Numerical investigation on stress corrosion cracking behavior of dissimilar weld joints in pressurized water reactor plants
There have been incidents recently where stress corrosion cracking (SCC) observed in the dissimilar metal weld (DMW) joints connecting the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) nozzle with the hot leg pipe. Due to the complex microstructure and mechanical heterogeneity in the weld region, dissimilar metal...
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Main Authors: | , , , |
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Gruppo Italiano Frattura
2014-07-01
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Series: | Fracture and Structural Integrity |
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://www.gruppofrattura.it/pdf/rivista/numero29/numero_29_art_36.pdf |
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Summary: | There have been incidents recently where stress corrosion cracking (SCC) observed in the dissimilar
metal weld (DMW) joints connecting the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) nozzle with the hot leg pipe. Due to the
complex microstructure and mechanical heterogeneity in the weld region, dissimilar metal weld joints are more
susceptible to SCC than the bulk steels in the simulated high temperature water environment of pressurized
water reactor (PWR). Tensile residual stress (RS), in addition to operating loads, has a great contribution to SCC
crack growth. Limited experimental conditions, varied influence factors and diverging experimental data make it
difficult to accurately predict the SCC behavior of DMW joints with complex geometry, material configuration,
operating loads and crack shape. Based on the film slip/dissolution oxidation model and elastic-plastic finite
element method (EPFEM), an approach is developed to quantitatively predict the SCC growth rate of a RPV
outlet nozzle DMW joint. Moreover, this approach is expected to be a pre-analytical tool for SCC experiment of
DMW joints in PWR primary water environment. |
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ISSN: | 1971-8993 1971-8993 |