• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.820-830
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• 2016

Pipe wall thinning by flow-accelerated corrosion and various types of erosion is a significant and costly damage phenomenon in secondary piping systems of nuclear power plants (NPPs). Most NPPs have management programs to ensure pipe integrity due to wall thinning that includes periodic measurements for pipe wall thicknesses using nondestructive evaluation techniques. Numerous measurements using ultrasonic tests (UTs; one of the nondestructive evaluation technologies) have been performed during scheduled outages in NPPs. Using the thickness measurement data, wall thinning rates of each component are determined conservatively according to several evaluation methods developed by the United States Electric Power Research Institute. However, little is known about the conservativeness or reliability of the evaluation methods because of a lack of understanding of the measurement error. In this study, quantitative models for UT thickness measurement deviations of nuclear pipes and fittings were developed as the first step for establishing an optimized thinning evaluation procedure considering measurement error. In order to understand the characteristics of UT thickness measurement errors of nuclear pipes and fittings, round robin test results, which were obtained by previous researchers under laboratory conditions, were analyzed. Then, based on a large dataset of actual plant data from four NPPs, a quantitative model for UT thickness measurement deviation is proposed for plant conditions.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.28-34
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• 2003

In the present study, three-dimensional finite element analysis was performed to investigate the effects of internal wall thinning defect on the failure pressure of elbow in the piping system and to develop the failure pressure evaluation model. From the results of finite element analysis, the failure pressure was derived by employing local stress criteria, and the effects of thinning location, bend radius, and defect geometry on the failure pressure of internally wall thinned elbow were investigated. Also, based on these investigations and previous model developed to estimate the failure pressure of elbow with an external pitting defect, the failure pressure evaluation model to be applicable to the elbow containing an internal thinning defect was proposed and compared with the results of finite element analysis. The failure pressure calculated by the model agreed well with the results of finite element analysis.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.62-69
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• 2014

A huge number of carbon steel piping components installed in the secondary system of nuclear power plants are exposed to aging mechanisms such as FAC (Flow-Accelerated Corrosion), Cavitation, Flashing, and LDIE (Liquid Droplet Impingement Erosion). Those aging mechanisms can lead to thinning of the piping components. To manage the wall thinning degradation, most of utilities in the world predict the wall thinning rate based on the computational program such as CHECWORKS, COMSY, and BRT-CICERO, evaluate the UT (Ultrasonic Test) data, and determine next inspection timing, repair or replacement, if needed. There are several evaluation methods, such as band, blanket, and strip methods, commonly used for determining the wear of piping components from single UT inspection data. It has been identified that those single UT evaluation methods not only do not consider the manufacturing features of pipes, but also may exclude the data of the most thinned point when determining the representative wear rate of piping components. This paper describes a newly developed single UT evaluation method, E-Cross method, for solving above problems and introduces application examples for several pipes and elbows. It was identified that the E-Cross method using the length and width of UT data excluded the most thinned points appropriate as the single UT evaluation method for thinned piping components.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.22-29
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• 2008

This paper provides the evaluation method for the pressure vessel with internal wall-thinning defect, which is based on ASME design criteria. Pressure vessel has wall-thinning partially and patch reinforcement has been attached for reliable operating. However, present partial wall thinning could be through wall thinning at the next inspection time with present corrosion progress speed. Therefore safety margin was calculated for various conditions from present wall-thinning condition to additive patch reinforced condition via two-dimensional and three-dimensional, geometrically linear FE analyses using elastic materials.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.31-39
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• 2015

Pipe wall-thinning by flow-accelerated corrosion (FAC) and various types of erosion is a significant and costly damage phenomenon in secondary piping systems of nuclear power plants (NPPs). Most NPPs have management programs to ensure pipe integrity due to wall-thinning that includes periodic measurements for pipe wall thicknesses using ultrasonic tests (UTs). Nevertheless, thinning evaluations are not easy because the amount of thickness reduction being measured is often quite small compared to the accuracy of the inspection technique. U.S. Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) had proposed Total Point Method (TPM) as a thinning occurrence evaluation method, which is a very useful method for detecting locally thinned pipes or fittings. However, evaluation engineers have to discern manually the measurement data because there are no numerical algorithm for TPM. In this study, numerical algorithms were developed based on non-parametric and parametric statistical method.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.32 no.12
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• pp.1063-1071
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• 2008

