• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.89-95
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• 2012

U.S. Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) has developed CHECWORKS program and applied it to power plant piping lines since some lines were ruptured by flow-accelerated corrosion (FAC) in 1978. Nowadays the CHECWORKS program has been used to manage pipe wall thinning phenomena caused by FAC. However, various erosion mechanisms can occur in carbon-steel piping. Most common forms of erosion are cavitation, flashing, liquid droplet impingement erosion (LDIE), and Solid Particle Erosion (SPE). Those erosion mechanisms cause pipe wall thinning, leaking, rupturing, and even result in unplanned shutdowns of utilities. Especially, in two phase condition, LDIE damages a wide scope of plant pipelines. Furthermore, LDIE is the major culprit to cause such as power runback by pipe leaking. This paper describes the methodologies that manage wall thinning and also predict LDIE wall thinning area. For this study, current properties of two-phase condition are investigated and LDIE areas are selected. The areas are checked by B-Scan method to detect the effect of wall thinning phenomena.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.29 no.4 s.235
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• pp.606-613
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• 2005

Effects of circumferentially local wall thinning on the fracture behavior of pipes were investigated by monotonic four-point bending. Local wall thinning was machined on the pipes in order to simulate erosion/corrosion metal loss. The configurations of the eroded area included an eroded ratio of d/t= 0.2, 0.5, 0.6, and 0.8, and an eroded length of ${\ell}\;=10mm,$ 25mm, and 120mm. Fracture type could be classified into ovalization, local buckling, and crack initiation depending on the eroded length and eroded ratio. Three-dimensional elasto-plastic analyses were also carried out using the finite element method, which is able to accurately simulate fracture behaviors excepting failure due to cracking. It was possible to predict the crack initiation point by estimating true fracture ductility under multi-axial stress conditions at the center of the thinned area.

• Journal of Power System Engineering
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.38-44
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• 2006

Failure assessment of steam generator tube are very important for the integrity of energy plants. In pipes of energy plants, sometimes, the local wall thinning may result from severe erosion-corrosion damage. Recently, the effects of local wall thinning on fracture strength and fracture behavior of piping system have been well studied. In this paper, the elasto-plastic analysis is performed by FE code ANSIS on steam generator tube with wall thinning. We evaluated the failure mode, fracture strength and fracture behavior from FE analysis. It was possible to predict the crack initiation point by estimating true fracture ductility under multi-axial stress conditions at the center of the thinned area.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.429-435
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• 2010

In approximately fifty utilities, including KHNP (Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power), CHECWORKS is used as a tool for predicting and managing the wall thinning of carbon steel piping; this wall thinning is caused by flow-accelerated corrosion (FAC). It is known that CHECWORKS is only applicable to predict the wall thinning of piping with large bores. When dealing with small-bore steel piping, FAC engineers measure the thickness of the susceptible area that is selected on the basis of the experience and judgment of the engineer. This paper proposes the application of CHECWORKS for the management of wall thinning of small-bore piping. Four small-bore pipelines of a domestic nuclear power plant were analyzed from the viewpoints of FAC and fluid dynamics by using CHECWORKS and FLUENT code. Depending on the engineer's skill, CHECWORKS can also be used for the management of wall thinning of small-bore piping.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.31 no.1 s.256
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• pp.1-7
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• 2007

Feedwater heaters of many nuclear power plants have recently experienced severe wall thinning damage, which will increase as operating time progresses. Several nuclear power plants in Korea have experienced wall thinning damage in the area around the impingement baffle - installed downstream of the high pressure turbine extraction steam line - inside number 5A and 5B feedwater heaters. At that point, the extracted steam from the high pressure turbine is two phase fluid at high temperature, high pressure, and high speed. Since it flows in reverse direction after impinging the impingement baffle, the shell wall of the number 5 high pressure feedwater heater may be affected by flow-accelerated corrosion. This paper describes the comparisons between the numerical analysis results using the FLUENT code and the down scale experimental data in an effort to determine root causes of the shell wall thinning of the high pressure feedwater heaters. The numerical analysis and experimental data were also confirmed by actual wall thickness measured by an ultrasonic test.

