• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.1051-1061
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• 1995

In order perform leak-before-break design of nuclear piping systems and integrity evaluation of reactor vessels, full stress-strain (.sigma. - .epsilon.) curves and fracture resistance (J-R) curves are required. However it is time-consuming and expensive to obtain J-R curves experimentally. The objective of this paper is to develop two methods for J-R curve prediction. In the first method, elastic-plastic finite element analyses for a series of crack length / specimen width ratio were performed. Accordingly the load versus load line displacement (P .delta.) curve corresponding to the fracture strain is obtained and the J-R curve based on the generalized locus method is obtained. In the second method, the correlation between .sigma.-.epsilon. curves and J-R curves was statistically analyzed and an empirical equation to predict the J-R curve from the .sigma.-.epsilon. test result is proposed. A good correlation between the predicted results based on the proposed methods and the experimental ones is obtained.

• International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials
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• v.10 no.sup3
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• pp.43-52
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• 2016

The degradation of the load-bearing capacity of reinforced concrete beams due to corrosion has a profoundly negative impact on the structural safety and integrity of a structure. The literature is limited with regard to models of bond characteristics that relate to the reinforcement corrosion percentage. In this study, uniaxial tensile tests were conducted on specimens with irregular corrosion of their reinforced concrete. The development of cracks in the corroded area was found to be dependent on the level of corrosion, and transverse cracks developed due to tensile loading. Based on this crack development, the average stress versus deformation in the rebar and concrete could be determined experimentally and numerically. The results, determined via finite element analysis, were calibrated using the experimental results. In addition, bond elements for reinforced concrete with corrosion are proposed in this paper along with a relationship between the shear stiffness and corrosion level of rebar.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.327-337
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• 2004

It is commonly required that tubes with defects exceeding $40\%$ of wall thickness in depth should be plugged; however, this criterion is too conservative for some locations and for some types of defects. Many studies have been done with the aim of developing an alternative plugging criteria, and these studies have shown that steam generator tubes with a certain range of axial through-wall cracks could remain in service without any safety or reliability problems. However, these studies have been limited, thus far, to consideration of single cracked tubes, necessitating a study on multiple cracks, which are commonly found. A crack coalescence model applicable to steam generator tubes with two collinear axial through-wall cracks was proposed in the previous study. In this paper, the investigation is extended to the parallel axial cracks spaced in a circumferential direction, because parallel axial cracks are more frequently detected during in-service inspections than collinear axial cracks. Interaction effects between two parallel cracks are evaluated by performing elastic and elastic-plastic finite element analyses.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.29 no.1 s.232
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• pp.107-114
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• 2005

In order to analyze the elastic-plastic fracture behavior of a structure, the fracture resistance curve of the material should be known first. The standard CT specimen was used to obtain the fracture resistance curves of a piping system. However, it is known that the fracture resistance curve by the standard CT specimen is very conservative to evaluate the integrity of a structure. Also the fracture resistance curve is effected by the specimen geometry and the dimensions because of the constraint effect. The objective of this paper is to be certain the conservativeness of the fracture resistance curve by the standard CT specimen and to provide an additional safety margin. For these, the fracture tests using a real pipe specimen and the standard CT specimen test were performed. A 4-point bending jig was manufactured for the pipe test and the direct current potential drop method was used to measure the crack extension and the length for the pipe test. Also finite element analyses were performed with a CT specimen and a pipe in order to prove the additional safety margin. From the result of tests and analyses of the pipe and the standard CT specimen, it was observed that the fracture analysis with the standard CT specimen is conservative and the additional safety margin was proved.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.509-518
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• 2024

In this study, we investigated the effect of shear-key placement on the performance of grouted connections in offshore wind-turbine structures. Considering the challenges of height control during installation, we designed and analyzed three grouted connection configurations. We compared the crack patterns and strain distribution in the shear keys under axial loading. The results indicate that the misalignment of shear keys significantly influences the ultimate load capacity of grouted connections. Notably, when the shear keys were positioned facing each other, the ultimate load decreased by approximately 15%, accompanied by the propagation of irregular cracks in the upper shear keys. Furthermore, the model with 50% misalignment in the shear-key placement exhibited the highest ultimate strength, indicating a more efficient load resistance than the reference model. This indicates that tensile-load-induced cracking and the formation of compressive struts in opposite directions significantly affect the structural integrity of grouted connections. These results demonstrate the importance of considering buckling effects in the design of grouted connections, particularly given the thin and slender nature of the inner sleeves. This study provides valuable insights into the design and analysis of offshore wind-turbine structures, highlighting the need for refined design formulas that account for shifts in shear-key placement and their structural implications.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.328-333
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• 2003

