• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.34-41
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• 2014

The goal of this study is to investigate some crack behaviors which affect the crack propagation angle at the planar solid oxide fuel cell with cracks under the fabricating and operating temperature and analyze the stresses by 3 steps processing on the solid oxide fuel cell. Currently, there are lots of researches of the performance improvement for fuel cells, and also for the more powerful efficiency. However, the planar solid oxide fuel cell has demerits which the electrode materials have much brittle properties and the thermal condition during the operating process. It brings some problems which have lower reliability owing to the deformation and cracks from the thermal expansion differences between the electrolyte, cathode and anode electrodes. Especially the crack in the corner of the electrodes gives rise to the fracture and deterioration of the fuel cells. Thus it is important to evaluate the behavior of the cracks in the solid oxide fuel cell for the performance and safety operation. From the results, we showed the stress distributions from the cathode to the anode and the effects of the edge crack in the electrolyte and the slant crack in the anode. Futhermore the crack propagation angle was expected according to the crack length and slant angle and the variation of the stress intensity factors for the each fracture mode was shown.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.144-150
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• 2009

This study examines how much the radiation dose rate around it varies if a crack occurs on the spent nuclear fuel rod. The spent nuclear fuel rod to be examined is that of Kori unit 3&4. The source terms are evaluated using the ORIGEN-ARP that is part of the version 5.1 of the SCALE package. The radiation dose rate is assessed using the TORT. To check if the structure of a fuel rod is appropriately modeled in the TORT calculation, the calculation results by the TORT are compared with those by the ANISN for the same case. From the code simulation, it is known that if a crack occurs on the spent nuclear fuel rod, the neutron dose rate varies depending on what material is the crack filled with, but the gamma dose rate varies irrespective of type of the material that the crack is filled with.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.1-8
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• 2018

A fuel cell is an energy conversion device that converts a chemical energy directly into an electrical energy and has higher energy efficiency than an internal combustion engine, but solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) consisting of brittle ceramic material remains as a major issue regarding the mechanical properties as the crack formation and propagation. In this study, the stress distribution and crack behavior around the crack tip were evaluated, due to investigated the effects of the surface crack at the operating condition of high temperature. As a result, the difference of the generated stress was insignificant at operating conditions of high temperature according to the surface crack length changes. This is because, the high stiffness interconnect has a closed structure to suppress cell deformation about thermal expansion. The stress intensity factor ratio $K_{II}/K_I$ increased as the crack depth increased, at that time the effect of $K_{II}$ is larger than that of $K_I$. Also the maximum stress intensity factor increased as the crack depth increased, but the location of crack was generated at the electrolyte/anode interface, not at the crack tip.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Automotive Engineers
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.99-106
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• 2006

High velocity oxygen-fuel thermal spray coating of the WC-Co cermet material is a well-established process for modifying the surface properties of the structural components exposed to the corrosive and wear attacks, and also these coating are well-known method to improve the fatigue strength of material. In this study, HVOF coated SM490B are prepared to evaluation of the effect of coating on tension and fatigue crack growth behavior. The pre-crack of the fatigue crack growth test specimens machined at deposited material area, heat affected zone and boundary, respectively. Through these test, the following results are obtained: 1) Tensile strength was about 498 MPa, and fracture occurred on base metal area. 2) The fatigue crack of coated specimens propagated more rapidly than non-coated specimen in all specimens. 3) In the same coating thickness specimens, the specimens with pre-crack at boundary more rapidly propagated than the specimens with pre-crack at HAZ and deposited material area. These results can be used as basic data in a structural integrity evaluation of rolled SM490B weldments considering HVOF coating.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.1250-1258
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• 2021

In this paper, the mechanical performance of cracked surface-coated Zircaloy cladding, which has different coating materials, coating thicknesses and initial crack lengths, has been investigated. By analyzing the stress field near the crack tip, the safety zone range of initial crack length has been decided. In order to determine whether the crack can propagate along the radial (r) or axial (z) directions, the energy release rate has been calculated. By comparing the energy release rate with fracture toughness of materials, we can divide the initial crack lengths into three zones: safety zone, discussion zone and danger zone. The results show that Cr is suitable coating material for the cladding with a thin coating while Fe-Cr-Al have a better fracture mechanical performance in the cladding with thick coating. The Si-coated and SiC-coated claddings are suitable for reactors with low power fuel elements. Conclusions in this paper can provide reference and guidance for the cladding design of nuclear fuel elements.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.29 no.5 s.236
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• pp.663-670
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• 2005

