• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.20 no.2 s.70
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• pp.38-43
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• 2005

Several nuclear power plants reported that they often found the combination cracks, which consist of longitudinal and circumferential cracks in the tubes. For the burst pressure of a tube with a single longitudinal or circumferential crack several experimental equations have been proposed in published literatures. But for the combination crack appropriate fracture criterion has not been proposed yet. In this study the burst pressures of a tube with a longitudinal crack or a T-type combination crack consisting of longitudinal and circumferential cracks were obtained experimentally and analytically. Fracture parameters such as crack opening angle (COA) were investigated by using elastic plastic analysis. Also the burst pressure far a T-type combination crack located near a tubesheet was considered to develop a length-based criterion. Because most of the axial, circumferential or combination cracks initiate in roll transition zone near the tubesheet.