This paper provides a failure pressure evaluation model for local wall-thinned elbows. In this study, parametric finite element analyses are performed on the elbows containing local wall-thinning defect at their intrados and extrados, and the failure pressures are obtained from the analysis results by applying a local failure criterion that was validated by real-scale pipe tests. An evaluation model including the effects of thinning depth, length, circumferential angle, thinning location, and elbow geometries on the failure pressure is derived based on the evaluated failure pressures. The proposed model agrees well with the results of finite element analyses and reasonably estimates the dependence of failure pressure on the wall-thinning dimensions and elbow geometries. Also, the comparison with experimental data demonstrates that the proposed evaluation model can accurately predict the failure pressure of local wall-thinned elbows.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.29 no.5 s.236
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• pp.734-742
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• 2005

The present study proposes the integrity evaluation model for a straight pipe with local wall thinning defect, which reflects the characteristics of training shape and loading condition in the Piping of nuclear power plant. For this purpose, a series of finite element analyses are performed under various defect geometries and loading conditions, and real pipe experiment data performed previously is employed. The model includes the effect of thinning length as well as thinning depth and width, and also it considers the combined loading effect between internal pressure and bending moment. The proposed model has been validated using the results of finite element analysis and pipe experiment data. The results indicate that the proposed model provides more reliable predictions of pipe failure than the current existing model, in terms of accuracy, consistency, and conservativeness of results.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.52 no.9
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• pp.2119-2129
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• 2020

Flow-accelerated corrosion (FAC), liquid droplet impingement erosion (LDIE), cavitation and flashing can cause continuous wall-thinning in nuclear secondary pipes. In order to prevent pipe rupture events resulting from the wall-thinning, most NPPs (nuclear power plants) implement their management programs, which include periodic thickness inspection using UT (ultrasonic test). Meanwhile, it is well known in field experiences that the thickness measurement errors (or deviations) are often comparable with the amount of thickness reduction. Because of these errors, it is difficult to estimate wall-thinning exactly whether the significant thinning has occurred in the inspected components or not. In the previous study, the authors presented an approximate estimation procedure as the first step for thickness measurement deviations at each inspected component and the statistical & quantitative characteristics of the measurement deviations using plant experience data. In this study, statistical significance was quantified for the current methods used for wall-thinning determination. Also, the authors proposed new estimation procedures for determining local wall-thinning to overcome the weakness of the current methods, in which the proposed procedure is based on analysis of variance (ANOVA) method using subgrouping of measured thinning values at all measurement grids. The new procedures were also quantified for their statistical significance. As the results, it is confirmed that the new methods have better estimation confidence than the methods having used until now.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.27 no.8
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• pp.1295-1302
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• 2003

In order to evaluate a failure behavior of pipe with notch-type wall thinning, the present study performed full-scale pipe tests using the 102mm, Schedule 80 pipe specimen simulated notch- and circular-type thinning defects. The pipe tests were conducted under the conditions of both monotonic and cyclic bending moment at a constant internal pressure of 10 MPa. From the results. of experiment the failure mode, load carrying capacity, deformation ability, and fatigue life of a notch-type wall thinned pipe were investigated, and they were compared with those of a circular-type wall thinned pipe. The failure mode of notched pipe was similar to that of circular-type thinned pipe under the monotonic bending load. Under the cyclic bending load, however, the mode was clearly distinguished with variation in the shape of wall thinning. The load carrying capacity of a pipe containing notch-type wall thinning was about the same or slightly lower than that of a pipe containing circular-type wall thinning when the thinning area was subjected to tensile stress, whereas it was higher than that of a pipe containing circular-type thinning defect when the thinning area was subjected to compressive stress. On the other hand, the deformation ability and fatigue life of a notch-type wall thinned pipe was lower than those of a circular-type wall thinned pipe.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.38-46
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• 2010

The wall thinning phenomenon of pipes was simulated as metal loss due to erosion and corrosion. Such wall thinning defects in the pipes of power plants are a very important safety consideration. In this study, we analyzed wall thinning defects that occurred by weld bead of weld zone of boost pump recirculation pipe. From the results of the analysis of pipe failures, numerical analysis was performed by Fluent v6.3.26 using the standard k-$\varepsilon$ model of the weld bead shape, such as an elliptical or a spherical shape, on the inner wall of the pipe. Using the results obtained, we showed the overlap effect by cavitations corrosion and erosion-corrosion at the bottom of the wall-thinning defect.