DIN CK35 (JIS S35CK) steels have been used as a material in fuel pump blocks for marine engines. Failures in the inner surface of a drilling hole, due to the initiation of fatigue cracks have been frequently reported. However, the mechanism initiating these cracks and growths has not been clearly diagnosed yet. This study was conducted using a scraped fuel pump block, containing an initiated fatigue crack in the inner surface of a drilling hole. Initially, the cracks and fractured surfaces inside the block were investigated using an optical microscope and a SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope). In addition, microstructure observation, fatigue life test and fatigue crack growth test were performed using a specimen, which was taken from the same block. Results from these tests are summarized as follows; (1) The early crack in the block was supposed to occur inside the inner surface of the drilling hole. (2) The fatigue endurance of this material was about 330 Mpa. (3) The early crack was generated in the cavitations created by the breakdown of a big inclusion, or separation between the big inclusion and the base metal, in which the fundamental ingredients of the inclusion were C, 5, and Mn. (4) In order to prevent these types of failures, the suppression of inclusions inflow by improving the casting process, formation of fine inclusions by applying a heat treatment process, and coating of the surface of the drilling hole were required.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.6
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• pp.1924-1930
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• 2021

By using miniature SENB specimens, the fracture properties of the materials in the region of welded metal, 321 stainless steel heat affected zone, 690 alloy heat affected zone of 321/690 dissimilar metal girth welded joints were tested. Both the J-resistance curves and critical fracture toughness of the three different materials are affected by the crack size because of the effect of crack tip constraint. Groups of constraint corrected J-resistance curves of the three materials are obtained according to J-Q-M approach. The welded metals exhibit the best fracture resistance but the worst fracture resistance is observed in the material of 690 alloy heat affected zone.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.1975-1988
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• 2024

It is important to maintain cladding integrity in spent nuclear fuel management. This study proposes a numerical analysis method to evaluate the fracture resistance of irradiated zirconium alloy cladding under pinch load known to cause Mode-III failure. The mechanical behavior and fracture of the cladding under pinch loading can be evaluated by a Ring Compression Test (RCT). To simulate the fracture of hydride precipitates, zirconium matrix, and Zr/hydride interfaces under the stress field generated by RCT, a micro-structure crack propagation simulation method based on Continuum Damage Mechanics (CDM) has been proposed. Our RCT simulation model was constructed from microscopic images of irradiated cladding. In this study, we developed an automated process to generate a pixel-based finite element model by separating the hydride precipitates, zirconium matrix, and interfaces using an image segmentation method. The appropriate element size was selected to ensure the efficiency and accuracy of a crack propagation simulation. The load-displacement curves and strain energies from RCT were compared and analyzed with the simulation results of different element sizes. The finalized RCT simulation model can be used to establish the failure criterion of fuel rods under pinch loading. The advantages and limitations of the proposed method are fully discussed here.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.170-176
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• 2007

Iodine-induced stress corrosion cracking (ISCC) properties and the associated ISCC process of Zircaloy-4 and an Nb-containing advanced nuclear fuel cladding were evaluated. An internal pressurization test with a pre-cracked specimen was performed with a stress-relieved (SR) or recrystallized (RX) microstructure at $350^{\circ}C$, in an iodine environment. The results showed that the $K_{ISCC}$ of the SR and RX Zircaloy-4 claddings were 3.3 and 4.8MPa\;m^{0.5}, respectively. And the crack propagation rate of the RX Zircaloy-4 was 10 times lower than that of the SR one. The chemical effect of iodine on the crack propagation rate was very high, which was increased $10^4$ times by iodine addition. Main factor affecting on the micro-crack nucleation was a pitting formation and its agglomeration along the grain boundary. However, this pitting formation on the grain-boundary was suppressed in the case of an Nb addition, which resulted in an increase of the ISCC resistance when compared to Zircaloy-4. Crack initiation and propagation mechanisms of fuel claddings were proposed by a grain boundary pitting model and a pitting assisted slip cleavage model and they showed reasonable results.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.49 no.8
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• pp.1629-1635
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• 2017

Reliable prediction of nuclear fuel rod behavior of nuclear power reactors constitutes a basic demand for steady-state calculations, design purposes, and fuel performance assessment. Perfect design of fuel rods as the first barrier against fission product release is very important. Simulation of fuel rod performance with a code or software is one of the fuel rod design steps. In this study, a software program called MARCODE is developed in MATLAB environment that can analyze the temperature distribution, gap conductance value, and fuel and clad displacement in both solid and annular fuel rods. With a comparison of the maximum fuel temperature, fuel average temperature, fuel surface temperature, and gap conductance in solid and annular fuel, the effects of a central hole on the fuel temperature distribution are investigated.