• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Process Engineers
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• v.20 no.7
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• pp.8-14
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• 2021

Even welds that have passed non-destructive testing in the case of brittle crack arrest steel materials will actually have very fine weld defects. Based on studies showing that these defects adversely affect the structure if subjected to a certain period of load, the following conclusions were obtained by conducting CTOD tests on welding joints of high-strength BCA materials, structures comprising the upper decks of a large container vessel. First of all, the fatigue pre-cracking in the weld metal and heat affected areas was tested and the behavior was identified. Both parts of the welding joint are allowable range for the class regulations. In addition, CTOD results showed that the CTOD value in the heat affected area was more than 0.5 times higher than in the weld metal area.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.5
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• pp.1726-1746
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• 2022

This paper presents fracture mechanics analysis results for various cracks located at pressurized water reactor pressure vessel nozzle crotch corners taking into consideration constraint effect. Technical documents such as the ASME B&PV Code, Sec.XI were reviewed and then a fracture mechanics analysis procedure was proposed for structural integrity assessment of various nozzle crotch corner cracks under normal operation conditions considering the constraint effect. Linear elastic fracture mechanics analysis was performed by conducting finite element analysis with the proposed analysis procedure. Based on the evaluation results, elastic-plastic fracture mechanics analysis taking into account the constraint effect was performed only for the axial surface crack of the reactor pressure vessel outlet nozzle with cladding. The fracture mechanics analysis result shows that only the axial surface crack in the reactor pressure vessel outlet nozzle has the stress intensity factor exceeding the low bound of upper-shelf fracture toughness irrespectively of considering the constraint effect. It is confirmed that the J-integral for the axial crack of the outlet nozzle does not exceed the ductile crack initiation toughness. Hence, it can be ensured that the structural integrity of all the cracks is maintained during the normal operation.

• Plant Biotechnology Reports
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.169-175
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• 2011

In this study, the JIP test was exploited to assess drought-tolerance of transgenic rice overexpressing OsNAC10. Two types of promoters, RCc3 (root-specific) and GOS2 (constitutive), were used to drive the transcription factor OsNAC10, a gene involved in diverse functions including stress responses. Three-month-old plants were exposed to drought for 1 week and their fluorescence kinetics was evaluated. Our results showed that drought-treated non-transgenic plants (NT) have higher fluorescence intensity at the J phase (2 ms) compared to transgenic plants, indicating a decline in electron transport beyond the reduced plastoquinone ($Q_A^-$). As manifested by negative L bands, transgenic plants also showed higher energetic connectivity and stability over NT plants under drought conditions. Also, the pool size of the end electron acceptor at the photosystem I was reduced more in NT than in transgenic plants under drought conditions. Furthermore, the transgenic plants had higher $PI_{total}$, a combined parameter that reflects all the driving forces considered in JIP test, than NT plants under drought conditions. In particular, the $PI_{total}$ of the RCc3:OsNAC10 plants was higher than that of NT plants, which was in good agreement with their differences in grain yield. Thus, the JIP test proved to be practical for evaluating drought-tolerance of transgenic plants.

• International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.163-175
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• 2016

This paper presents a revised procedure for computation of double-K fracture parameters of concrete split-tension cube specimen using weight function of the centrally cracked plate of finite strip with a finite width. This is an improvement over the previous work of the authors in which the determination of double-K fracture parameters of concrete for split-tension cube test using weight function of the centrally cracked plate of infinite strip with a finite width was presented. In a recent research, it was pointed out that there are great differences between a finite strip and an infinite strip regarding their weight function and the solution of infinite strip can be utilized in the split-tension specimens when the notch size is very small. In the present work, improved version of LEFM formulas for stress intensity factor, crack mouth opening displacement and crack opening displacement profile presented in the recent research work are incorporated. The results of the double-K fracture parameters obtained using revised procedure and the previous work of the authors is compared. The double-K fracture parameters of split-tension cube specimen are also compared with those obtained for standard three point bend test specimen. The input data required for determining double-K fracture parameters for both the specimen geometries for laboratory size specimens are obtained using well known version of the Fictitious Crack Model.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.62-69
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• 2016

Current guidance considers that uniaxially loaded specimen with a deep crack is used for the determination of the ductile-to-brittle transition temperature. However, reactor pressure vessel is under biaxial loading in real and the existence of deep crack is not probable through periodic in-service-inspection. The elastic stress intensity factor and the elastic-plastic J-integral which were used for crack-tip stress field and fracture mechanics assessment parameters. The difference of the loading condition and crack geometry can significantly influence on these parameters. Thus, a constraint effect caused by differences between standard specimens and a real structure can over/underestimate the fracture toughness, and it affects the results of the structural integrity assessment, consequentially. The present paper investigates the constraint effects by evaluating the master curve $T_0$ reference temperature of PCVN (Pre-cracked Charpy V-Notch) and small scale cruciform specimens which was designed to simulate biaxial loading condition with shallow crack through the fracture toughness tests and 3-dimensional elastic-plastic finite element analyses. Based on the finite element analysis results, the fracture toughness values of a small scale cruciform specimen were estimated, and the geometry-dependent factors of the cruciform specimen considered in the present study were determined. Finally, the transferability of the test results of these specimens was discussed.

• Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.634-648
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• 2005

Performed here is a comparative assessment study for the probabilistic fracture mechanics approach of the pressurized thermal shock of the reactor pressure vessel. A round robin consisting of one prerequisite deterministic study and five cases for probabilistic approaches is proposed, and all organizations interested are invited. The problems are solved by the participants and their results are compared to issue some recommendation of best practices and to assure an understanding of the key parameters in this type of approach, like transient description and frequency, material properties, defect type and distribution, fracture mechanics methodology etc., which will be useful in the justification through a probabilistic approach for the case of a plant over-passing the screening criteria. Six participants from 3 organizations responded to the problem and their results are compiled and analyzed in this study.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.13-22
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• 2013

This paper presents the results of a numerical investigation into the behavior of retaining wall subject to cycles of wetting and drying due to rainfall. The stress-pore pressure coupled finite element modeling strategy was first established for stimulating the wall behavior. A series of finite element analyses were then performed on a range of conditions including different rainfall and backfill conditions. The results indicated that the rainfall intensity was the primary influencing factor for the wall behavior. Also revealed was that the pre-rainfall condition determines the magnitudes and the distribution of matric suction which in fact has a significant impact on the behavior of wall during a major rainfall. This result demonstrates the importance of incorporating the pre-rainfall condition for numerical modeling of walls during heavy rainfall. Practical implications of the findings from this study are discussed in great detail.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.45-50
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• 2010

The fatigue crack growth characteristics of base metal and weld joint of 9% Ni steel for LNG storage tank was carried out using CT specimen at room temperature and $-162^{\circ}C$. Fatigue crack growth rate of base and weld metals at RT and $-162^{\circ}C$ was coincided with a single line independent of the change of stress ratio and temperature. In the region of lower stress intensity factor range, fatigue crack growth rate at $-162^{\circ}C$ was slower than that at RT, and the slop of fatigue crack growth rate at $-162^{\circ}C$ increased sharply with propagating of fatigue crack, fatigue crack growth rate at RT and $-162^{\circ}C$ was intersected near the region of $2{\times}10-4\;mm$/cycle, and after the intersection region, fatigue crack growth rate at $-162^{\circ}C$ was faster than that at RT. The micro-fracture mechanism using SEM shows the ductile striation in the stable crack growth region. Also the defects of weld specimen after fatigue testing were detected using the A scan of ultrasonic apparatus.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.48 no.6
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• pp.1423-1432
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• 2016

The integrity of a reactor pressure vessel (RPV) related to pressurized thermal shocks (PTSs) has been extensively studied. This paper introduces an integrity assessment of an RPV subjected to a PTS transient based on the French codes. In the USA, the "screening criterion" for maximum allowable embrittlement of RPV material is developed based on the probabilistic fracture mechanics. However, in the French RCC-M and RSE-M codes, which are developed based on the deterministic fracture mechanics, there is no "screening criterion". In this paper, the methodology in the RCC-M and RSE-M codes, which are used for PTS analysis, are firstly discussed. The bases of the French codes are compared with ASME and FAVOR codes. A case study is also presented. The results show that the method in the RCC-M code that accounts for the influence of cladding on the stress intensity factor (SIF) may be nonconservative. The SIF almost doubles if the weld residual stress is considered. The approaches included in the codes differ in many aspects, which may result in significant differences in the assessment results. Therefore, homogenization of the codes in the long time operation of nuclear power plants is needed.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.425-440
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• 2005

In this paper, the behavior of a crack between two half-planes of functionally graded materials subjected to arbitrary tractions is resolved using a somewhat different approach, named the Schmidt method. To make the analysis tractable, it is assumed that the Poisson's ratios of the mediums are constants and the shear modulus vary exponentially with coordinate parallel to the crack. By use of the Fourier transform, the problem can be solved with the help of two pairs of dual integral equations in which the unknown variables are the jumps of the displacements across the crack surfaces. To solve the dual integral equations, the jumps of the displacements across the crack surfaces are expanded in a series of Jacobi polynomials. This process is quite different from those adopted in previous works. Numerical examples are provided to show the effect of the crack length and the parameters describing the functionally graded materials upon the stress intensity factor of the crack. It can be shown that the results of the present paper are the same as ones of the same problem that was solved by the singular integral equation method. As a special case, when the material properties are not continuous through the crack line, an approximate solution of the interface crack problem is also given under the assumption that the effect of the crack surface interference very near the crack tips is negligible. It is found that the stress singularities of the present interface crack solution are the same as ones of the ordinary crack in homogenous materials.