• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.1106-1116
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• 1994

Leak Before Break(LBB) design concept is applied to piping systems of newly-built Yonggwang 3, 4 nuclear generating stations as a design alternative to the provision of pipe whip restraints, in recognition of the questionable benefits of providing such restraints. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the material properties (tensile and fracture toughness) of SA312 TP316 stainless steel and their associated welds manufactured for shutdown cooling system of Yonggwang 3, 4 nuclear generating stations. Effect of various parameters such as specimen orientation, test temperature, welding on material properties were examined.

• Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.24-31
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• 2002

The leak-before-break (LBB) behaviors of a structural component under high and low fatigue loads are an important problem in nuclear power plants, liquid nitrogen gas tankers and chemical plants. This paper is an experimental study to evaluate the crack opening behavior after penetration for plate and pipe specimens. Crack opening displacement after penetration under low fatigue load could be satisfactorily determined at the center of the plate thickness regardless of the specimen size. In the case of high fatigue load, it is shown that the crack opening displacement at the center of a penetrated crack carl be derived using the gross stress, $\sigma$/sug G/, and the front surface crack length, a$\_$s/, together with the back surface crack length, a$\_$b/.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2004.04a
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• pp.324-329
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• 2004

In this study, an application of crack morphology variables in the Leak-Before-Break(LBB) evaluation for nuclear piping systems is investigated, including influences on the leakage crack size and crack instability loads. The crack surface roughness and the number of flow turns as a function of the crack opening displacement are applied to LBB evaluations for KSNP pressurizer surge line, for which fatigue and stress corrosion cracking are considered as failure mechanisms. As a result, there would be a significant impact on safety margins to acceptance criteria for the surge line if crack morphology variables are applied additionally to the current regulatory guide without re-analyses for justification of safety factors being applied on the leakage crack size and piping loads for evaluations.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.283-287
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• 1998

구미와 일본에서는 균열이 실린더벽을 과통하므로서 발생되는 일부누설로 인하여 실린더가 불안전 파괴가 이루어진 후 급속파단으로 전개되는 판당전 누설(Leak Before Break, LBB)를 전제로 한 구조건전성의 확인 시험연구가 널리 수행되고 있다. 본고에서는 Gs-C25 실린더의 구조건전성을 LBB개념의 도입과 파괴역할을 이용하여 평가하였다. 내부압력 80bar일때의 실린더에서 응력확대계수 계산은 구조물의응력확대계수가 극단적으로 큰 디멘젼을 지닌 측균열인 경우에서만 재료의 인성계수 $K_{lc}$ /와 $K_{eff}$ 에 도달된다는 것을 나타내었으며, 반면에 원주균열은 파괴 인성치 $K_{lc-}$ 와 $K_{eff-}$ 값까지는 어떠한 경우에도 도달되지 않았다. 구조물의 국부적인 취성파괴는 균열을 함유한 누설로 유도되는 범위에서, "$K_{1}$ 구조물$\geq$$K_{lc}$ 및 $K_{eff}$ "의 조건을 만족시에만 발생되며, 이는 축균열이 원주균열보다 훨씬 더 위험하다는 것을 증명한다.는 것을 증명한다.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.1051-1061
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• 1995

In order perform leak-before-break design of nuclear piping systems and integrity evaluation of reactor vessels, full stress-strain (.sigma. - .epsilon.) curves and fracture resistance (J-R) curves are required. However it is time-consuming and expensive to obtain J-R curves experimentally. The objective of this paper is to develop two methods for J-R curve prediction. In the first method, elastic-plastic finite element analyses for a series of crack length / specimen width ratio were performed. Accordingly the load versus load line displacement (P .delta.) curve corresponding to the fracture strain is obtained and the J-R curve based on the generalized locus method is obtained. In the second method, the correlation between .sigma.-.epsilon. curves and J-R curves was statistically analyzed and an empirical equation to predict the J-R curve from the .sigma.-.epsilon. test result is proposed. A good correlation between the predicted results based on the proposed methods and the experimental ones is obtained.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.21 no.11
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• pp.1786-1795
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• 1997

In order to perform leak-before-break design of nuclear piping systems and integrity evaluation of reactor vessels, full stress-strain curves and fracture resistance (J-R) curves are required. However it is time-consuming and expensive to obtain J-R curves experimentally. The objective of this paper is to modify two J-R curve prediction methods previously proposed by the authors and to propose an additional J-R curve prediction method for nuclear piping materials. In the first method which is based on the elastic-plastic finite element analysis, a blunting region handling procedure is added to the existing method. In the second method which is based on the empirical equation, a revised general equation is proposed to apply to both carbon steel and stainless steel. Finally, in the third method, both full stress-strain curve and finite element analysis results are used for J-R curve prediction. A good agreement between the predicted results based on the proposed methods and the experimental ones is obtained.

