• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.311-322
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• 2013

High-Cr martensitic steel HT-9 is one of the candidate materials for advanced nuclear energy systems. Thanks to its excellent thermal conductivity and irradiation resistance, ferritic/martensitic steels such as HT-9 are considered for in-core applications of advanced nuclear reactors. The harsh neutron irradiation environments at the reactor core region pose a unique challenge for structural and cladding materials. Microstructural and microchemical changes resulting from displacement damage are anticipated for structural materials after prolonged neutron exposure. Consequently, various irradiation effects on the service performance of in-core materials need to be understood. In this work, the fundamentals of radiation damage and irradiation effects of the HT-9 martensitic steel are reviewed. The objective of this paper is to provide a background introduction of displacement damage, microstructural evolution, and subsequent effects on mechanical properties of the HT-9 martensitic steel under neutron irradiations. Mechanical test results of the irradiated HT-9 steel obtained from previous fast reactor and fusion programs are summarized along with the information of irradiated microstructure. This review can serve as a starting point for additional investigations on the in-core applications of ferritic/martensitic steels in advanced nuclear reactors.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.57-67
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• 2019

Water-induced strength reduction is one of the most critical causes for rock deformation and failure. Understanding the effects of water on the strength, toughness and deformability of rocks are of a great importance in rock fracture mechanics and design of structures in rock. However, only a few studies have been conducted to understand the effects of water on fracture properties such as fracture toughness, crack propagation velocity, consumed energy, and microstructural damage. Thus, in this study, we focused on the understanding of how microscale damages induced by water saturation affect mesoscale mechanical and fracture properties compared with oven dried specimens along three notch orientations-divider, arrester, and short transverse. The mechanical properties of calcite-cemented sandstone were examined using standard uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) and Brazilian tensile strength (BTS) tests. In addition, fracture properties such as fracture toughness, consumed energy and crack propagation velocity were examined with cracked chevron notched Brazilian disk (CCNBD) tests. Digital Image Correlation (DIC), a non-contact optical measurement technique, was used for both strain and crack propagation velocity measurements along the bedding plane orientations. Finally, environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM) was employed to investigate the microstructural damages produced in calcite-cemented sandstone specimens before and after CCNBD tests. As results, both mechanical and fracture properties reduced significantly when specimens were saturated. The effects of water on fracture properties (fracture toughness and consumed energy) were predominant in divider specimens when compared with arrester and short transverse specimens. Whereas crack propagation velocity was faster in short transverse and slower in arrester, and intermediate in divider specimens. Based on ESEM data, water in the calcite-cemented sandstone induced microstructural damages (microcracks and voids) and increased the strength disparity between cement/matrix and rock forming mineral grains, which in turn reduced the crack propagation resistance of the rock, leading to lower both consumed energy and fracture toughness ($K_{IC}$).

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.7-12
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• 2009

The detailed quantitative microstructural data on the cracking of coarse constituent particles in 7075 (T651) series wrought Al-alloys have been studied using the utility of a novel digital image processing technique, where the particle cracks are generated due to monotonic loading. The microstructural parameters such as number density, volume fraction, size distribution, first nearest neighbor distribution, and two-point correlation function have been quantitatively characterized using the developed technique and such data are very useful to verify and study the theoretical models for the damage evolution and fracture of Al-alloys. The data suggests useful relationships for damage modeling such as a linear relationship between particle cracking and strain exists for the uniaxial tensile loading condition, where the larger particles crack preferentially.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.17 no.8
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• pp.425-432
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• 2007

The microstructural evolution of ferritic 9Cr-1Mo-V-Nb steel, subjected to creep-fatigue at $550^{\circ}C$, was evaluated nondestructively by measuring the ultrasonic velocity. The variation of the ultrasonic velocity with the fatigue life fraction exhibited three regions. In the first region ($N/N_f$<0.2), a significant increase in the velocity was observed, followed by a slight increase between the fatigue life fractions of $0.2N_f$ and $0.8N_f$, and then a decrease in the final region. The change of the ultrasonic velocity during creep-fatigue was interpreted in relation to the microstructural properties. This study proposes an ultrasonic nondestructive evaluation method of quantifying the level of damage and microstructural change during the creep-fatigue of ferritic 9Cr-1Mo-V-Nb steel.

• Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology
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• v.14 no.9
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• pp.978-984
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• 2000

The aim of this study is to investigate the ductile fracture behaviour under Mode I loading using SA533B pressure vessel steel. Experiments consist of the Round Notch Bar Test (RNB), Single Edge Crack Bending Test (SECB), and V-Notch Bar Test (VNB). Results from the RNB test were used to tune the damage modelling constant. The other tests were performed to acquire the J-resistance curves and to confirm the damage constants. Microstructural observation includes the measurement of crack profile to obtain the roughness parameter. Finally, simulation using Rousellier Ductile Damage Theory (RDDT) was carried out with 4-node quadrilateral element ($L_c=0.25\;mm$). For the crack advance, the failed element removal technique was adopted with a ${\beta}$ criterion. In conclusion, the predicted simulation using RDDT showed a good agreement with the experimental results. A trial using a roughness parameter was made for a new evaluation of J-resistance curve, which is more conservative than the conventional one.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.483-494
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• 2009

