1,903 research outputs found
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Environmental effects on fatigue crack initiation in piping and pressure vessel steels.
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Aging degradation of cast stainless steel: status and program
A program has been initiated to investigate the significance of in-service embrittlement of cast duplex stainless steels under light-water reactor operating conditions. The existing data are reviewed to determine the critical parameters that control the aging behavior and to define the objectives and scope of the investigation. The test matrices for microstructural studies and mechanical property measurements are presented. The initial experimental effort is focussed on characterizing the microstructure of long-term, low-temperature aged material. Specimens from three heats of cast CF-8 and CF-8M stainless steel aged for up to 70,000 h at 300, 350, and 400/sup 0/C were obtained from George Fisher Ltd., of Switzerland. Initial analyses reveal the formation of three different types of precipitates which are not ..cap alpha..'. An FCC phase, similar to the M/sub 23/C/sub 6/ precipitates, was present in all the long-term aged material. 15 references, 10 figures, 2 tables
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Evaluation of effects of LWR coolant environments on fatigue life of carbon and low-alloy steels
The ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code provides rules for the construction of nuclear power plant components. Figure I-90 of Appendix I to Section III of the Code specifies fatigue design curves for structural materials. However, the effects of light water reactor (LWR) coolant environments are not explicitly addressed by the Code design curves. Recent test data indicate a significant decrease in fatigue life of carbon and low-alloy steels in LWR environments when five conditions are satisfied simultaneously, viz., applied strain range, temperature, dissolved oxygen in the water, and sulfur content of the steel are above a minimum threshold level, and the loading strain rate is below a threshold value. Only a moderate decrease in fatigue life is observed when any one of these conditions is not satisfied. This paper summarizes available data on the effects of various material and loading variables such as steel type, dissolved oxygen level, strain range, strain rate, and sulfur content on the fatigue life of carbon and low-alloy steels. The data have been analyzed to define the threshold values of the five critical parameters. Methods for estimating fatigue lives under actual loading histories are discussed
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Effects of LWR environments on fatigue life of carbon and low-alloy steels
SME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code provides construction of nuclear power plant components. Figure I-90 Appendix I to Section III of the Code specifies fatigue design curves for structural materials. While effects of environments are not explicitly addressed by the design curves, test data suggest that the Code fatigue curves may not always be adequate in coolant environments. This paper reports the results of recent fatigue tests that examine the effects of steel type, strain rate, dissolved oxygen level, strain range, loading waveform, and surface morphology on the fatigue life of A 106-Gr B carbon steel and A533-Gr B low-alloy steel in water
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Crack growth rates and fracture toughness of irradiated austenitic stainless steels in BWR environments.
In light water reactors, austenitic stainless steels (SSs) are used extensively as structural alloys in reactor core internal components because of their high strength, ductility, and fracture toughness. However, exposure to high levels of neutron irradiation for extended periods degrades the fracture properties of these steels by changing the material microstructure (e.g., radiation hardening) and microchemistry (e.g., radiation-induced segregation). Experimental data are presented on the fracture toughness and crack growth rates (CGRs) of wrought and cast austenitic SSs, including weld heat-affected-zone materials, that were irradiated to fluence levels as high as {approx} 2x 10{sup 21} n/cm{sup 2} (E > 1 MeV) ({approx} 3 dpa) in a light water reactor at 288-300 C. The results are compared with the data available in the literature. The effects of material composition, irradiation dose, and water chemistry on CGRs under cyclic and stress corrosion cracking conditions were determined. A superposition model was used to represent the cyclic CGRs of austenitic SSs. The effects of neutron irradiation on the fracture toughness of these steels, as well as the effects of material and irradiation conditions and test temperature, have been evaluated. A fracture toughness trend curve that bounds the existing data has been defined. The synergistic effects of thermal and radiation embrittlement of cast austenitic SS internal components have also been evaluated
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Aging degradation of cast stainless steels: Effects on mechanical properties
A program is being conducted to investigate the significance of in-service embrittlement of cast duplex stainless steels under light-water operating conditions. Mechanical property data are presented from Charpy-impact, tensile, and J-R curve tests for several heats of cast stainless steel aged up to 10,000 h at 450, 400, 350, 320, and 290/sup 0/C. The results indicate that thermal aging increases the tensile strength and decreases the impact energy, J/sub IC/, and tearing modulus of the steels. Also, the ductile-to-brittle transition curve shifts to higher temperatures. The fracture toughness results are consistent with the Charpy-impact data, i.e., the relative reduction in J/sub IC/ is similar to the relative decrease in impact energy. The ferrite content and concentration of C in the steel have a strong effect on the overall process of low-temperature embrittlement. The low-carbon CF-3 steels are the most resistant and Mo-containing CF-8M steels are most susceptible to embrittlement. Weakening of the ferrite/austenite phase boundaries by carbide precipitates has a significant effect on the kinetics and extent of embrittlement of the high-carbon CF-8 and CF-8M steels, particularly after aging at temperatures greater than or equal to400/sup 0/C. The influence of N content and distribution of ferrite on loss of toughness are discussed. The data also indicate that existing correlations do not accurately represent the embrittlement behavior over the temperature range 280 to 450/sup 0/C, i.e., extrapolation of high-temperature data to reactor temperatures may not be valid for some compositions of cast stainless steel
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Crack growth rates and metallographic examinations of Alloy 600 and Alloy 82/182 from field components and laboratory materials tested in PWR environments.
