Effect of dissolved oxygen concentration on dynamic strain aging and stress corrosion cracking of SUS304 stainless steel under high temperature pressurized water

Hirota, Noriaki; Nakano, Hiroko; Fujita, Yoshitaka; Takeuchi, Tomoaki; Tsuchiya, Kunihiko; Demura, Masahiko*; Kobayashi, Yoshinao*

The IV International Scientific Forum "Nuclear Science and Technologies"; AIP Conference Proceedings 3020, p.030007_1 - 030007_6, 2024/01

https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0192888

Dynamic strain aging (DSA) and intergranular stress corrosion cracking (intragranular SCC) occur in high temperature pressurized water simulating a boiling water reactor environment due to changes in dissolved oxygen (DO) content, respectively. In order to clearly understand the difference between these phenomena, the mechanism of their occurrence was summarized. As a result, it was found that DSA due to intragranular cracking occurred in SUS304 stainless steel at low DO 1 ppb, while DSA was suppressed at DO 100 to 8500 ppb due to the formation of oxide films on the surface. On the other hand, when DO was increased to 20000 ppb, the film was peeled from the matrix, O element diffused to the grain boundary of the matrix, resulting in intergranular SCC. These results are indicated that the optimum DO concentration must be adjusted to suppress crack initiation due to DSA and intergranular SCC.

Investigation of environment induced property change and cracking behavior in fuel debris (Contract research); FY2021 Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project

Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science; The University of Tokyo*

JAEA-Review 2022-036, 115 Pages, 2023/01

JAEA-Review-2022-036.pdf:7.15MB

The Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science (CLADS), Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), had been conducting the Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project (hereafter referred to "the Project") in FY2021. The Project aims to contribute to solving problems in the nuclear energy field represented by the decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (1F), Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. (TEPCO). For this purpose, intelligence was collected from all over the world, and basic research and human resource development were promoted by closely integrating/collaborating knowledge and experiences in various fields beyond the barrier of conventional organizations and research fields. The sponsor of the Project was moved from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology to JAEA since the newly adopted proposals in FY2018. On this occasion, JAEA constructed a new research system where JAEA-academia collaboration is reinforced and medium-to-long term research/development and human resource development contributing to the decommissioning are stably and consecutively implemented. Among the adopted proposals in FY2020, this report summarizes the research results of the "Investigation of environment induced property change and cracking behavior in fuel debris" conducted in FY2021. The present study aims to investigate the environment induced property change and cracking behavior in fuel debris from the viewpoints of materials science. The research objective is cracking behavior in fuel debris which is presumed to be influenced by environment during long-term fuel debris processing period. The degradation models will be established to simulate the oxidation and hydrogenation processes possibly occurred at fuel debris. The evolution of phase constitution and the corresponding property change in the simulated fuel debris under various environmental conditions …

Modelling concrete degradation by coupled non-linear processes

Oda, Chie; Kawama, Daisuke*; Shimizu, Hiroyuki*; Benbow, S. J.*; Hirano, Fumio; Takayama, Yusuke; Takase, Hiroyasu*; Mihara, Morihiro; Honda, Akira

Journal of Advanced Concrete Technology, 19(10), p.1075 - 1087, 2021/10

https://doi.org/10.3151/jact.19.1075

Concrete in a transuranic (TRU) waste repository is considered a suitable material to ensure safety, provide structural integrity and retard radionuclide migration after the waste containers fail. In the current study, coupling between chemical, mass-transport and mechanical, so-called non-linear processes that control concrete degradation and crack development were investigated by coupled numerical models. Application of such coupled numerical models allows identification of the dominant non-linear processes that will control long-term concrete degradation and crack development in a TRU waste repository.