• Journal of ILASS-Korea
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.83-93
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• 2010

Feedwater heaters of many nuclear power plants have recently experienced severe wall thinning damage, which will increase as operating time progresses. Several nuclear power plants in Korea have experienced wall thinning damage in the area around the impingement baffle inside feedwater heater installed downstream of the turbine extraction stream line. At that point, the extract steam from the turbine is two phase fluid at high temperature, high pressure, and high speed. Since it flows to reverse direction after impinging the impingement baffle, the shell wall of feedwater heaters may be affected by flow-accelerated corrosion. In this paper, to compare degree of shell wall thinning mitigation rate to squared type with mitigation rate of other type baffle plate, four different types of impingement baffle plate-squared, curved, mitigating type and multi-hole type-applied inside the shell. With these comparison data, this paper describes operation of experiments and numerical analysis which is composed similar condition with real feed water heater. And flow visualization is operated for verification of experiments and numerical analysis. In conclusion, this study shows that mitigating type and multi-hole type baffle plate are more effective than other baffle plate about prevention of pressure concentration and pressure value decrease.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.55-63
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• 2010

Feedwater heaters of many nuclear power plants have recently experienced severe wall thinning damage, which will increase as operating time progresses. Several nuclear power plants in Korea have experienced wall thinning damage in the area around the impingement baffle inside feedwater heater installed downstream of the turbine extraction stream line. At that point, the extract steam from the turbine is two phase fluid at high temperature, high pressure, and high speed. Since it flows to reverse direction after impinging the impingement baffle, the shell wall of feedwater heaters may be affected by flow-accelerated corrosion. In this paper, to compare degree of shell wall thinning mitigation rate to squared type with mitigation rate of other type baffle plate, three different types of impingement baffle plate-squared, curved and mitigating type-applied inside the shell. With these comparison data, this paper describes operation of experiments and numerical analysis which is composed similar condition with real feed water heater. And flow visualization is operated for verification of experiments and numerical analysis. In conclusion, this study shows that mitigating type baffle plate is more effective than other baffle plate about prevention of pressure concentration and pressure value decrease.

• Journal of Power System Engineering
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.76-83
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• 2014

This study was carried out an experimental and finite element analysis on the fracture behavior of straight pipes with local wall thinning under internal pressure. Local wall thinning was machined on the pipes in order to simulate erosion/corrosion metal loss. The configurations of the eroded area has an eroded ratio of d/t=0.80~0.92 and an eroded length of l=25, 50 and 102 mm. Three-dimensional elastic-plastic analyses were also carried out using the finite element method, which is able to accurately simulate failure behaviors. In regards to the relation ship between pressure and eroded ratio, the criterion that can be used safely under operating pressure and design pressure were obtained from this calculation. The results of this calculation were in relatively good agreement with that of the experiment.

• Proceedings of the Korea Committee for Ocean Resources and Engineering Conference
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• 2004.11a
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• pp.242-246
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• 2004

Effects of circumferentially local wall thinning on the fracture behavior of pipes were investigated by monotonic four-point bending. Local wall thinning was machined on the pipes in order to simulate erosion/corrosion metal loss. The configurations of the eroded area included an eroded ratio of d/t= 0.2, 0.5, 0.6, and 0.8, and an eroded length of I = 10 mm, 25 mm, and 120 mm. Fracture type could be classified into ovalization, local buckling, and crack initiation depending on the eroded length and eroded ratio. Three-dimensional elasto-plastic analyses were also carried out using the finite element method, which is able to accurately simulate fracture behaviors excepting failure due to cracking. It was possible to predict the crack initiation point by estimating true fracture ductility under multi-axial stress conditions at the center of the eroded area.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.57-62
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• 2008

Difference of failure modes was studied by finite element analysis for elbows with local wall thinning area particularly at inner surface of intrados of the elbow. Longitudinal wall thinning length, minimum thickness were kept constant but circumferential wall thinning width was varied to get $90^{\circ}$, $180^{\circ}$ and $360^{\circ}$ thinning width. Elastic-plastic analysis were carried out under the combined loading conditions of internal pressure and in-plane bending moment closing the elbow. Von Mises stress were obtained from the outer surface central surface location in intrados, extrados and crown parts in elbow. The results showed that the plastic deformation and failure started from the crown location when the thinning width small ($90{\sim}180^{\circ}$). However, plastic collapse started from the intrados location when the thinning width is approaching $360^{\circ}C$. This should be reflected to assess structural integrity of elbows after wall thinning measurement is made.