It has been widely recognized that the residual stress of the weldment affect the integrity of steel structures and cause an initiation of crack in the welded regions. Since the power plants adopt a variety of welding processes, it is necessary to know the distribution and magnitude of residual stresses. This paper has attempted to investigate the validity of the saw cutting method and the indentation method to measure the residual stresses in the steel plates. The residual stresses in the specimens of hot reheater pipes, cold reheater pipes and feed water lines in power plants were determined by the saw cutting method and the indentation method. The data were compared and reviewed for the validity of the methods.

• 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 Nondestructive Testing
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.543-551
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• 2011

Steam generator tubes for nuclear power plants contain the local shape transitions on their inner or outer surface such as dent, bulge, over-expansion, eccentricity, deflection, and so on by the application of physical force during the tube manufacturing and steam generator assembling and by the sludge (that is, corrosion products) produced during the plant operation. The structural integrity of tubes will be degraded by generating the corrosive crack at that location. The profilometry using the traditional bobbin probes which are currently applied for measuring the profile change of tubes gives us basic information such as axial locations and average magnitudes of deformations. However, the three-dimensional quantitative evaluation on circumferential locations, distributional angle, and size of deformations will have to be conducted to understand the effects of residual stresses increased by local deformations on corrosive cracking of tubes. Steam generator tubes of Korean standard nuclear power plants expanded within their tube-sheets by the explosive expansion method and suffered from corrosive cracks in the early stage of power operation. Thus, local deformations of steam generator tubes at the top of tube-sheet were measured with an advanced rotating probe and a laser profiling system for the two cases where the tubes expanded by the explosive expansion method and hydraulic expansion. Also, the trends of eccentricity, deflection, and over-expansion of tubes were evaluated. The advanced eddy current profilometry was confirmed to provide accurate information of local deformations compared with laser profilometry.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.27 no.11
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• pp.1979-1985
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• 2003

Fretting is a kind of surface degradation mechanism observed in mechanical components and structures. The fretting damage decreases in 50-70% of the plain fatigue strength. This may be observed in the fossil power plant and the nuclear power plant used in special environments and various loading conditions. The thermal degradation of material is observed when the heat resisting steel is exposed for long period time at the high temperature. In the present study, the degraded 1Cr-0.5Mo steel used for long period time at high temperature (about 515$^{\circ}C$) and artificially reheat-treated materials are prepared. These materials are used for evaluating an effect of thermal aging on the fretting fatigue behavior. Through the experiment, it is found that the fretting fatigue endurance limit of the reheat-treated 1Cr-0.5Mo steel decreased about 46% from the non-fretting fatigue endurance limit, while the fretting fatigue endurance limit of the degraded 1Cr-0.5Mo steel decreased about 53% from the non-fretting fatigue endurance limit. The maximum value of fatigue endurance limit difference is observed as 57%(244 MPa) between the fretting fatigue of degraded material and non-fretting fatigue of reheat-treated material. These results can be a basic data to a structural integrity evaluation of heat resisting steel considered to thermal degradation effect.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.30-39
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• 2022

Maintaining structural integrity of major apparatuses in a nuclear power plant, including piping system, is recognized as a critical safety issue. The integrity of piping system is also a critical matter related to the safety of a nuclear power plant. The actual failure mode of a piping system due to a seismic load is the leakage due to a fatigue crack, and the structural damage mechanism is the low-cycle fatigue due to large relative displacement that may cause plastic deformation. In this study, in-plane cyclic loading tests were conducted under various constant amplitudes using specimens composed of steel straight pipes and a steel pipe tee in the piping system of a nuclear power plant. The loading amplitude was increased to consider the relative displacement generated in the piping system under seismic loads, and the test was conducted until leakage, which is the limit state of the steel pipe tee, occurred due to fatigue cracks. The limit state of the steel pipe tee was expressed using a damage model based on the damage index that used the force-displacement relationship. As a result, it was confirmed that the limit state of the steel pipe tee can be quantitatively expressed using the damage index.