Crack Initiation Behaviour in Small Root Radius Zr-2.5Nb Pressure Tube Specimens Under Monotonic and Cyclic Loading Conditions at Ambient Temperature

2002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward T. C. Ho ◽  
Rameshwar Choubey ◽  
Gordon K. Shek ◽  
Stefan Sagat ◽  
Douglas A. Scarth
Keyword(s):  
Cyclic Loading ◽  
Crack Initiation ◽  
Ambient Temperature ◽  
Peak Stress ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Root Radius ◽  
Elastic Peak ◽  
Pressure Tubes ◽  
Notch Tip ◽  
Initiation Stress

To evaluate crack initiation from small radius flaws in Zr-2.5 Nb pressure tubes in operating CANDU reactors, a number of crack initiation tests under both monotonic and cyclic loading in notched tension specimens have been carried out at ambient temperature. Test specimens were machined with the tensile axis parallel to the circumferential or transverse direction in both as-fabricated and ex-service pressure tube materials. The test specimens were first pre-conditioned by subjecting them to a notch-tip creep stress relaxation cycle, and a subsequent hydride formation cycle whereby notch-tip hydrides are produced. Some specimens with no notch-tip hydride were also tested. Test specimens were instrumented with acoustic emission (AE) and DC potential drop (PD) monitoring systems for detection of crack initiation and growth. Test results indicated the following trends: (a) the existence of notch-tip hydride lowers the crack initiation stress, with the hydride effect being much stronger under monotonic loading than under cyclic loading; (b) the greater the hydrogen concentration, the lower the notch-tip hydride crack initiation stress under monotonic loading; (c) for a given alternating elastic peak stress, the smaller the root radius the greater the resistance to crack initiation; (d) as expected, the number of cycles to crack initiation is a strong function of the alternating elastic peak stress, for a given specimen geometry. An analysis of the test results and their impact on flaw evaluation methodology for Zr-2.5 Nb pressure tubes is described.

Delayed Hydride Cracking Initiation at Notches in Zr-2.5Nb Alloys

2009 ◽  
Vol 131 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Cui ◽  
Gordon K. Shek ◽  
D. A. Scarth ◽  
Zhirui Wang
Keyword(s):  
Hydrogen Diffusion ◽  
Process Zone ◽  
Notch Root ◽  
Threshold Value ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Pressure Tubes ◽  
Delayed Hydride Cracking ◽  
Notch Tip ◽  
Hydride Cracking

Delayed hydride cracking (DHC) is an important crack initiation and growth mechanism in Zr-2.5Nb alloy pressure tubes of CANDU nuclear reactors. DHC is a repetitive process that involves hydrogen diffusion, hydride precipitation, growth, and fracture of a hydrided region at a flaw tip. In-service flaw evaluation requires analyses to demonstrate that DHC will not initiate from the flaw. The work presented in this paper examines DHC initiation behavior from V-notches with root radii of 15 μm, 30 μm, and 100 μm, which simulate service-induced debris fretting flaws. Groups of notched cantilever beam specimens were prepared from two unirradiated pressure tubes hydrided to a nominal hydrogen concentration of 57 wt. ppm. The specimens were loaded to different stress levels that straddled the threshold value predicted by an engineering process-zone (EPZ) model, and subjected to multiple thermal cycles representative of reactor operating conditions to form hydrides at the notch tip. Threshold conditions for DHC initiation were established for the notch geometries and thermal cycling conditions used in this program. Test results indicate that the resistance to DHC initiation is dependent on notch root radius, which is shown by optical metallography and scanning electron microscopy to have a significant effect on the distribution and morphology of the notch-tip reoriented hydrides. In addition, it is observed that one tube is less resistant to DHC initiation than the other tube, which may be attributed to the differences in their microstructure and texture. There is a reasonable agreement between the test results and the predictions from the EPZ model.

