Thermal cyclic loading conditions of nuclear power plant components cause local stress-strain hystereses which are considered to be fatigue relevant events. The contributions of the hysteresis-loops to the fatigue process are evaluated using a damage parameter based on the effective cyclic J-integral which also includes the effects of crack closure. The successful application of such a short crack propagation approach essentially depends on the realistic description of the crack closure. In this context a finite element based algorithm is presented to simulate the opening and closure effects under special consideration of thermal cyclic loading conditions. The concept is based on node release and contact mechanisms. The implications of the crack propagation on the temperature at the crack tip are to be considered. In this context, the consequences of the altered temperature profile as the crack propagates have to be taken into account. It is the aim to formulate Newman-type analytical equations in order to incorporate the influence of crack closure into an engineering approach. Furthermore, the peculiarities of transient thermal loading on the crack propagation behavior are considered. The reduced crack propagation rates due to the temperature gradient in the direction of the wall are investigated numerically in order to describe the reduction of the damage contribution and decelerated crack propagation rates. The effects of changing thermal conditions in the wall on the crack propagation behavior are considered within the numerical algorithm.
Crack Propagation Behavior in Alumina Ceramic under Static and Cyclic Loading
