scholarly journals The Assessment and Validation of Mini-Compact Tension Test Specimen Geometry and Progress in Establishing Technique for Fracture Toughness Master Curves for Reactor Pressure Vessel Steels

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mikhail A. Sokolov ◽  
Randy K. Nanstad
Author(s):  
Hiroshi Matsuzawa ◽  
Toru Osaki

Nine Reactor Pressure Vessel (RPV) Steels and four RPV weld were irradiated up to 1.2 × 1024n/m2 fast neutron fluence (E>1MeV), and their fracture toughness and Charpy impact energy were measured. As chemical compositions, such as Cu, are known to affect the fracture toughness reduction due to neutron exposure, the above steels were fabricated by changing chemical composition widely to cover the chemical composition of the RPV materials of the operating Japanese nuclear power plants. 2.7 mm thick compact specimens were used to measure the upper shelf fracture toughness of highly irradiated materials, and their Charpy upper shelf energy was also measured. By correlating Charpy upper shelf energy to fracture toughness, the upper shelf fracture toughness evaluation formulae for highly irradiated reactor pressure vessel steels were developed. Both compact and V-notched Charpy impact specimens were irradiated in a test reactor. The fast neutron flux above 1MeV was about 5 × 1016n/(m2s). Charpy impact specimens made of Japanese PWR reference material containing 0.09w% Cu were irradiated simultaneously. The upper shelf energy of the reference material up to the medium fluence level showed little difference in the reduction of upper shelf energy to that which had been in the operating plant and which was irradiated to the same fluence. The developed correlation formulae have been adopted in the Japan Electric Association Code as new formulae to predict the fracture toughness in the upper shelf region of reactor pressure vessels. They will be applied to time limited ageing analysis of low upper shelf reactor pressure vessels in Japan, on a concrete technical basis in very high fluence regions.


Author(s):  
Minoru Tomimatsu ◽  
Takashi Hirano ◽  
Seiji Asada ◽  
Ryoichi Saeki ◽  
Naoki Miura ◽  
...  

The Master Curve Approach for assessing fracture toughness of reactor pressure vessel (RPV) steels has been accepted throughout the world. The Master Curve Approach using fracture toughness data obtained from RPV steels in Japan has been investigated in order to incorporate this approach into the Japanese Electric Association (JEA) Code 4206, “Method of Verification Tests of the Fracture Toughness for Nuclear Power Plant Components”. This paper presents the applicability of the Master Curve Approach for Japanese RPV steels.


1982 ◽  
Vol 68 (8) ◽  
pp. 1032-1039 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tsuneo KODAIRA ◽  
Nobuya NAKAJIMA ◽  
Masakatsu MATSUMOTO ◽  
Kiyoshi FUKAYA

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