Damage detection has been proven to be a challenging task in structural health monitoring (SHM) due to the fact that damage cannot be measured. The difficulty associated with damage detection is related to electing a feature that is sensitive to damage occurrence and evolution. This difficulty increases as the damage size decreases limiting the ability to detect damage occurrence at the micron and submicron length scale. Damage detection at this length scale is of interest for sensitive structures such as aircrafts and nuclear facilities. In this paper a new photonic sensor based on photonic crystal (PhC) technology that can be synthesized at the nanoscale is introduced. PhCs are synthetic materials that are capable of controlling light propagation by creating a photonic bandgap where light is forbidden to propagate. The interesting feature of PhC is that its photonic signature is strongly tied to its microstructure periodicity. This study demonstrates that when a PhC sensor adhered to polymer substrate experiences micron or submicron damage, it will experience changes in its microstructural periodicity thereby creating a photonic signature that can be related to damage severity. This concept is validated here using a three-dimensional integrated numerical simulation.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.347-351
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• 2020

A material changes its physical and chemical properties through the interaction with radiation and also the neutrons, which is electronically neutral so that the penetration depth is relatively deeper than that of other radioactive way including alpha or beta ray. Therefore, the radiation damage by neutron irradiation has been intensively investigated for a long time with respect to the safety of nuclear power plants. The damage induced by neutron irradiation begins with the creation of point defects in atomic scale in the unit of picoseconds, and their progress pattern can be characterized by microstructural defects, such as dislocation loops and voids. Their morphological characteristics affect the properties of neutron-irradiated materials, therefore, it is very important to predict the microstructure at a given neutron irradiation condition. This paper briefly reviews the evolution of radiation damage induced by neutron irradiation and introduces a phase-field model that can be widely used in predicting the microstructure evolution of irradiated materials.

• KEPCO Journal on Electric Power and Energy
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.25-31
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• 2018

A boiler system transforms water to pressured supercritical steam which drives the running of the turbine to rotate in the generator to produce electricity in power plants. Materials for building the tube system face challenges from high temperature creep damage, thermal fatigue/expansion, fireside and steam corrosion, etc. A database on the creep resistance strength and steam oxidation of the materials is important to the long-term reliable operation of the boiler system. Generally, the ferritic steels, i.e., grade 1, grade 2, grade 9, and X20, are extensively used as the superheater (SH) and reheater (RH) in supercritical (SC) and ultra supercritcal (USC) power plants. Currently, advanced austenitic steel, such as TP347H (FG), Super304H and HR3C, are beginning to replace the traditional ferritic steels as they allow an increase in steam temperature to meet the demands for increased plant efficiency. The purpose of this paper is to provide the state-of-the-art knowledge on boiler tube materials, including the strengthening, metallurgy, property/microstructural degradation, oxidation, and oxidation property improvement and then describe the modern microstructural characterization methods to assess and control the properties of these alloys. The paper covers the limited experience and experiment results with the alloys and presents important information on microstructural strengthening, degradation, and oxidation mechanisms.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.417-425
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• 2007

The ferritic 9Cr-1Mo-V-Nb heat-resisting steel was experimentally studied in order to characterize its microstructural evolution during creep-fatigue by coercivity measurement. The creep-fatigue test was conducted at $550\;^{\circ}C$ with the tensile holding time of 60s and 600s, respectively. The coercivity decreased until the failure and the hardness monotonously decreased for the whole fatigue life. As the life fraction of creep-fatigue increased, the $M_{23}C_6$ carbide coarsened following the Ostwald ripening mechanism. However, the MX carbonitrides did not grow during creep-fatigue due to so stable at $550\;^{\circ}C$. The width of martensite lath increased because of the dislocation recovery at the lath boundaries. The magnetic coercivity has an influence on the microstructural properties such as dislocation, precipitates and martensite lath boundaries, which interpreted in relation to microstructural changes. Consequently, this study proposes a magnetic coercivity to quantify the level of damage and microstructural change during the creep-fatigue of ferritic 9Cr-1Mo-V-Nb steel.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.611-617
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• 2009

This paper reports an experimental study on the damage mechanism and resistance of Type I portland cement mortar and paste samples exposed to 5% sodium sulfate solution with different solution temperatures; namely, $4^{\circ}C$, $10^{\circ}C$ and $20^{\circ}C$. The resistance of mortar samples was evaluated using expansion, compressive strength and flexural strength measurements. Some microstructural observations such as x-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry and scanning electron microscopy were also introduced to elucidate reactants formed by sulfate attack, especially in a low temperature condition. From the results, it was found that the degree of damage in the mortar samples was significantly associated with the temperature of sulfate solution. Low temperature of the sulfate solution led to the formation of thaumasite in mortar and paste samples, and subsequently a poor resistance to sulfate attack. Thus, it is noted that when concrete structures are exposed to sulfate media in the condition of a cold region or whether, special care should be taken.