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Lu, K.; 勝山 仁哉; Li, Y.
Journal of Pressure Vessel Technology, 142(5), p.051501_1 - 051501_10, 2020/10
被引用回数：2 パーセンタイル：15.42(Engineering, Mechanical)Structural integrity assessment of reactor pressure vessels (RPVs) is essential for the safe operation of nuclear power plants. For RPVs in pressurized water reactors (PWRs), the assessment should be performed by considering neutron irradiation embrittlement and pressurized thermal shock (PTS) events. To assess the structural integrity of an RPV, a traditional method is usually employed by comparing fracture toughness of the RPV material with the stress intensity factor (
) of a crack postulated near the RPV inner surface. When an underclad crack (i.e., a crack beneath the cladding of an RPV) is postulated, of this crack can be increased owing to the plasticity effect of cladding. This is because the yield stress of cladding is lower than that of base metal and the cladding may yield earlier than base metal. In this paper, detailed three-dimensional (3D) finite element analyses (FEAs) were performed in consideration of the plasticity effect of cladding for underclad cracks postulated in Japanese RPVs. Based on the 3D FEA results, a plasticity correction method was proposed on calculations of underclad cracks. In addition, the effects of RPV geometries and loading conditions were investigated using the proposed plasticity correction method. Moreover, the applicability of the proposed method to the case which considers the hardening effect of materials after neutron irradiation was also investigated. All of these results indicate that the proposed plasticity correction method can be used for calculations of underclad cracks and is applicable to structural integrity assessment of Japanese RPVs containing underclad cracks.
Lu, K.; 勝山 仁哉; Li, Y.
Proceedings of 2016 ASME Pressure Vessels and Piping Conference (PVP 2016) (Internet), 8 Pages, 2016/07
When conducting structural integrity assessments for reactor pressure vessels (RPVs) under pressurized thermal shock (PTS) events, the stress intensity factor (SIF) is evaluated for an underclad crack which is postulated near the inner surface of RPVs. It is known that cladding made of the stainless steel is a ductile material which is overlay-welded on the inner surface of RPVs for corrosion protection. Therefore, the plasticity of cladding should be considered in the SIF evaluation for a postulated underclad crack. In our previous study, we performed three-dimensional (3D) elastic and elastic-plastic finite element analyses (FEAs) for underclad cracks during PTS transients and discussed the conservatism of a plasticity correction method prescribed in the French code. In this study, additional FEAs were performed to further investigate the plasticity correction on SIF evaluation for underclad cracks. Based on the 3D FEA results, a new plasticity correction method was proposed for Japanese RPVs subjected to PTS events. In addition, the applicability of the new method was verified by studying the effects of the RPV geometry, cladding thickness and several loading conditions. Finally, it is concluded that the newly proposed plasticity correction method can provide a conservative and more rational evaluation on SIFs of underclad cracks in Japanese RPVs.