• International Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology Speciallssue:Selected Papers
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.44-50
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• 2001

Existing surface defects in structural members often act as sites of fatigue crack initiation, and if undetected, these cracks may grow through the thickness of the member, leading to catastrophic failure of the structure. Thus, in-service monitoring of fatigue cracks through reliable and effective nondestructive techniques is an important ingredient in the leak-before-break (LBB) design and safe operation of defects critical structures. An advanced, waveform-based, acoustic emission (AE) technique has been used in this paper to study the characteristics of the signals emanating from the initiation, growth and through-the -thickness penetration of surface fatigue crack in a 6061 aluminum plate. The goal of this experimental study is to determine whether the evolution of the fatigue crocks could be identified from the properties of the waveforms produced during the tests. The AE waveform signals detected at different stages of crack growth was found to have different temporal and spectral characteristics. The data analysis technique presented here can be applied to real-time monitoring of the initiation and propagation of fatigue cracks in structural components.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.403-415
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• 1998

The CANDU 6 reactor assembly consists of an array of 380 pressure tubes, which are installed horizontally in a large cylindrical vessel, the Calandria, containing the low pressure heavy water moderator. The pressure tube is located inside the calandria tube and the annulus between these tubes, which forms a closed loop with $CO_2$ gas recirculating, is called the Annulus Gas System(AGS). It is designed to give an alarm to the operator even for a small pressure tube leak by a very sensitive dew point meter so that he can take a preventive action for the pressure tube rupture incident. To judge whether the operator action time is enough or not in the design of Wolsong 2,3 & 4, the Leak Before Break(LBB) assessment is required for the analysis of the pressure tube failure accident. In order to provide the required data for the LBB assessment of Wolsong Units 2, 3, 4, a series of leak detection capability tests was performed by injecting controlled rates of heavy water vapour. The data of increased dew point and rates of rise were measured to determine the alarm set point for the dew point rate of rise of Wolsong Unit 2. It was found that the response of the dew point depends on the moisture injection rate, $CO_2$ gas flow rate and the leak location. The test showed that CANDU 6 AGS can detect the very small leaks less than few g/hr and dew point rate of rise alarm can be the most reliable alarm signal to warn the operator. Considering the present results, the first response time of dew point to the AGS $CO_2$ flow rate is approximated.

• Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology
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• v.17 no.11
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• pp.1599-1607
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• 2003

The characteristics of elastic waves emanated from crack initiation in 6061 aluminum alloy subjected to fatigue loading are investigated through experiments. The objective of the study is to determine the differences in the properties of the signals generated from fatigue test and also to examine if the sources of the waves could be identified from the temporal and spectral characteristics of the acoustic emission (AE) waveforms. The signals are recorded using nonresonant, flat, broadband transducers attached to the surface of the alloy specimens. The time dependence and power spectra of the signals recorded during the tests were examined and classified according to their special features. Six distinct types of signals were observed. The waveforms and their power spectra were found to be dependent on the crack propagation stage and the type of fracture associated with the signals. The potential application of the approach in health monitoring of structural components using a network of surface mounted broadband sensors is discussed.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.83-91
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• 1995

Surface defects in structural members are apt to be origins of fatigue cracks growth, which may cause serious failure of whole structures. Most structure has a part where stress concentrates such as welded joints, corner parts, etc. And then, analysis on crack growth and penetration from these defects, therefore, is one of the most important subjects for the reliability of LBB design. The present paper has performed an experimental and analysis on the fatigue crack propagation by variety in crack length of surface cracked plate with stress concentration part. The crack growth behavior can be explained quantitatively by using Newman-Raju equation and the stress partitioning method proposed by ASME B&P Code Sec. XI. The stress concentration factor $K_t$ has affected on the crack growth. The crack growth after penetration depends upon the initial front side crack length.