In light water reactors, components made of nickel-base alloys are susceptible to environmentally assisted cracking. This report summarizes the crack growth rate results and related metallography for field and laboratory-procured Alloy 600 and its weld alloys tested in pressurized water reactor (PWR) environments. The report also presents crack growth rate (CGR) results for a shielded-metal-arc weld of Alloy 182 in a simulated PWR environment as a function of temperature between 290 C and 350 C. These data were used to determine the activation energy for crack growth in Alloy 182 welds. The tests were performed by measuring the changes in the stress corrosion CGR as the temperatures were varied during the test. The difference in electrochemical potential between the specimen and the Ni/NiO line was maintained constant at each temperature by adjusting the hydrogen overpressure on the water supply tank. The CGR data as a function of temperature yielded activation energies of 252 kJ/mol for a double-J weld and 189 kJ/mol for a deep-groove weld. These values are in good agreement with the data reported in the literature. The data reported here and those in the literature suggest that the average activation energy for Alloy 182 welds is on the order of 220-230 kJ/mol, higher than the 130 kJ/mol commonly used for Alloy 600. The consequences of using a larger value of activation energy for SCC CGR data analysis are discussed
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Interim fatigue design curves for carbon, low-alloy, and austenitic stainless steels in LWR environments
Both temperature and oxygen affect fatigue life; at the very low dissolved-oxygen levels in PWRs and BWRs with hydrogen water chemistry, environmental effects on fatigue life are modest at all temperatures (T) and strain rates. Between 0.1 and 0.2 ppM, the effect of dissolved-oxygen increases rapidly. In oxygenated environments, fatigue life depends strongly on strain rate and T. A fracture mechanics model is developed for predicting fatigue lives, and interim environmentally assisted cracking (EAC)-adjusted fatigue curves are proposed for carbon steels, low-alloy steels, and austenitic stainless steels
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Fatigue of Carbon and Low-Alloy Steels in LWR Environments
Fatigue tests have been conducted on A106-Gr B carbon steel and A533-Gr B low-alloy steel to evaluate the effects of an oxygenated-water environment on the fatigue life of these steels. For both steels, environmental effects are modest in PWR water at all strain rates. Fatigue data in oxygenated water confirm the strong dependence of fatigue life on dissolved oxygen (DO) and strain rate. The effect of strain rate on fatigue life saturates at some low value, e.g., between 0.0004 and 0.001%/s in oxygenated water with {approximately}0.8 ppm DO. The data suggest that the saturation value of strain rate may vary with DO and sulfur content of the steel. Although the cyclic stress-strain and cyclic-hardening behavior of carbon and low-alloy steels is distinctly different, the degradation of fatigue life of these two steels with comparable sulfur levels is similar. The carbon steel exhibits pronounced dynamic strain aging, whereas strain-aging effects are modest in the low-alloy steel. Environmental effects on nucleation of fatigue crack have also been investigated. The results suggest that the high-temperature oxygenated water has little or no effect on crack nucleation
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Effects of Alloy Chemistry, Cold Work, and Water Chemistry on Corrosion Fatigue and Stress Corrosion Cracking of Nickel Alloys and Welds.
Reactor vessel internal components made of nickel-base alloys are susceptible to environmentally assisted cracking (EAC). A better understanding of the causes and mechanisms of this cracking may permit less conservative estimates of damage accumulation and requirements on inspection intervals. The objective of this work is to evaluate and compare the resistance of Alloys 600 and 690 and their welds, such as Alloys 82, 182, 52, and 152, to EAC in simulated light water reactor environments. The existing crack growth rate (CGR) data for these alloys under cyclic and constant loads have been evaluated to establish the effects of alloy chemistry, cold work, and water chemistry. The experimental fatigue CGRs are compared with CGRs that would be expected in air under the same mechanical loading conditions to obtain a qualitative understanding of the degree and range of conditions for significant environmental enhancement in growth rates. The existing stress corrosion cracking (SCC) data on Alloys 600 and 690 and Alloy 82, 182, and 52 welds have been compiled and analyzed to determine the influence of key parameters on growth rates in simulated PWR and BWR environments. The SCC data for these alloys have been evaluated with correlations developed by Scott and by Ford and Andresen
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