• Journal of the Korean Magnetics Society
• /
• v.15 no.2
• /
• pp.142-147
• /
• 2005

The embrittlement of fast neutron-irradiated reactor pressure vessel (RPV) steels was investigated by X-ray diffraction patterns at room temperature and $M\ddot{o}ssbauer$ spectroscopy at room- and liquid nitrogen-temperature. Neutron fluence on the samples were $10^{12},\;10^{13},\;10^{14},\;10^{15},\;10^{16},\;10^{17},\;10^{18}\;n/cm^2$. The X-ray diffraction patterns showed that the structure of the neutron unirradiated sample was bcc type, where as but the neutron irradiated samples with the fluence higher than $10^{17}\;n/{\cal}cm^2$ were so severely damaged, that bcc type structure disappeared. The $M\ddot{o}ssbauer$ spectra of all samples showed superposition of two or more sextets. In this paper all $M\ddot{o}ssbauer$ spectra were fitted by three set of sextet. The isomer shift and quadrupole splitting values were found around zero. At liquid nitrogen temperature, magnetic hyperfine field and absorption area increase rapidly S 1 sextet in the samples of $10^{17}\~10^{18}\;n/{\cal}cm^2$ neutron fluences. And at room temperature, magnetic hyperfine field and absorption increased rapidly at SI sextet in the samples of $10^{17}\~10^{18}\;n/{\cal}cm^2$ neutron fluences. This rapid increase of magnetic hyperfine field and absorption area were inferred to be caused by the change of $^{56}Fe,\;^{55}Mn$ into $^{57}Fe$ due to by neutron irradiation.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.47 no.3
• /
• pp.340-350
• /
• 2015

This paper proposes strain-based acceptance criteria for assessing plastic instability of the safety class 1 nuclear components made of ferritic steel during level D service loads. The strain-based criteria were proposed with two approaches: (1) a section average approach and (2) a critical location approach. Both approaches were based on the damage initiation point corresponding to the maximum load-carrying capability point instead of the fracture point via tensile tests and finite element analysis (FEA) for the notched specimen under uni-axial tensile loading. The two proposed criteria were reviewed from the viewpoint of design practice and philosophy to select a more appropriate criterion. As a result of the review, it was found that the section average approach is more appropriate than the critical location approach from the viewpoint of design practice and philosophy. Finally, the criterion based on the section average approach was applied to a simplified reactor pressure vessel (RPV) outlet nozzle subject to SSE loads. The application shows that the strain-based acceptance criteria can consider cumulative damages caused by the sequential loads unlike the stress-based acceptance criteria and can reduce the overconservatism of the stress-based acceptance criteria, which often occurs for level D service loads.