• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2003.04a
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• pp.90-95
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• 2003

Fracture behaviors of pipes with local wall thinning are very important for the integrity of nuclear power plant. In pipes of energy plants, sometimes, the local wall thinning may result from severe erosion-corrosion (E/C) damage. However, the effects of local wall thinning on strength and fracture behaviors of piping system were not well studied. In this paper, the monotonic bending tests were performed of full-scale welded and unwelded carbon steel pipes with local wall thinning. A monotonic bending load was applied to straight pipe specimens by four-point loading at ambient temperature without internal pressure. The observed failure modes were divided into four types; ovalization, crack initiation/growth after ovalization, local buckling and crack initiation/growth after local buckling. Also, the strengths of welded and unwelded piping system with local wall thinning were evaluated.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.29 no.7 s.238
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• pp.947-954
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• 2005

The purpose of this study is to develop failure pressure evaluation models, which are applicable to straight pipes and elbows containing an internally wall thinning defect induced by flow-accelerated-corrosion (FAC). In this study, thus, three dimensional finite element (FE) analyses are performed to investigate the dependences of failure pressure of internally wall thinned pipe on the defect shape, the pipe geometry, and the defect location and bend radius of elbow. Also, the existing failure pressure assessment models for externally wall thinned pipes are examined. Based on these, the new models for assessing failure pressure of piping components with an internally wall thinning defect are proposed. Comparison of failure pressure, predicted by proposed models, with FE analysis result shows good agreement regardless of pipe type, defect shape, and defect location and bend radius.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2001.06a
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• pp.351-356
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• 2001

A potential loss of structural integrity due to aging of nuclear piping may have a significant effect on the safety of nuclear power plants. In particular, failures due to the erosion and corrosion defects are a major concern. As a result, there is a need to assess the remaining strength of pipe with erosion/corrosion defects. In this paper, a limit load solution for the eroded and corroded SA106 Grade B pipes subjected by internal pressure is developed. based in 3-D finite element analyses, considering a wide range of the shape of pipeline, flaw depth and axial flaw length parametrically.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.51-60
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• 2015

Local wall thinning and integrity degradation caused by several mechanisms, such as flow accelerated corrosion, cavitation, flashing and/or liquid droplet impingement, is a main concern in secondary steam cycle piping system of nuclear power plants in terms of safety and operability. Thinned pipe management program (TPMP) has being developed and optimized to reduce the possibility of unplanned shutdown and/or power reduction due to pipe failure caused by wall thinning. In this paper, newest technologies, standards and regulations related to the integrity assessment, repair and replacement of thinned pipe component are reviewed. And technical improvement items in TPMP to secure the reliability and effectiveness are also presented.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering Conference
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• 2014.10a
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• pp.545-547
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• 2014

The portable vibration signal-based pipe wall thinning inspection device was developed in this work. Compared to wall-thinning detection using conventional ultrasonic thickness measurement gauge, the proposed device can estimate average wall thickness of wide range and be applied to in-service pipes. The measurement principle of the device was briefly described and the configrations of hardware and software were explained. It was shown that the device can gauge average wall-thickness of test specimens with high precision.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.20 no.4 s.71
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• pp.17-23
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• 2006

Monotonic four-point bending tests were conducted on straight pipe specimens, 102 mm in diameter with local wall thinning, in order to investigate the effects of the depth, shape, and location of wall thinning on the deformation and failure behavior of pipes. The local wall thinning simulated natural erosion/corrosion metal loss. The deformation and fracture behavior of the straight pipes with local wall thinning was compared with that of non wall-thinning pipes. The failure modes were classifiedas local buckling, ovalization, or crack initiation, depending on the depth, shape, and location of the local wall thinning. Three-dimensional elasto-plastic analyses were carried out using the finite element method. The deformation and failure behavior, simulated by finite element analyses, coincided with the experimental results.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2004.04a
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• pp.264-267
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• 2004

Wall thinning of carbon steel pipe components due to Flow-Accelerated Corrosion (FAC) is one of the most serious threats to the integrity of steam cycle piping systems in Nuclear Power Plants (NPP). Since the mid-1990s, secondary side piping systems in Korean NPPs have experienced wall thinning, leakages and ruptures caused by FAC. Korea Electric power Research Institute (KEPRI) and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., LTD. (KHNP) have conducted a study to develop the methodology for systematic pipe management and established the Korean Thinned Pipe Management Program (TPMP). To effectively maintain the integrity of piping system, FAC engineer should understand the criterions of the structural integrity evaluation and the safety margin assessment for the thinned pipe component. This paper describes the technical items of TPMP, and shows the example of the integrity evaluation and safety margin assessment for three thinned pipe component of a NPP.

• Transactions of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering
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• v.18 no.12
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• pp.1286-1292
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• 2008

In this paper, we estimated the degree of pipe thinning by using two accelerometers. It uses measured velocity of flexural wave traveling along the pipes. If the thickness of the wall decreases because of pipe thinning, flexural stiffness of the pipes decreases and accordingly, traveling velocity of flexural wave decreases. Thus, if we install two vibration sensors outside of the pipes and measures traveling velocity of flexural waves regularly, we can estimate and monitor the degree of pipe thinning quickly. In order to test the method we experimented with pipes, and get the result that group velocity varies according to the degree of pipe thinning. It verified this method can be used to monitor the pipe thinning.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.83-89
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• 2021

The thickness of pipe can be locally reduced during operation due to wall thinning. Due to its significance on structural integrity, many non-destructive detecting techniques and assessment methods are available. In this study, the elastic bending compliance of local wall-thinned pipe is presented in terms of the wall thinning geometry: wall thinning depth, circumferential angle and longitudinal length. Elastic finite element (FE) analysis further shows that the presented equation can be used for any wall thinning shape. The proposed solution differs from FE results by less than 6% for all cases analyzed. The bending compliance increases linearly with increasing longitudinal thinning length and non-linearly with increasing thinning angle and depth.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.11-18
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• 2022

When wall-thinning in a pipe occurs during operation of nuclear power plant, reinforcement of the pipe needs to be performed. Accordingly, the structural response of the piping system due to introduction of the reinforcement may be re-evaluated. For elastic structural analysis of the piping system with the reinforced pipe using finite element (FE) analysis, the stiffness of the reinforced pipe is needed. In this study, the stiffness matrix of wall-thinned pipe with pad reinforcement or composite reinforcement is analytically derived. The validity of the proposed equations is checked by comparing with systematic finite element (FE) analysis results.