The Application of Numerical Ductile Fracture Simulation in the LBB Evaluation of Nuclear Pipes
Source abstract
Abstract
The leak-before-break (LBB) concept is widely used in the design and estimation of piping systems of nuclear power plants, which requires considerable test work to obtain the fracture resistance (J-R) curves of nuclear pipes. The application of numerical ductile fracture simulation can effectively limit the test work. In this study, an extended stress-modified critical strain (SMCS) model is applied to simulate the crack growth behaviors of full-scale nuclear pipes (SA312 TP304L stainless steel) with a circumferential through-wall crack under a four-point bending load. The LBB evaluation is performed based on the J-R curves of CT specimens and full-scale pipes obtained from fracture resistance tests and numerical simulations. It shows that due to the high crack-tip constraint effect, CT specimens may cause lots of conservatism in the LBB evaluation of nuclear pipes, while the application of numerical ductile fracture simulation can largely reduce the conservatism.
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Research context
OpenAlex topics: Fatigue and fracture mechanics · Metal Forming Simulation Techniques · Non-Destructive Testing Techniques
SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.
Affiliations
Key Laboratory of Impact and Safety Engineering, Ministry of Education, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China
School of Mechanical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul 03063, Republic of Korea
Funding
National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) · China Postdoctoral Science Foundation
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