Review and evaluation on the surface area of vitrified products of high-level waste; Surface area increase factors due to fracturing and their bases for the performance assessment of geological disposal

Igarashi, Hiroshi

JAEA-Review 2020-006, 261 Pages, 2020/09

JAEA-Review-2020-006.pdf:4.42MB

A literature review was conducted on the increase in surface area of vitrified products of HLW due to the fracturing caused by cooling during glass pouring process and by mechanical impact, from the perspective of a parameter of the radionuclide release model in the performance assessment of geological disposal system studied overseas. The review was focused on the value of surface area increase factor set as a parameter in the model, the experimental work to evaluate an increase in surface area, and how the parameters on surface area were determined based on the experimental results. The surface area obtained from the experiments executed in Japan was also discussed in comparison with the overseas studies. On the basis of the investigation, the effects of various conditions on the surface area were studied, such as a diameter of vitrified product, cooling condition during and after the glass pouring, impact on vitrified products during their handling, environment after the closure of disposal facility, and others. The causes of fracturing are associated with the phenomena or events in the waste management process such as production, transport, storage, and disposal. The surface area increase factors set in the nuclide release model of the glass and their bases were reviewed. In addition, the measured values and the experimental methods for surface increase factors published so far were compared. Accordingly, the methods for measuring surface area as the bases were identified for these factors set in the models. The causes of fracturing and features of these factors were studied with respect to the relation with the waste management process. The results from the review and assessment can contribute to the expanding the knowledge for the conservative and realistic application of these factors to performance assessment, and to the developing and upgrading of safety case as a consequence.

Development of stress intensity factors for surface cracks with large aspect ratio in plates

Li, Y.; Hasegawa, Kunio; Katsumata, Genshichiro; Osakabe, Kazuya*; Okada, Hiroshi*

Journal of Pressure Vessel Technology, 137(5), p.051207_1 - 051207_8, 2015/10

https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4030026

A number of surface cracks with large aspect ratio have been detected in components of nuclear power plants in recent years. The depths of these cracks are even larger than the half of crack lengths. However, the solutions of the stress intensity factor were not provided for semi-elliptical surface cracks with large aspect ratio in the current fitness-for-service codes. In this study, in order to conduct integrity assessment for cracked components, the solutions of the stress intensity factor were calculated using finite element analysis for semi-elliptical surface cracks with large aspect ratio in plates. Solutions were provided at both the deepest and the surface points of the surface cracks. Some of solutions were compared with the available existing results. As the result, it was concluded that the solutions proposed in this paper are applicable in engineering applications.

Development of structural reliability evaluation method for aged piping considering uncertainty of seismic motions

Sugino, Hideharu*; Ito, Hiroto*; Onizawa, Kunio; Suzuki, Masahide

Nihon Genshiryoku Gakkai Wabun Rombunshi, 4(4), p.233 - 241, 2005/12

https://doi.org/10.3327/taesj2002.4.233

The purpose of this research is to establish the reliability evaluation method of aged nuclear power components for seismic events from a viewpoint of long-term use of the existing light water reactor nuclear power plants. For this purpose, we developed a piping failure probability evaluation code "PASCAL-SC" based on probabilistic fracture mechanics, and a probabilistic seismic hazard evaluation code "SHEAT-FM" for calculating the seismic occurrence probability of a plant site, paying attention to aging such as fatigue crack progress by the stress corrosion cracking and seismic load in primary coolant piping system. We proposed the reliability evaluation method of aged piping for seismic events by combination of these codes. Using this method, we evaluated the reliability of a weld line in the PLR(Primary Loop Recirculation system) piping of the BWR model plant for seismic events.

Stress corrosion cracking growth behavior of in-core materials

Kaji, Yoshiyuki

Proceedings of KNS-AESJ Joint Summer School 2005 for Students and Young Researchers, 2, p.221 - 228, 2005/08

For core internals, the main research items are intergranular stress corrosion cracking (IGSCC) of low carbon stainless steel in core shrouds and primary loop recirculation pipes in boiling water reactor (BWR), and irradiation assisted stress corrosion cracking (IASCC) which is caused by the synergistic effects of neutron and gamma-ray radiation, corrosion by high temperature water, and the residual and/or applied stresses. This paper describes the current status and typical results of fundamental study for mechanistic understanding of IGSCC and IASCC, development of IASCC evaluation technology for BWR plants based on post-irradiation IASCC test data as a part of METI's national project, in-pile IASCC tests.

