Investigation on Method of Elasto-Plastic Analysis for Piping System Made of Stainless Steel: Secondary Benchmark Analysis

This paper provides investigation on method of elasto-plastic analysis for practical seismic design of nuclear piping system made of austenitic stainless steel. Our policy for the evaluation is that material properties used in the benchmark analyses are based on Japanese standard in nuclear design. The result of the first phase of this benchmark analysis intended for carbon steel piping systems has been provided in ASME PVP2016-63186[1]. In secondary benchmark analysis, analytical investigations focused on austenitic stainless steel piping were conducted. These analysis objects are two vibrating tests (model 1: piping containing an elbow, model 2:piping containing a tee). The elasto-plastic characteristic based on bilinear plasticity model based on the draft code case of JSME (Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers) was used in analyses. Additionally, analyses using the elasto-plastic characteristic which made yield point and 2nd modulus as a parameter were also carried out. For the model 1, the maximum strain estimated by elasto-plastic analysis using the elasto-plastic characteristics of stainless steel material determined as proposed by the draft code case of JSME agreed well, but on the safe side, with the experiment. However, this is not the case for the model 2: the maximum strain estimated using the same elasto-plastic characteristics was underestimated compared with the experiment. However, for both the models 1 and 2, the elasto-plastic behavior of the piping systems estimated by this analysis was approximately the same between the analysis with the material’s elasto-plastic characteristics approximated by bilinear plasticity modeling proposed by the draft code case of JSME and that approximated by the same bilinear plasticity modeling but with different setting of yield point and 2nd modulus values of the material. A possible cause of the underestimate that occurred in the model 2 is, according to the shape data of the tee, that the wall thickness of the tee is so large that its connection with the main and branch pipes has a large, step-like change in thickness, as opposed to the model that was designed without referencing the shape data. Another possible cause of this underestimate is coarse meshes of elements of the model. In order to improve analytical accuracy, it is necessary to add a method for modeling tee joints to the draft code case. To this end, a database of the shape of tee joints should be developed in cooperation with the manufacturers so that an optimum modeling method can be developed. As mentioned above, according to the result of elasto-plastic analyses for the model 1 (piping containing an elbow) and model 2 (piping containing a tee), it is necessary to develop a modeling method for tee joints. It is likely possible to directly use the elasto-plastic characteristics of carbon steel for the purpose of analyzing a piping of stainless steel.

Fatigue Strength and Angular Distortion of the Full-Penetration Tee Type Joint Fabricated by One-Side Single-Pass Laser-Arc Hybrid Welding

Laser-arc hybrid welding is a high-quality welding technology and is expected to improve the productivity of manufacturing hull and offshore structures. Application of this technology allows the replacement of fillet-welded joints in structures with full-penetration welded joints. The fatigue performance and deformation caused by welding will be improved by this replacement. The present study experimentally investigates the fatigue performance and deformation due to welding. Two types of tee joints, which penetrate from one side and both sides, were applied. The investigations confirm the superiority of full-penetration tee joints fabricated by laser-arc hybrid welding over conventional fillet-welded joints.