• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
• /
• v.29 no.1 s.232
• /
• pp.107-114
• /
• 2005

In order to analyze the elastic-plastic fracture behavior of a structure, the fracture resistance curve of the material should be known first. The standard CT specimen was used to obtain the fracture resistance curves of a piping system. However, it is known that the fracture resistance curve by the standard CT specimen is very conservative to evaluate the integrity of a structure. Also the fracture resistance curve is effected by the specimen geometry and the dimensions because of the constraint effect. The objective of this paper is to be certain the conservativeness of the fracture resistance curve by the standard CT specimen and to provide an additional safety margin. For these, the fracture tests using a real pipe specimen and the standard CT specimen test were performed. A 4-point bending jig was manufactured for the pipe test and the direct current potential drop method was used to measure the crack extension and the length for the pipe test. Also finite element analyses were performed with a CT specimen and a pipe in order to prove the additional safety margin. From the result of tests and analyses of the pipe and the standard CT specimen, it was observed that the fracture analysis with the standard CT specimen is conservative and the additional safety margin was proved.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
• /
• v.18 no.1
• /
• pp.33-38
• /
• 2019

Alloy 600/182 with excellent mechanical/chemical properties have been utilized for nuclear power plants. Although both alloys are known to have superior corrosion resistance, stress corrosion cracking failure has been an issue in primary water environment of nuclear power plants. Therefore, primary water stress corrosion crack (PWSCC) growth rate tests were conducted to investigate crack growth properties of Alloy 600/182. To investigate PWSCC growth rate, test facilities including water chemistry loop, autoclave, and loading system were constructed. In PWSCC crack growth rate tests, half compact-tension specimens were manufactured. These specimens were then placed inside of the autoclave connected to the loop to provide primary water environment. Tested conditions were set at temperature of $360^{\circ}C$ and pressure of 20MPa. Real time crack growth rates of specimens inside the autoclave were measured by Direct Current potential drop (DCPD) method. To confirm inter-granular (IG) crack as a characteristic of PWSCC, fracture surfaces of tested specimens were observed by SEM. Finally, crack growth rate was derived in a specific stress intensity factor (K) range and similarity with overseas database was identified.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.51 no.1
• /
• pp.228-237
• /
• 2019

The crack growth responses of as-received and as-welded Alloy 600/182 and Alloy 690/152 welds to constant loading were measured by a direct current potential drop method using compact tension specimens in primary water at $325^{\circ}C$ simulating the normal operating conditions of a nuclear power plant. The as-received Alloy 600 showed crack growth rates (CGRs) between $9.6{\times}10^{-9}mm/s$ and $3.8{\times}10^{-8}mm/s$, and the as-welded Alloy 182 had CGRs between $7.9{\times}10^{-8}mm/s$ and $7.5{\times}10^{-7}mm/s$ within the range of the applied loadings. These results indicate that Alloys 600 and 182 are susceptible to cracking. The average CGR of the as-welded Alloy 152 was found to be $2.8{\times}10^{-9}mm/s$. Therefore, Alloy 152 was proven to be highly resistant to cracking. The as-received Alloy 690 showed no crack growth even with an inhomogeneous banded microstructure. The cracking mode of Alloys 600 and 182 was an intergranular cracking; however, Alloy 152 was revealed to have a mixed (intergranular + transgranular) cracking mode. It appears that the Cr concentration and the microstructural features significantly affect the cracking resistance and the cracking behavior of Ni-base alloys in PWR primary water.