Suneel K. Gupta

Effects of Simulated Seismic Loading on LBB Assessment of High Energy Piping

The current Leak Before Break (LBB) assessment is based primarily on the monotonic fracture tearing instability. In it the maximum design accident load is compared with the fracture-tearing resistance load. The effect of cyclic loading has not been generally considered in the fracture assessment of nuclear power plant piping. It is a well-known fact that reversible cyclic loading decreases the fracture resistance of the material, which leads to increased crack growth. Indian nuclear power reactors consider Operational-Basis-Earthquake (OBE) and Safe-Shutdown-Earthquake (SSE) events in the design of various structures, systems, and components. Keeping this in view a series of cyclic tearing tests have been conducted on straight pipes, made of ASTM SA333 Gr.6 carbon steel. This is the material of primary heat transport (PHT) piping material of Indian Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWR). In this series 13 tests have been carried out circumferentially through wall cracked seamless and circumferential seam welded straight pipes under reversible cyclic bending loading. All the tests have been conducted under quasistatic, i.e., slow loading rates and dynamic inertia effects are not considered. The cyclic test results have been compared with the corresponding monotonic pipe fracture test results. These test results and its comparison with corresponding monotonic tearing clearly illustrate the need of addressing the reduction in apparent fracture toughness of material under reversible cyclic loading and the safe number of load cycles in the LBB assessment.

Experimental Investigations on Effects of Simulated Seismic Loading on LBB Assessment of High Energy Piping

The current Leak Before Break (LBB) assessment is based primarily on the monotonic fracture tearing instability. In it the maximum design accident load is compared with the fracture-tearing resistance load. The effect of cyclic loading has generally not been considered in the fracture assessment of nuclear power plant piping. It is a well-known fact that the reversible cyclic loading decreases the fracture resistance of the material, which leads to increased crack growth. Indian nuclear power reactors consider Operational-Basis-Earthquake (OBE) and Safe-Shutdown-Earthquake (SSE) event in the design of various structures, systems and components. Keeping this in view a series of cyclic tearing test have been conducted on straight pipes, made of ASTM SA333 Gr.6 carbon steel. This is the material of primary heat transport (PHT) piping material of Indian Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR). In this series 13 tests have been carried out on circumferentially through wall cracked seamless and circumferential seam welded straight pipes under reversible cyclic bending loading. All the tests have been conducted under quasi-static i.e. slow loading rates and the dynamic effect is not considered. The cyclic test results have been compared with the corresponding monotonic pipe fracture test results. These test results and its comparison with corresponding monotonic tearing clearly illustrates the need of addressing the reduction in apparent fracture toughness of material under reversible cyclic loading and safe number of load cycles in the LBB assessment.Copyright

Neurofibroma of tongue

The benign tumours of the tongue are far less common than the malignant ones. Among bening tumours, Papilloma, fibroma, adenoma, mucous cyst, lymphangioma are the tumours most frequently encountered. Neurofibroma of the tongue is rare. A review of the available literature records only 37 cases of tumours of Nerve sheath origin of tongue1,2,3. The rarity of lingual benign tumours and their distinctive histopathological features have prompted us to report this case.