• Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology
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• v.17 no.7
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• pp.947-957
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• 2003

The pressure tube is a major component of the CANDU reactor, which supports nuclear fuel bundle. In order to complete the integrity evaluation of pressure tube, expert knowledge, iterative calculation procedures and a lot of input data are required. More over, results of integrity assessment may be different according to the evaluation method. For this reason, an integrity evaluation system, which provides efficient way of evaluation with the help of attached database, was developed. The present system was built on the basis of 3D FEM results, ASME Sec. XI, and Fitness For Service Guidelines for CANDU pressure tubes issued by the AECL (Atomic Energy Canada Limited). The present system also covers the delayed hydride cracking and the blister evaluation, which are the characteristics of pressure tube integrity evaluation. In order to verify the present system, several case studies have been performed and the results were compared with those from AECL. A good agreement was observed between those two results.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2003.11a
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• pp.1133-1138
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• 2003

The pressure tubes, which contain high temperature heavy water and fuel, are within the core of a CANDU nuclear reactor, and are thus subjected to high stresses, temperature gradient, and neutron flux. Further, it is well known that pressure tubes of cold-worked Zr-2.5Nb materials result in hydrogen diffusion, which create fully-hydrided regions (frequently called Blister). Thus a proper investigation of hydrogen diffusion within zirconium-alloy nuclear components, such as CANDU pressure tube and fuel channels is essential to predict the structural integrity of these components. In this respect, this paper presents numerical investigation of hydrogen diffusion to quantify the hydrogen concentration for blister growth of CANDU pressure tube. For this purpose, coupled temperature-hydrogen diffusion analyses are performed by means of two-dimensional finite element analysis. Comparison of predicted temperature field and blister with published test data shows good agreement.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.26 no.11
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• pp.2305-2311
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• 2002

The pressure tube is a major component of the CANDU reactor, which supports nuclear fuel bundle and heavy water coolant. Pressure tubes are installed horizontally inside the reactor and only selected samples are periodically examined during in-service inspection. In this respect, a probabilistic safety assessment method is more appropriate fur the assessment of overall pressure tube safety. The failure behavior of CANDU pressure tubes, however, is governed by delayed hydride cracking which is the major difference from pipings and reactor pressure vessels. Since the delayed hydride cracking has more widely distributed governing parameters, it is impossible to apply a general PFM methodology directly. In this paper, a PFM methodology for the safety assessment of CANDU pressure tubes is introduced by applying Monte Carlo simulation in determining failure probability Initial hydrogen concentration, flaw shape and depth, axial and radial crack growth rate and fracture toughness were considered as probabilistic variables. Parametric study has been done under the base of pressure tube dimension and hydride precipitation temperature in calculating failure probability. Unstable fracture and plastic collapse are used for the failure assessment. The estimated failure probability showed about three-order difference with changing dimensions of pressure tube.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.19 no.11
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• pp.174-182
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• 2002

The integrity evaluation of pressure tube is essential for the safety of CANDU reactor, and integrity must be assured when flaws or contacts between pressure tube and surrounding calandria tube are found. In order to complete the integrity evaluation, not only complicated and iterative calculation procedures but also a lot of data and knowledge are required. For this reason, an integrity evaluation system, which provides an efficient way of the evaluation with the help of attached databases, was developed. The developed system was built on the basis of ASME Sec.？ and FFSG issued by the AECL, and applicable for the evaluation of blister, sharp flaw and blunt notch. Delayed hydride cracking and blister evaluation modules are included in the general flaw and notch evaluation module. In order to verify the developed system, several case studies have been performed and the results were compared with those from AECL. A good agreement was observed between those two results.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.118-128
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• 2021

The oxide layer in samples taken from an irradiated Zr-2.5Nb pressure tube from a CANDU-PHWR reactor was analyzed using electron probe microanalysis (EPMA). The examined tube had been exposed to temperatures ranging from 264 to 306 ℃ and a neutron fluence of 8.9 × 10²¹ n/cm² (E > 1 MeV) for the maximum 10 effective full-power years in a nuclear power plant. Measuring oxide layer thickness generally employs optical microscopy. However, in this study, analysis of the oxide layer from the irradiated pressure tube components was undertaken through X-ray image mapping obtained using EPMA. The oxide layer characteristics were analyzed by X-ray image mapping with 256 × 256 pixels using EPMA. In addition, the slope of the oxide layer was measured for each location. A particular advantage of this study was that backscattered electrons and X-ray image mapping were obtained at a magnification of 9,000 when 20 kV volts and 30 uA of current were applied to radiation-shielded EPMA. The results of this study should usefully contribute to the study of the oxide layer properties of various types of metallic materials irradiated by high radiation in nuclear power plants.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.31-38
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• 1986

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 2001.10a
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• pp.206-206
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• 2001

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 2002.05a
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• pp.266.2-266
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• 2002

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.653-659
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• 2002

This paper describes a probabilistic fracture mechanics(PFM) analysis based on Monte Carlo(MC) simulation. In the analysis of CANDU pressure tube, the depth and aspect ratio of an initial semi-elliptical surface crack, a fracture toughness value and delayed hydride cracking(DHC) velocity are assumed to be probabilistic variables. As an example, some failure probabilities of piping and CANDU pressure tube are calculated using MC method with the stratified sampling MC technique, taking analysis conditions of normal operations. In the stratified MC simulation, a sampling space of probabilistic variables is divided into a number of small cells. For the verification of analysis results, a comparison study of the PFM analysis using other commercial code is carried out and a good agreement was observed between those results.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 1996.05a
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• pp.291-295
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• 1996

In CANDU reactor, each pressure tubes contain twelve fuel bundles and provide the inlet and outlet for the primary coolant. If a leak develops in the pressure tube, it is detected by Annulus Gas System which contains circulating dry $CO_2$ gas. Since the leaks caused by the flaws are resulted in pressure tube break, establishment of flaw assessment method is very significant in view of the fracture mechanics. In this paper, various criteria for assessing the flaws are presented to prevent the tube rupture and ensure the integrity of reactor operating.