Yun-Jae Kim

Reference Stress Approximations for J and COD of Circumferential Through-Wall Cracked Pipes

Reference stress approximations for the J integral and crack tip opening displacement (COD) for circumferential through-wall cracked pipes under tension and under bending are reported. The proposed J estimation equation is fully compatible with the existing reference stress based J estimation, currently embedded in the R6 assessment procedure, but involves a slightly different definition of the reference stress, using an optimised reference load instead of the limit load. This modification enhances the accuracy of the J estimation for circumferentially cracked pipes. Confidence in the proposed equation is gained from the significantly reduced hardening dependence of the plastic influence functions in the GE/EPRI method. The proposed COD estimation equation includes two further modifications. One is the use of a power-law fit to the plastic portion of the stress strain data, instead of the use of the actual stress strain data. In this context, a robust estimation equation for the strain hardening index is given. The other modification is to the plasticity correction term in contained yielding. A lower bound COD estimation equation is also given, similar to the R6 option 1 Jestimation curve, which is suitable when only limited tensile properties are available. The resulting estimation equations are simple to use. Comparisons with experimental pipe test data show that the proposed COD estimation equations provide overall good agreement, which gives confidence in applying them to Leak-before-Break (LBB) analyses.

Elastic-plastic analyses for surface cracked plates under combined bending and tension

This paper provides an engineering J estimation equation for surface cracked plates under combined bending and tension. The proposed equation is based on the reference stress approach, and the most relevant normalizing loads to define the reference stress for accurate J estimations are given for surface cracked plates under combined bending and tension. Comparisons with J results from extensive three-dimensional finite element (FE) analyses, covering a wide range of crack geometry, plate geometry and loading combination, show overall good agreement not only at the deepest point but also at arbitrary points along the crack front. For pure tension, agreement between the estimated J vlaues and the FE results is excellent, even at the surface point. On the other hand, for pure bending and combined bending and tension, the estimated J values become less accurate for locations close to the surface point.

Crack opening analysis of complex cracked pipes

Based on the reference stress approach, two sets of the crack opening displacement (COD) estimation equations are proposed for a complex cracked pipe. One set of equations can be used for the case when full stress-strain data are known, and the other for the case when only yield and tensile strengths are available. To define the reference stress, a simple plastic limit analysis for the complex cracked pipe subject to combined bending and tension is performed, considering the crack closure effect in the compressive-stressed region. Comparison with ten published test data and the results from the existing method shows that the present method not only reduces non-conservatism associated with the existing method, but also provides consistent and overall satisfactory results. These results provide sufficient confidence in the use of the present method to estimate the COD (and thus the leak rate) for the Leak-before-Break (LBB) analysis of complex cracked pipes. Finally, the J-estimation equations are also provided for complex cracked pipes, for the LBB analysis of complex cracked pipes.

Prediction of Failure Behavior for Nuclear Piping Using Curved Wide-Plate Test

One important element of the Leak-Before-Break analysis of nuclear piping is how to determine relevant fracture toughness (or the J-resistance curve) for nonlinear fracture mechanics analysis. The practice to use fracturetoughness from a standard C(T) specimen is known to often give conservative estimates of toughness. To improve the accuracy of predicting piping failure, this paper proposes a new method to determine fracture toughness using a nonstandard testing specimen, curved wide-plate in tension. To show validity of the proposed curved wide-plate test, the J-resistance curve from the full-scale pipe test is compared with that from the curved wide-plate test and that from C(T) specimen. It is shown that the J-resistance curve from the curved wide-plate tension test is similar to, but that from the C(T) specimen is lower than, the J-resistance curve from the full-scale pipe test. Further validation is performed by investigating crack-tip constraint conditions via detailed three-dimensional finite element analyses, which shows that the crack-tip constraint condition in the curved wide-plate tension specimen is indeed similar to that in the full-scale pipe under bending.

Development of modified piping evaluation diagram for leak-before-break application to Korean next generation reactor

Abstract Recently, the piping evaluation diagram (PED) is accepted in nuclear industry for an efficient application of leak-before-break (LBB) concept to piping system at an initial piping design stage. The objective of this paper is to develop the modified PED, which can account for the variation of the material properties of the PED development stage and those of the assembly stage. For this purpose, a parametric study was performed to investigate the effect of stress–strain curve on the detectable leakage crack length and the effect of fracture resistance curve on the LBB allowable load. Finite element analyses were also performed to investigate the effect of stress–strain curve on the LBB allowable load. Finally, a modified PED was proposed as a function of crack length and the allowable safe shutdown earthquake load. The LBB analyses based on the modified PED are in good agreement with those based on the traditional PED. By adopting the modified PED, the variation of material properties can be considered in the LBB analysis and the computing times required for the application of LBB during the design process can be considerably reduced.

