Analyses of stress intensity factor solutions for subsurface flaws in flat plates

Li, S.; Li, Y.; Lu, K.*; Lacroix, V.*; Dulieu, P.*

Proceedings of ASME 2024 Pressure Vessels & Piping Conference (PVP 2024) (Internet), 18 Pages, 2024/07

https://doi.org/10.1115/PVP2024-122733

Verification of probabilistic fracture mechanics analysis code PASCAL for reactor pressure vessel

Lu, K.; Takamizawa, Hisashi; Li, Y.; Masaki, Koichi*; Takagoshi, Daiki*; Nagai, Masaki*; Nannichi, Takashi*; Murakami, Kenta*; Kanto, Yasuhiro*; Yashirodai, Kenji*; et al.

Mechanical Engineering Journal (Internet), 10(4), p.22-00484_1 - 22-00484_13, 2023/08

https://doi.org/10.1299/mej.22-00484

User's manual and analysis methodology of probabilistic fracture mechanics analysis code PASCAL Ver.5 for reactor pressure vessels

Takamizawa, Hisashi; Lu, K.; Katsuyama, Jinya; Masaki, Koichi*; Miyamoto, Yuhei*; Li, Y.

JAEA-Data/Code 2022-006, 221 Pages, 2023/02

JAEA-Data-Code-2022-006.pdf:4.79MB

As a part of the structural integrity assessment research for aging light water reactor (LWR) components, a probabilistic fracture mechanics (PFM) analysis code PASCAL (PFM Analysis of Structural Components in Aging LWR) has been developed in Japan Atomic Energy Agency. The PASCAL code can evaluate failure probabilities and failure frequencies of core region in reactor pressure vessel (RPV) under transients by considering the uncertainties of influential parameters. The continuous development of the code aims to improve the reliability by introducing the analysis methodologies and functions base on the state-of-the-art knowledge in fracture mechanics and domestic data. In the first version of PASCAL, which was released in FY2000, the basic framework was developed for analyzing failure probabilities considering pressurized thermal shock events for RPVs in pressurized water reactors (PWRs). In PASCAL Ver. 2 released in FY 2006, analysis functions including the evaluation methods for embedded cracks and crack detection probability models for inspection were introduced. In PASCAL Ver. 3 released in FY 2010, functions considering weld-overlay cladding on the inner surface of RPV were introduced. In PASCAL Ver. 4 released in FY 2017, we improved several functions such as the stress intensity factor solutions, probabilistic fracture toughness evaluation models, and confidence level evaluation function by considering epistemic and aleatory uncertainties related to influential parameters. In addition, the probabilistic calculation method was also improved to speed up the failure probability calculations. To strengthen the practical applications of PFM methodology in Japan, PASCAL code has been improved since FY 2018 to enable PFM analyses of RPVs subjected to a broad range of transients corresponding to both PWRs and boiling water reactors, including pressurized thermal shock, low-temperature over pressure, and normal operational transients. In particular, the stress intensi

Improvement of the return mapping algorithm based on the implicit function theorem with application to ductile fracture analysis using the GTN model

Mano, Akihiro; Imai, Ryuta*; Miyamoto, Yuhei*; Lu, K.; Katsuyama, Jinya; Li, Y.

International Journal of Pressure Vessels and Piping, 199, p.104700_1 - 104700_13, 2022/10

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpvp.2022.104700

Elastic-plastic analyses based on finite element methods are widely applied to simulate the nonlinear behaviors of materials. When the analysis is conducted by an implicit method, the stress values are generally updated with a time increment by using the so-called return mapping algorithm. This algorithm requires solving simultaneous nonlinear equations related to a constitutive model. In the present paper, we proposed a general method to reduce the number of equations in the return mapping algorithm based on the implicit function theorem. In addition, the proposed method was applied to the Gurson-Tvergaard-Needleman (GTN) model that considers the influence of damage due to nucleation and growth of microscopic void in materials in the simulation of the nonlinear behaviors. By using the GTN model with the proposed method, an elastic-plastic analysis was performed by the implicit method for a 4-point bending test of pipe with a through-wall crack. The numerical solution of the variation of the load-load line displacement from the analysis agreed with experimental result. Thus, we concluded that the proposed method is useful for simulating nonlinear behaviors, including void nucleation and growth in materials.

A Novel method to uniquely determine the parameters in Gurson-Tvergaard-Needleman model

Zhang, T.; Lu, K.; Mano, Akihiro; Yamaguchi, Yoshihito; Katsuyama, Jinya; Li, Y.

