• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.24 no.10 s.181
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• pp.2405-2412
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• 2000

A cast stainless steel may experience an embrittlement when it is exposed to approximately 30$0^{\circ}C$ for long period. In the present investigation, The three classes of the thermally aged CF8M specimie n are prepared using an artificially accelerated aging method. Namely, after the specimen are held for 300, 1800 and 3600hrs. at 43$0^{\circ}C$ respectively, the specimens are quenched in water to room temperature. Load versus load line displacement curves and J-R curves are obtained using the unloading compliance method. $J_{IC}$ values are obtained following ASTM E 813-87 and ASTM E 813-81 methods. In addition to these methods, JIC values are obtained using SZW(stretch zone width) method described in JSME S 001-1981. The results of the unloading compliance method are $J_Q$=485.7 kJ/m$^2$ for virgin material, $J_{IC}$ of the degraded materials associated with 300, 1800 and 3600hrs are obtained 369.25 kJ/m$^2$, 311.02 kJ/m$^2$, 276.7 kJ/m$^2$, respectively. The results of SZW method are similar to those of the unloading compliance method. Through the elastic-plastic fracture toughness test, it is found that the value of $J_{IC}$ is decreased with increasing of the aging time. The results obtained through the investigation can provide reference data for a leak before break(LBB) of reactor coolant system of nuclear power plants.