Beneficial influence of the weldment rupture of cask impact limiter case on the impact absorbing behavior

In the cask impact limiter design, the functions of steel case should be evaluated for the protection of the filler materials and the impact energy absorption by the buckling deformation in both the fire and impact accidents. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the beneficial influence of the intermittent weldment of the cask impact limiter case on the cask impact behavior. This paper describes the test results for the joint strength evaluation of intermittent weldment and the cask impact analysis considering the weldment rupture of the impact limiter case. The weldment rupture of the impact limiter case causes to lose their constraining effect for the wood blocks, which are filled into the metal incasement between the case and the gussets. The weldment rupture of the impact limiter case reduces the impact force which acts on the impact target significantly in vertical and horizontal drop impacts. Therefore the beneficial effect of weldment rupture should be considered in the impact limiter design and the cask impact analysis.

Finite Element Based Stress Concentration Factors for Pipes with Local Wall Thinning

The present work complies the elastic stress concentration factor for a pipe with local wall thinning, based on detailed three-dimensional elastic FE analysis. To cover practically interesting cases, a wide range of pipe and defect geometries are considered, and both internal pressure and global bending are considered. Resulting values of stress concentration factors are tabulated for practical use, and the effect of relevant parameters such as pipe and defect geometries on stress concentration factors are discussed. The present results would provide valuable information to estimate fatigue damage of the pipe with local wall thinning under high cycle fatigue.

Axial crushing behavior of the intermittent tack-welded cylindrical tubes

The objective of this paper is to evaluate the effect of intermittent weldment of cylindrical tubes on the energy absorbing behavior under axial crushing. This paper describes the test results for cylindrical empty and foam-filled tubes and discussions of the improvement of energy absorbing efficiency by the sequential rupture of intermittent weldment. The weldment rupture of a cylindrical foam-filled tube reduces the peak values of crush load and increases the valley values, while the mean crush load is maintained at a similar level as in the fully welded tube. The weldment rupture of a cylindrical foam-filled tube improves the energy-absorbing efficiency by reducing the crush load amplitude without a loss of total energy absorption.

On Relevant Ramberg-Osgood Fit to Engineering Non-Linear Fracture Mechanics Analysis

This paper proposes a robust method for the Ramberg-Osgood(R-O)fit to accurately estimate elastic-plastic J from engineering fracture mechanics analysis based on deformation plasticity. The proposal is based on engineering stress-strain data to determine the R-O parameters, instead of true stress-strain data. Moreover, for practical applications, the method is given not only for the case when full stress-strain data are available but also for the case when only yield and tensile strengths are available. Reliability of the proposed method for the R-O fit is validated against detailed 3-D Finite Element (FE) analyses for circumferential through-wall cracked pipes under global bending using five different materials, three stainless steels and two ferritic steels. Taking the FE J results based on incremental plasticity using actual stress-strain data as reference, the FE J results based on deformation plasticity using various R-O fits are compared with reference J values. Comparisons show that the proposed R-O fit provides more accurate J values for all cases, compared to existing methods for the R-O fit. Advantages of the proposed R-O fit in practical applications are discussed, together with its accuracy.

Applicability of reference stress-based J estimates to semi-elliptical surface crack problems

This paper discusses the applicability of the reference stress method to estimate J along the semi-elliptical surface crack front. For a systematic investigation, two steps are taken in the present work. The first step involves investigation of the dependence of angular variations in normalized J (with respect to its elastic value) along the semi-elliptical surface crack front on the geometry, loading mode and loading magnitude. In the second step, the error associated with the reference stress-based J estimates is investigated. It is found that angular variations in normalized J are strongly dependent on the geometry, loading mode and loading magnitude. As the application of the reference stress approach to semi-elliptical surface cracks implies proportional increases in the normalized J, the present results pose a question on the applicability of the reference stress approach to estimate J for surface cracks. However, it is also found that the reference stress approach can still provide reasonably accurate J results from an engineering point of view, provided that the maximum J along the crack front is accurately estimated. In this respect, investigation of the error in the estimated J in the present work suggests that the reference stress approach is an effective engineering tool for estimating crack driving force along the semi-elliptical surface crack front, provided that the reference stress is properly defined.