• Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.634-648
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• 2005

Performed here is a comparative assessment study for the probabilistic fracture mechanics approach of the pressurized thermal shock of the reactor pressure vessel. A round robin consisting of one prerequisite deterministic study and five cases for probabilistic approaches is proposed, and all organizations interested are invited. The problems are solved by the participants and their results are compared to issue some recommendation of best practices and to assure an understanding of the key parameters in this type of approach, like transient description and frequency, material properties, defect type and distribution, fracture mechanics methodology etc., which will be useful in the justification through a probabilistic approach for the case of a plant over-passing the screening criteria. Six participants from 3 organizations responded to the problem and their results are compiled and analyzed in this study.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2008.11a
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• pp.727-728
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• 2008

The objective of this study is to evaluate the integrity for a reactor pressure vessel under the pressurized thermal shock by applying the probability fracture mechanics. A semi-elliptical axial crack is assumed to be in the beltline region of the reactor pressure vessel. The selected random variables are the neutron fluence on the vessel inside surface, the content of copper, nickel, and phosphorus in the reactor pressure vessel material, and initial RTNDT. The probabilistic integrity analysis was performed using the Monte Carlo simulation.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.40-49
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• 2019

In this paper, failure probabilities of the OPR1000 reactor vessel under pressurized thermal shock (PTS) were estimated using the probabilistic fracture mechanics code, R-PIE. Input variables of initial crack distribution, crack size, copper contents, and upper shelf toughness were selected for the sensitivity analyses. A wide range of the input data were considered. Through-wall cracking frequencies determined by the product of the vessel failure probability and the corresponding occurrence frequency of the transient were also compared to the acceptance criterion. The results showed that transient history had the most significant impact on the vessel failure probability. Moreover, conservative assumptions resulted in extremely high through-wall cracking frequencies.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 2004.05a
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• pp.461.1-461.1
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• 2004

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.1448-1454
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• 1994

Data which gathered and used in the field of fatigue and fracture mechanics have a lot of uncertainties. In this case, those uncertainties will make scatter band in evaluation of fatigue life and fracture toughness. Thus, the probabilistic analysis of these data will be needed. For determining the fatigue life in mixed mode, using crack direction law and fatigue crack growth law, the problem is studied as a constrained life minimization. Stress intensity factor(SIF) is computed by approximate solution table(Ewalds/Wanhill 1984) and 0th order PFEM. The variance of fatigue life and SIF are computed by differentiation of tabulated approximate solution and 1st order PFEM. And these are used for criterion of design values, principal parameter determination and modelling. The problem of center cracked plate is solved for checking the PFEM model which is influenced by various parameters like as initial crack length, final crack length, two fatigue parameters in Paris Equation and applied stress.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.61-66
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• 2005

A probabilistic approach for evaluating failure risk is suggested in this paper. Probabilistic fracture analyses were performed for a pressurized pipe of a Cr-Mo steel reflecting variation of material properties at high temperature. A crack was assumed to be located along the weld fusion line. Probability density functions of major variables were determined by statistical analyses of material creep and creep crack growth data measured by the previous experimental studies by authors. Distributions of these variables were implemented in Monte Carlo simulation of this study. As a fracture parameter for characterizing growth of a fusion line crack between two materials with different creep properties, $C_t$ normalized with $C^*$ was employed. And the elapsed time was also normalized with tT, Resultingly, failure probability as a function of operating time was evaluated fur various cases. Conventional deterministic life assessment result was turned out to be conservative compared with that of probabilistic result. Sensitivity analysis for each input variable was conducted to understand the most influencing variable to the analysis results. Internal pressure, creep crack growth coefficient and creep coefficient were more sensitive to failure probability than other variables.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.30-38
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• 1996

A two dimensional analysis program for groundwater flow in fractured network was developed to analyze the influence of discontinuity characteristics on groundwater flow. This program involves the generation of discontinuities and also connectivity analysis. The discontinuities were generated by the probabilistic density function(P.D.F.) reflecting the characteristics of discontinuities. And the fracture network model was completed through the connectivity analysis. This program also involves the analysis of groundwater flow through the discontinuity network. The result of numerical experiment shows that the equivalent hydraulic conductivity increased and became closer to isotropic as the density and trace length increased. And hydraulic head decreased along the fracture zone because of much water-flow. The grouting increased the groundwater head around cavern. An analysis of groundwater flow through discontinuity network was performed around underground oil storage cavern which is now under construction. The probabilistic density functions(P.D.F) were obtained from the investigation of the discontinuity trace map. When the anisotropic hydraulic conductivity is used, the flow rate into the cavern was below the acceptable value to maintain the hydraulic containment. But when the isotropic hydraulic conductivity is used, the flow rate was above the acceptable value.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.1635-1639
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• 1991

본 연구에서는 제1보에서의 수법을 이용하여 초기크랙길이의 분포를 고려한 재료의 불확정성 평가수법을 제시하고자 한다.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.33-48
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• 2007

An Articulated tower is one of the compliant offshore structures connected to the sea-bed through a universal joint which is the most vulnerable location of the tower that sustains the randomly fluctuating shear stresses. The time history response of the bottom hinge shear is obtained and presented in the spectral form. The fatigue and fracture reliability assessment of the tower joint against randomly varying shear stresses have been carried out. Non-linear limit state functions are derived in terms of important random variables using S-N curve and fracture mechanics approaches. Advanced First Order Reliability Method is used for reliability assessment. Sensitivity analysis shows the influence of various variables on the hinge safety. Fatigue life estimation has been made using probabilistic approach.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.391-399
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• 2008

In this paper, we further generalize the work of Lin and Abel to the case of the first and the second order derivatives of energy release rates for two-dimensional, multiply cracked systems. The direct integral expressions are presented for the energy release rates and their first and second order derivatives. The salient feature of this numerical method is that the energy release rates and their first and second order derivatives can be computed in a single analysis. It is demonstrated through a set of examples that the proposed method gives expectedly decreasing, but acceptably accurate results for the energy release rates and their first and second order derivatives. The computed errors were approximately 0.5% for the energy release rates, $3\sim5%$ for their first order derivatives and $10\sim20%$ for their second order derivatives for the mesh densities used in the examples. Potential applications of the present method include a universal size effect model and a probabilistic fracture analysis of cracked structures.