Effect of absorbed hydrogen on the stress corrosion cracking (SCC) susceptibility of unirradiated Zircaloy cladding

Amaya, Masaki; Fuketa, Toyoshi

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 41(11), p.1091 - 1099, 2004/11

https://doi.org/10.3327/jnst.41.1091

Effect of absorbed hydrogen on the stress corrosion cracking (SCC) susceptibility of unirradiated Zircaloy cladding was examined. The data obtained from literatures show that the ratios of SCC threshold stress () to 0.2% yield stress () in unirradiated Zircaloy claddings increase with increasing hydrogen contents below 60 ppm, irrespective of the kind of Zircaloy-2 and -4. Thermodynamic calculations were carried out for the reaction between iodine gas and zirconium containing hydrogen. The results suggested that the reactions hardly occurred at increased hydrogen content and zirconium reacted with iodine gas only below 90 ppm of hydrogen. Since these tendencies correspond to those of the ratios of to on the hydrogen content, it is considered that hydrogen affects the reactions between iodine gas and zirconium and reduces the SCC susceptibility of Zircaloy claddings.

Report of Examination of the Samples from Core Shroud (2F3-H6a) at Fukushima Dai-ni Nuclear Power Station Unit-3 (Contract Research)

The Working Team for Examination Operation of Samples From Core Shroud at Fukushima Dai-ni Unit-3

JAERI-Tech 2004-044, 92 Pages, 2004/05

JAERI-Tech-2004-044.pdf:15.18MB

The present examination has been performed with the objective to ensure the transparency of the examination as the third-party organization by providing technical basis for identifying the causes of cracking through examination of the sample taken from the cracked region of outer H6a welding portion of the core shroud at Fukushima Dai-ni Nuclear Power Station Unit-3, which was a part of sample stored in the Nippon Nuclear Fuel Development Co., Ltd. in the examination of Tokyo Electric Power Company in 2001. The present examination of the sample was conducted at the post irradiation examination facilities of JAERI. The following findings were obtained from the result of the present examination. (1)Three cracks were observed at the portion 3 to 9mm apart from the weld metal and the maximum depth was about 8mm. (2)Intergranular cracking was observed in almost whole fracture surface. The transgranular cracking was partially observed within the depth of about 300m from the surface. (3)Hardening layer over Hv400 at its maximum was found from the surface to the depth of about 500m. Based on the examination results concerning presence of tensile residual stress by welding and relatively high dissolved oxygen contents in core coolant, it is concluded that the cracks were mainly initiated in the hardening layer by transgranular stress corrosion cracking and propagated along the grain boundaries.

Report of Examination of the Sample from Core Shroud (O1-H2) at Onagawa Nuclear Power Station Unit-1 (Contract research)

The Working Team for Examination of the Sample from Core Shrouds and Primary Loop Recirculation Pipi

JAERI-Tech 2004-012, 62 Pages, 2004/02

JAERI-Tech-2004-012.pdf:16.4MB

At Onagawa Nuclear Power Station Unit-1 of the Tohoku Electric Power co., inc., cracks were confirmed near welded joints of core shroud in 15th periodical inspection. Tohoku Electric Power co., inc. has conducted a material examination with Nippon Nuclear Fuel Development Co., Ltd.. To investigate independently, a JAERI's own evaluation report was provided. The results are as follows; (1) Hardening layer was detected at the depth of about 150-250m from outer surface of the sample. (2) Corrosion products were observed on inner surface of the cracks and some of them penetrated into grains. (3) Transgranular cracking and intergranular cracking were observed at the region within about 100m and the deeper region more than about 200m in depth from outer surface of the sample, respectively. (4) Distinct chromium depletion was not detected at the grain boundaries. (5) Chemical compositions of the sample corresponded to type 304L stainless steel in Japanese Industrial Standard. From the above, it is concluded that the cracks are stress corrosion cracking.