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Numerical investigation on stress corrosion cracking behavior of dissimilar weld joints in pressurized water reactor plants

Authors :
Lingyan Zhao
He Xue
Fuqiang Yang
Yaohong Suo
Source :
Frattura ed Integrità Strutturale, Vol 8, Iss 29, Pp 410-418 (2014)
Publication Year :
2014
Publisher :
Gruppo Italiano Frattura, 2014.

Abstract

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.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
19718993
Volume :
8
Issue :
29
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Frattura ed Integrità Strutturale
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.6cf34e83a4a54bb8ac45b89e4cefa81c
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3221/IGF-ESIS.29.36