The special feature of prestressed vessels is the devolution of various subfunctions to the individual vessel components. By the separation into supporting, bearing and sealing functions, the individual components can be optimised according to their specific requirements.

In none of the structural components and loading cases investigated have impermissible stress values been achieved or even exeeded. The tensile stresses in the vessel components lie markedly under those of conventional vessels and, as the stress calculation show, only occur in small ranges.

The seperation of the prestressed reactor pressure vessel from core retention device via a so-called grider which permits the retention device to be braced separately from the vessel. A changing of the vertical fissure geometry into a broad upper inflow fissure and a narrower bottom fissure favours heat dissipation in the assumed core meltdown accident, in which a separation into metallic and oxidic phases is to be pressumed. In none of the suggested core meltdown scenarios is the load-bearing capacity of the casting material of the internal core- catcher exceeded.