• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제30권6호
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• pp.609-616
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• 1998

Cast duplex stainless steels are extensively used for primary pressure boundary components. These components are, however, embrittled due to the precipitation of $\alpha$' phase by spinodal decomposition and other processes when exposed to reactor operating temperature for a design lifetime or life extension conditions. This report presents a procedure for estimating the current condition and the residual life of safety-related stainless steel components by using ANL database and correlations. The database of Charpy impact energy suggests that CF-8M grade is the most susceptible to thermal aging and CF-3 grade is the least. Thus, the integrity of CF-8M alleys may be degraded seriously and the degree of deterioration may exceed acceptance limit after several years of service in the nuclear reactors.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제47권6호
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• pp.712-718
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• 2015

Cast duplex stainless steels are susceptible to thermal aging during long-term service at temperatures ranging from $280^{\circ}C$ to $450^{\circ}C$. To analyze the effect of thermal aging on leak-before-break (LBB) behavior, three-dimensional finite element analysis models were built for circumferentially cracked pipes. Based on the elasticeplastic fracture mechanics theory, the detectable leakage crack length calculation and J-integral stability assessment diagram approach were carried out under different bending moments. The LBB curves and LBB assessment diagrams for unaged and thermally aged pipes were constructed. The results show that the detectable leakage crack length for thermally aged pipes increases with increasing bending moments, whereas the critical crack length decreases. The ligament instability line and critical crack length line for thermally aged pipes move downward and to the left, respectively, and unsafe LBB assessment results will be produced if thermal aging is not considered. If the applied bending moment is increased, the degree of safety decreases in the LBB assessment.