Effect of Gap Geometries on the Crack Initiation Stress of Synthetic Rock Material

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Enes Zengin ◽  
Zeynal Abiddin Erguler
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Model ◽  
Crack Initiation ◽  
Numerical Models ◽  
Failure Behavior ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Crack Initiation Stress ◽  
Geological Processes ◽  
Laboratory Test Results ◽  
Synthetic Rock ◽  
Initiation Stress

<p>The cracking phenomenon of the brittle rock and rock-like materials (concrete, gypsum) have been widely researched. Such long-standing intensive research requirement is due to the fact that crack initiation, propagation and coalescence are some of the most important parameters for evaluating the rock failure behavior and strength properties. Especially defining the crack initiation stress is a fundamental part of crack propagation that leads to the rock material's final failure. However, due to the nature of rocks, they may have complex inherit structures containing various gaps and void with different sizes and numbers. Rocks mostly tend to have circular and ellipsoidal voids as a result of long and complex geological processes. Owing to this limitation, it is always hard to understand and assess the crack initiation stress comprehensively. Especially for a couple of decades, with the help of developing computer science and technology, numerical models were used on this subject. In this study, various two-dimensional numerical rock models created using Distinct Element Method (DEM) based Particle Flow Code (PFC) were used to understand the effect of different gap geometries over crack initiation stress values of rock materials under uniaxial loading conditions. A base numerical model was calibrated using laboratory test results belonging to basalt rocks. In order to calibrate the numerical model, uniaxial, conventional triaxial and in-direct tensile test results were used. A flat-jointed contact model was chosen to create bonded material during the calibration process. Seven different numerical models were used to investigate the gap geometry effect on crack initiation stress under uniaxial conditions. The base model has a circular gap with 5.40 mm diameter. The other models created to understand the effect of geometry on crack initiation stress have different ellipsoidal geometry depending on the initial circular gap, 1.5 (8.10 mm), 2.5 (13.50 mm) and 3.5 (18.20 mm) times the diameter in the vertical and horizontal direction, respectively. The results of numerical models reveal that the crack initiation stress value decreases with the increase of the gap's vertical length while the width of gaps remains constant. Based on numerical models' results, the crack initiation stress value decreases with the increase of the gap's vertical length while the diameter of gaps remains constant.</p>

Effects of Hydrided Region Overload on Delayed Hydride Cracking Initiation From Flaws in Zr-2.5 Nb Pressure Tubes

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gordon K. Shek ◽  
Jun Cui
Keyword(s):  
Crack Initiation ◽  
Hydrogen Diffusion ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Loading History ◽  
Hydride Formation ◽  
Pressure Tubes ◽  
Delayed Hydride Cracking ◽  
Reactor Operating ◽  
Increasing Load ◽  
Hydride Cracking

The Zr-2.5 Nb pressure tubes of CANDU™ (CANada Deuterium Uranium) reactors are susceptible to a crack initiation and growth mechanism known as Delayed Hydride Cracking (DHC), which is a process that involves hydrogen diffusion, hydride precipitation, hydrided region formation and fracture at a flaw-tip. An overload occurs when the hydrided region at a flaw is loaded to a stress higher than that at which this region is formed. Flaw disposition requires justification that the hydrided region overload from normal reactor operating and transient loading conditions will not fracture the hydrided region, and will not initiate DHC. To evaluate the effects of hydrided region overload on DHC initiation, a series of monotonically increasing load experiments were performed on specimens prepared from unirradiated pressure tube materials with the hydrided region formed at flaws with root radii varying from 15 to 350 μm, and blunt notches with and without secondary flaws. Test results indicate that the resistance to overload fracture is dependent on a variety of parameters including flaw geometry, hydride formation stress, loading history, and overload test temperature.

The Effect of Load Reduction on Crack Initiation Behavior of Hydrides From Flaws in Zr-2.5Nb Pressure Tube Material

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Cui ◽  
Gordon K. Shek
Keyword(s):  
Crack Initiation ◽  
Hydrogen Diffusion ◽  
Load Condition ◽  
Peak Stress ◽  
Constant Load ◽  
Pressure Tube ◽  
Load Reduction ◽  
Operating Pressure ◽  
Notch Tip ◽  
Reactor Operating

Flaws in Zr-2.5Nb alloy pressure tubes in CANDU® nuclear reactors are susceptible to a crack initiation and growth mechanism known as Delayed Hydride Cracking (DHC). DHC is a repetitive process that involves hydrogen diffusion, hydride precipitation, growth of the hydrided region, and fracture of the hydrided region at the flaw tip. One scenario of crack initiation is that the flaw-tip hydrides are formed and cracked at the same stress under constant reactor operating pressure. This is known as crack initiation under constant-load condition. Another scenario of crack initiation is that the flaw-tip hydrides are formed at the operating pressure and then cracked during a transient over-pressure. This is known as crack initiation under overload condition as the hydrides are subjected to a stress higher than the hydride formation stress. In some CANDU reactors, a 20% reduction in pressure is implemented during reactor cool-down. This paper examines the effect of pressure reduction, and hence load reduction, on flaw-tip hydride morphology and crack initiation behavior under constant-load and overload conditions. Experiments were performed on specimens of an unirradiated Zr-2.5Nb pressure tube, with 57 wt. ppm hydrogen concentration. The specimens contained machined V-notches with a root radius of 0.015 mm to simulate service-induced debris fretting flaws. The results indicate that the 20% load reduction increases the threshold stresses for crack initiation under constant-load and overload conditions. Finite element stress analyses were performed to determine the notch-tip stress distribution under constant-load and 20% load-reduction conditions. The load reduction lowers the notch-tip peak stress and shifts its location away from the notch surface. This is consistent with the notch-tip hydride morphologies observed using optical and scanning electron microscopy.

