SYMPOSIA PAPER Published: 01 January 1994
STP13704S

Application of Fracture Methodology to the Analysis of Pressurized Thermal Shock in Reactor Pressure Vessels

Source

Detailed two-dimensional plane strain analysis results for a reactor pressure vessel (RPV) with a shallow inner-surface axial flaw subject to a postulated pressurized thermal shock (PTS) transient are presented. The PTS transient simulates the pressure-fluid temperature history of an RPV in a pressurized water reactor (PWR) under postulated “small break loss of coolant accident” (SBLOCA) conditions. Analysis results appear to support the utility of the J-Q approach and interpretation method to characterize the crack-tip fields in an RPV under PTS conditions. Specifically, the (Q-stress parameter can be defined, for the assumed RPV and flaw geometries and transient conditions, up to maximum loading as characterized by the value of the J-integral during the transient. A method that incorporates small-specimen Jc(Q, T) toughness locus data in the safety-margin assessment of an RPV is presented. Analysis results suggest that the predicted margin of safety in RPVs under PTS conditions is greater based on the J-Q approach than that based on the conventional single-parameter J approach.

Author Information

Shum, DKM
Saint-Gobain/Norton Industrial Ceramics Corp., Northboro, MA
Theiss, TJ
Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN
Rolfe, ST
University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS
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Details
Developed by Committee: E08
Pages: 152–168
DOI: 10.1520/STP13704S
ISBN-EB: 978-0-8031-5270-0
ISBN-13: 978-0-8031-1990-1