• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.27 no.8
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• pp.1295-1302
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• 2003

In order to evaluate a failure behavior of pipe with notch-type wall thinning, the present study performed full-scale pipe tests using the 102mm, Schedule 80 pipe specimen simulated notch- and circular-type thinning defects. The pipe tests were conducted under the conditions of both monotonic and cyclic bending moment at a constant internal pressure of 10 MPa. From the results. of experiment the failure mode, load carrying capacity, deformation ability, and fatigue life of a notch-type wall thinned pipe were investigated, and they were compared with those of a circular-type wall thinned pipe. The failure mode of notched pipe was similar to that of circular-type thinned pipe under the monotonic bending load. Under the cyclic bending load, however, the mode was clearly distinguished with variation in the shape of wall thinning. The load carrying capacity of a pipe containing notch-type wall thinning was about the same or slightly lower than that of a pipe containing circular-type wall thinning when the thinning area was subjected to tensile stress, whereas it was higher than that of a pipe containing circular-type thinning defect when the thinning area was subjected to compressive stress. On the other hand, the deformation ability and fatigue life of a notch-type wall thinned pipe was lower than those of a circular-type wall thinned pipe.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 2001.10a
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• pp.208-208
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• 2001

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.67-76
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• 2000

Significant wall thinning due to flow accelerated corrosion(FAC）was recently reported in main feedwater pipes in 3 Korean pressurized water reactor(PWR) plants. The main feedwater pipes in one plant were repaired using overlay weld method at the outside of pipe, while those in 2 other plants were replaced with new pipes. In this study, the effect of the wall thinning in the main feedwater pipes on piping integrity was evaluated using finite element method. Especially, the effects of both the overlay weld repair and the stress concentration in notch-type thinned area on the piping integrity were investigated. The results are as follows : (1) The piping load carrying capacity may significantly decrease due to FAC. In special, the load carrying capacity of the main feedwater pipe was reduced by about 40% during about 140 months operation in Korean PWR plants. (2) By performing overlay weld repair at the outside of pipe, the piping load carrying capacity can increase and the stress concentration level in the thinned area can be reduced.