• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.34-41
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• 2010

This work is concerned with the analysis of stress corrosion cracking(SCC) behavior of Alloy 600 nozzle penetration mock-up according to a residual stress induced by a dissimilar metal welding(DMW) in a nuclear reactor pressure vessel. The effects of the dimension and materials of the nozzle penetration on the deformation and the residual stress induced by DMW were investigated using a finite element analysis(FEA). The inner diameter(ID) change of the nozzle by DMW and its dependance on the design variables, calculated by FEA, were well consistent with those measured from the mock-up. Accelerated SCC tests were performed for three mock-ups with different wall thicknesses in a highly acidic solution to investigate mainly the effect of the residual stress on the SCC behavior of Alloy 600 nozzle. From a destructive examination of the mock-up after the tests, the SCC behavior of the nozzle was fairly related with the residual stress induced by DMW : axial cracks were found in the ID surface of the nozzle within the J-weld region where the highest tensile hoop stress was predicted by FEA, while circumferential cracks were observed beyond both J-weld root and toe where the highest tensile axial stress was expected.

• 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.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.5
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• pp.1712-1725
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• 2022

For improving the seismic performance of the nuclear power plant (NPP) piping system, attempts have been made to apply a dynamic absorber (DA). However, the current piping DA design method is limited because it cannot provide the globally optimum values for the target design seismic loading. Therefore, this study proposes a seismic time history analysis-based DA optimal design method for piping. To this end, the Kriging approach is introduced to reduce the numerical cost required for seismic time history analyses. The appropriate design of the experiment method is used to increase the efficiency in securing response data. A gradient-based method is used to efficiently deal with the multi-dimensional unconstrained optimization problem of the DA optimal design. As a result, the proposed method showed an excellent response reduction effect in several responses compared to other optimal design methods. The proposed method showed that the average response reduction rate was about 9% less at the maximum acceleration, about 5% less at the maximum value of the response spectrum, about 9% less at the maximum relative displacement, and about 4% less at the maximum combined stress compared to existing optimal design methods. Therefore, the proposed method enables an effective optimal DA design method for mitigating seismic response in NPP piping in the future.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.69-76
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• 2022

In order to prepare for a future nuclear market, research for developing floating small modular reactor has been initiated with the aim of differentiating it from large nuclear power plants such as distributed power, heat supply to remote communities and sea water desalination. Depending on the characteristics of the small modular reactor, it is necessary to design a plate and shell heat exchanger that can be manufactured smaller than the U-tube recirculation method. In this study, 12 cases are selected by changing the diameter of the heat plate, the thickness of the device body and the size of the stiffener. Finite element analysis is performed by setting the stress classification lines for the point at which deformation is expected under external pressure conditions for these analysis cases. For the basic design of the plate and shell heat exchanger, the optimal conditions are derived by analyzing the tendency of stress change in the device body and stiffener.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.44-50
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• 2017

The shaft seal of the reactor coolant pump is installed on the upper side of the rotating shaft of the pump to seal the reactor coolant from flowing out between the rotating shaft and the non-rotating parts. In this study, the loading conditions for the normal operation and faulted conditions are identified and structural integrity evaluation is performed using the finite element stress analysis for the sealing apparatus of the APR 1400 reactor coolant pump. It is confirmed that the stress analysis results satisfy the design criteria at all loading conditions.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.24-31
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• 2018

The mechanical design procedure is studied for the PCHE(printed circuit heat exchanger) with electrochemical etched flow channels. The effective heat transfer plates of PCHE are assembled by diffusion bonding to make a module. PCHE is widely used for industrial applications due to its compactness, cost efficiency, and serviceability at high pressure and/or temperature conditions. The limitations and technical barriers of PCHE are investigated for application to nuclear components. Rules for design and fabrication of PCHE are specified in ASME Section VIII but not in ASME Section III of nuclear components. Therefore, the calculation procedure of key dimensions of PCHE is defined based on ASME section VIII. The effective heat transfer region of PCHE is defined by several key dimensions such as the flow channel radius, edge width, wall thickness, and ridge width. The mechanical design procedure of key dimensions was incorporated into a program for easy use in the PCHE design. The effect of assumptions used in the key dimension calculation on stress values is numerically investigated. A comparative analysis is done by comparing finite element analysis results for the semi-circular flow channels with the formula based sizing calculation assuming rectangular cross sections.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2015

Feedwater Heaters are important components in a nuclear power plant. As the age of heater increases, the maintenance cost required for continuous operation also increases. Most heaters have the carbon steel shells, tube support plates and flow baffles. The carbon steel is susceptible to flow-accelerated corrosion. This is especially true if the flow has a two-phase mixture of steam and condensate. The wall thinning around the wet steam entrance area of the shell is inevitable during some long term operation. The structural integrity of the feedwater heater shell affects the safe operation of the nuclear power plant. Therefore, it is needed for the thinned shell to be repaired. The maintenance method for preventing failure of the shell should be determined by investigating various factors including the stress distribution of thinned area. The stress analysis of the shell including the steam entrance region is studied in this paper. The results of thinned shell is compared with that of intact shell.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 2002.10a
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• pp.245.2-245
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• 2002

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.69-76
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• 2018

The paper presents preliminary investigation results for the effect of the baseline correction in the acceleration excitation method on finite element seismic analysis results (such as accumulated equivalent plastic strain, equivalent plastic strain considering cyclic plasticity, von Mises effective stress, etc) of nuclear safety Class I components. For investigation, finite element elastic-plastic time-history seismic analysis is performed for a surge line including a pressurizer lower head, a pressurizer surge nozzle, a surge piping, and a hot leg surge nozzle using the Chaboche hardening model. Analysis is performed for various seismic loading methods such as acceleration excitation methods with and without the baseline correction, and a displacement excitation method. Comparing finite element analysis results, the effect of the baseline correction is investigated. As a result of the investigation, it is identified that finite element analysis results using the three methods do not show significant difference.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2005.06a
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• pp.1303-1306
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• 2005

The mechanical properties of bellows, such as the extensibility and the strength can be changed depending on the shape. For the shipbuilding material, it is favorable that the fatigue life is long due to the elastic property and the reduction of thermal stress in piping system. Nowadays, the domestic production and design of bellows are based on the E.J.M.A Code. Therefore, the design standard is in need because of much errors and lack of detailed analysis. In this study, it is attempted to find out the optimal shape of U-type bellows using the finite element method. The effective factors, mountain height, length, thickness, and number of mountains and the length of joint are considered and the proper values are chosen for the simulation. The results shows that if the number of mountains are reduced, the volume decreases while the stress increases. However, the number of mountains are increased, the volume increases above the standard volume and the stress obviously increases. In addition, the effect of the thickness of bellows on the stress is very large. Both of the volume and stress are decreasing at a certain lower value region.