Overload Fracture of Hydrided Region at Simulated Blunt Flaws in Zr-2.5Nb Pressure Tube Material

2009 ◽  
Vol 131 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Cui ◽  
Gordon K. Shek ◽  
Zhirui Wang
Keyword(s):  
Crack Initiation ◽  
Hydrogen Diffusion ◽  
Pressure Tube ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Hydride Formation ◽  
Repetitive Process ◽  
Pressure Tubes ◽  
Reactor Operating ◽  
Canada Limited ◽  
Precipitation Formation

A crack initiation and growth mechanism known as delayed hydride cracking (DHC) is a concern for Zr-2.5Nb alloy pressure tubes of CANada Deuterium Uranium or CANDU (CANDU is a trademark of the Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, Ontario, Canada) nuclear reactors. DHC is a repetitive process that involves hydrogen diffusion, hydride precipitation, formation, and fracture of a hydrided region at a flaw tip. An overload occurs when the flaw-tip hydrided region is loaded to a stress, higher than that at which this region is formed. For the fitness-for-service assessment of the pressure tubes, it is required to demonstrate that the overload from the normal reactor operating and transient loading conditions will not fracture the hydrided region, and will not initiate DHC. In this work, several series of systematically designed, monotonically increasing load experiments are performed on specimens, prepared from an unirradiated pressure tube with hydrided region, formed at flaws with a root radius of 0.1 mm or 0.3 mm, under different hydride formation stresses and thermal histories. Crack initiation in the overload tests is detected by the acoustic emission technique. Test results indicate that the resistance to overload fracture is dependent on a variety of parameters including hydride formation stress, thermal history, hydrogen concentration, and flaw geometry.

Notch Fatigue and Fracture Mechanics of Austempered Ductile Irons

2010 ◽  
Vol 457 ◽  
pp. 181-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruno Atzori ◽  
Franco Bonollo ◽  
Giovanni Meneghetti
Keyword(s):  
Fatigue Strength ◽  
Fracture Mechanics ◽  
High Cycle Fatigue ◽  
Peak Stress ◽  
Fatigue Behaviour ◽  
Cycle Fatigue ◽  
Elastic Peak ◽  
Linear Elastic ◽  
Design Engineers ◽  
Notch Tip

In this paper the fatigue characterization of an austempered ductile iron (ADI) is presented. The aim of the work is to provide design engineers involved in fatigue assessments with an engineering tool suitable to deal with notches of different severity. Classically, U-notches are divided into blunt notches and sharp notches. The former are characterized by large notch tip radii such that the high cycle fatigue strength is controlled by the elastic peak stress, i.e. by the elastic stress concentration factor. The latter are characterized by reduced notch tip radii such that the effective stress which controls the high cycle fatigue strength is significantly lower than the elastic peak stress and their behaviour become similar to that of a crack having the same length. Blunt notches are assessed according to the classical Notch Mechanics principles, while sharp notches are treated with the Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics approach. After presenting the classical Frost diagram which highlights the different fatigue behaviour of sharp and blunt notches, fatigue test results generated from notches of different severity are presented as well as a synthesis in a diagram able to account for short cracks/notches, long cracks, sharp notches and blunt notches.