Fatigue & Fracture of Engineering Materials & Structures, 44(12), p.3399 - 3415, 2021/12

https://doi.org/10.1111/ffe.13568

The Gurson-Tvergaard-Needleman (GTN) model is considered a promising approach in failure prediction as it takes the micromechanical behavior of ductile metals into consideration and its function exhibits a relatively clear physical meaning. Although the GTN model has been widely investigated in the past decades, its engineering applications have scarcely progressed due to the difficulty in determining the eight strongly coupled parameters. Based on the physical background of GTN model, a set of methods was established to determine the parameters in the GTN model. The knowledge of continuum damage mechanics was used to experimentally determine the development of void volume fraction through the variation of effective Young's modulus in a uniaxial tensile test, and three parameters regarding void nucleation were analytically derived using a newly established method. Other parameters in the GTN model were also uniquely determined through a joint use of the chemical composition analysis (for the initial void volume fraction), the cell model analyses (for the two constitutive parameters), and the inverse finite element method (for the two failure parameters). The reliability of this novel parameter determination method was verified through the failure prediction of both cracked and uncracked specimens of carbon steel STPT410.

Effect of plastic constraint and cladding on semi-elliptical shaped crack in fracture toughness evaluation for a reactor pressure vessel steel

Shimodaira, Masaki; Tobita, Toru; Nagoshi, Yasuto*; Lu, K.; Katsuyama, Jinya

Proceedings of ASME 2021 Pressure Vessels and Piping Conference (PVP 2021) (Internet), 8 Pages, 2021/07

In the structural integrity assessment of a reactor pressure vessel (RPV), the fracture toughness (K) should be higher than the stress intensity factor at the crack tip of a semi-elliptical shaped under-clad crack (UCC), which is prescribed in JEAC4206-2016. However, differences in crack depth and existence of cladding between the postulated crack and fracture toughness test specimens would be affected to the plastic constraint state and K evaluation. In this study, we performed fracture toughness tests and finite element analyses to investigate the effect of plastic constraint and cladding on the semi-elliptical shaped crack in K evaluation. The apparent K value evaluated at the deepest point of the crack exceeded 5% fracture probability based on the Master Curve method estimated from C(T) specimens, and the conservativeness of the current integrity assessment method was confirmed. Few initiation sites were observed along the tip of semi-elliptical shaped crack other than the deepest point. The plastic constraint state was also analyzed along the crack tip, and it was found that the plastic constraint at the crack tip near the surface was lower than that for the deepest point. Moreover, it was quantitatively showed that the UCC decreased the plastic constraint. The local approach suggested higher K value for the UCC than that for the surface crack, reflecting the low constraint effect for the UCC.

Application of probabilistic fracture mechanics to reactor pressure vessel using PASCAL4 code

Lu, K.; Katsuyama, Jinya; Li, Y.; Yoshimura, Shinobu*

Journal of Pressure Vessel Technology, 143(2), p.021505_1 - 021505_8, 2021/04

https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4048103

Quasifree neutron knockout reaction reveals a small -Orbital component in the Borromean nucleus B

Yang, Z. H.*; Kubota, Yuki*; Corsi, A.*; Yoshida, Kazuki; Sun, X.-X.*; Li, J. G.*; Kimura, Masaaki*; Michel, N.*; Ogata, Kazuyuki*; Yuan, C. X.*; et al.

Physical Review Letters, 126(8), p.082501_1 - 082501_8, 2021/02

AA2020-0819.pdf:1.29MB

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.126.082501

A quasifree (,) experiment was performed to study the structure of the Borromean nucleus B, which had long been considered to have a neutron halo. By analyzing the momentum distributions and exclusive cross sections, we obtained the spectroscopic factors for and orbitals, and a surprisingly small percentage of 9(2)% was determined for . Our finding of such a small component and the halo features reported in prior experiments can be explained by the deformed relativistic Hartree-Bogoliubov theory in continuum, revealing a definite but not dominant neutron halo in B. The present work gives the smallest - or -orbital component among known nuclei exhibiting halo features and implies that the dominant occupation of or orbitals is not a prerequisite for the occurrence of a neutron halo.

Extension of PASCAL4 code for probabilistic fracture mechanics analysis of reactor pressure vessel in boiling water reactor

Lu, K.; Katsuyama, Jinya; Li, Y.

Proceedings of ASME 2020 Pressure Vessels and Piping Conference (PVP 2020) (Internet), 10 Pages, 2020/08

https://doi.org/10.1115/PVP2020-21421

Recent verification activities on probabilistic fracture mechanics analysis code PASCAL4 for reactor pressure vessel

Lu, K.; Katsuyama, Jinya; Li, Y.; Miyamoto, Yuhei*; Hirota, Takatoshi*; Itabashi, Yu*; Nagai, Masaki*; Suzuki, Masahide*; Kanto, Yasuhiro*

Mechanical Engineering Journal (Internet), 7(3), p.19-00573_1 - 19-00573_14, 2020/06

https://doi.org/10.1299/mej.19-00573