progress can sometimes only be made by harvesting the bitter fruit of experience. The purpose of this report is to present a broad case history of the good and bad aspects of the performance of a specialised but important class of prestressed concrete structures. If future improvements result, then the Task Group’s work will not have been in vain. In particular, it is to be hoped that the excellent performance of prestressed concrete in the nuclear field will encourage greater confidence in its use elsewhere.

The report has truly been a joint effort by all members of the Task Group, whose names and countries are listed below, and it would be invidious to single out individuals for praise. It has been a pleasure for me, as Chairman, to have worked with such a close-knit but far-flung group of colleagues and friends, and it is a tribute to FIP that it can foster such successful collaboration between individuals from so many different countries.

I must record my appreciation and thanks for the support and personal contributions the Task Group has received from two non-Commission members: Ivor Hornby of the Central Electricity Research Laboratories, England, and Hans Asher of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, USA. The contributions made by Roger Vevers of CEGB, Sten Forsström of VBB, and Lars Hallbjörn of the Swedish State Power Board are also gratefully acknowledged.

Finally, I express my thanks to Margaret Robbins, Joyce Hird, Ivy Rogers, and all the other ladies of the CEGB Wordplex Service, who contributed much hard and skilful work to the drafting of this document.