Overload Fracture of Hydrided Region at Simulated Blunt Flaws in Zr-2.5Nb Pressure Tube Material

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Cui ◽  
Gordon K. Shek
Keyword(s):  
Crack Initiation ◽  
Hydrogen Diffusion ◽  
Preliminary Test ◽  
Pressure Tube ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Hydride Formation ◽  
Repetitive Process ◽  
Pressure Tubes ◽  
Reactor Operating ◽  
Increasing Load

Flaws in Zr-2.5Nb alloy pressure tubes in CANDU nuclear reactors are susceptible to a crack initiation and growth mechanism known as Delayed Hydride Cracking (DHC), which is a repetitive process that involves hydrogen diffusion, hydride precipitation, growth of the hydrided region and fracture of the hydrided region at the flaw-tip. An overload occurs when the hydrided region at a flaw is loaded to a stress higher than that at which this region is formed. Flaw disposition requires justification that the hydrided region overload from normal reactor operating and transient loading conditions will not fracture the hydrided region, and will not initiate DHC. Some preliminary test results on the effect of hydrided region overload on DHC initiation were presented in Reference [1]. In the present work, several series of more systematically designed monotonically increasing load experiments were performed on specimens prepared from an unirradiated pressure tube with hydrided region formed at flaws with a root radius of 0.1 or 0.3 mm under different hydride formation stresses and thermal histories. Crack initiation in the overload tests was detected by the acoustic emission technique. Test results indicate that the resistance to overload fracture is dependent on a variety of parameters including hydride formation stress, thermal history, flaw geometry and hydrogen concentration.

scholarly journals Investigation on the Crack Initiation of V-Shaped Notch Tip in Precision Cropping

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lijun Zhang ◽  
Shengdun Zhao ◽  
Zhenwei Wang
Keyword(s):  
Crack Initiation ◽  
Equivalent Stress ◽  
Initiation Time ◽  
Initiation Point ◽  
Change Rate ◽  
Crack Initiation Angle ◽  
Notch Tip ◽  
Crack Initiation Life ◽  
Microscopic Measurement ◽  
Displacement Extrapolation Method

The crack initiation of V-shaped notch tip has a very important influence on the cross-section quality and the cropping time for every segment of metal bar in course of low stress precision cropping. By the finite element method, the influence of machining precision of V-shaped notch bottom corner on the crack initiation location is analyzed and it is pointed out that the crack initiation point locates in the place at the maximal equivalent stress change rate on V-shaped notch surface. The judgment criterion of the crack initiation direction is presented and the corresponding crack initiation angle can be calculated by means of the displacement extrapolation method. The factual crack initiation angle of the metal bar has been measured by using the microscopic measurement system. The formula of the crack initiation life of V-shaped notch tip is built, which mainly includes the stress concentration factor of V-shaped notch, the tensile properties of metal material, and the cyclic loading conditions. The experimental results show that the obtained theoretical analyses about the crack initiation location, the crack initiation direction, and the crack initiation time in this paper are correct. It is also shown that the crack initiation time accounts for about 80% of the cropping time for every segment of the metal bar.

A Statistical-Based Fatigue Crack Initiation Model for Axial Flaws in Zr-Nb Pressure Tubes

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheng Liu ◽  
Douglas Scarth ◽  
Alain Douchant
Keyword(s):  
Fatigue Crack ◽  
Crack Initiation ◽  
Rise Time ◽  
Structural Integrity ◽  
Fatigue Crack Initiation ◽  
Mechanical Damage ◽  
Fuel Bundle ◽  
Test Parameters ◽  
Pressure Tubes ◽  
Criteria For Evaluation

Flaws found during in-service inspection of CANDU Zr-2.5Nb pressure tubes include fuel bundle scratches, debris fretting flaws, fuel bundle bearing pad fretting flaws, mechanical damage flaws and crevice corrosion marks. The CSA Standard N285.8 contains procedures and acceptance criteria for evaluation of the structural integrity of CANDU Zr-2.5Nb pressure tubes containing flaws. One of the requirements is to evaluate the flaws for fatigue crack initiation. There was a need to develop a statistical-based model of fatigue crack initiation at flaws for use in deterministic and probabilistic assessments of Zr-2.5Nb pressure tubes. A number of fatigue crack initiation experiments have been performed on notched specimens from irradiated and unirradiated Zr-2.5Nb pressure tube material with a range of hydrogen equivalent concentrations. These experiments were performed in an air environment and included temperature and load rise time as test parameters. The test data has been used to develop a statistical-based model of fatigue crack initiation at flaws that covers the effects of flaw root radius, load rise time and irradiation. This paper describes the development of the statistical-based model.

How to correct the ambient temperature influence on the thermal response test results

2015 ◽  
Vol 82 ◽  
pp. 39-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roque Borinaga-Treviño ◽  
Jose Norambuena-Contreras ◽  
Daniel Castro-Fresno
Keyword(s):  
Ambient Temperature ◽  
Thermal Response ◽  
Thermal Response Test ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Temperature Influence ◽  
Response Test
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