• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.8
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• pp.2610-2615
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• 2021

The prediction of irradiation-induced transition temperature shift for RPV steels is an important method for long term operation of nuclear power plant. Based on the irradiation embrittlement data, an irradiation-induced transition temperature shift prediction model is developed with machine learning method XGBoost. Then the residual, standard deviation and predicted value vs. measured value analysis are conducted to analyze the accuracy of this model. At last, Cu content threshold and saturation values analysis, temperature dependence, Ni/Cu dependence and flux effect are given to verify the reliability. Those results show that the prediction model developed with XGBoost has high accuracy for predicting the irradiation embrittlement trend of RPV steel. The prediction results are consistent with the current understanding of RPV embrittlement mechanism.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.44 no.5
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• pp.543-550
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• 2012

The decrease in the fracture toughness of ferritic steels in a reactor pressure vessel is an important factor in determining the lifetime of a nuclear power plant. A surveillance program has been in place in Korea since 1979 to assess the structural integrity of RPV steels. In this work, the surveillance data were collected and analyzed statistically in order to derive the empirical relationship between the embrittlement and strengthening of irradiated reactor pressure vessel steels. There was a linear relationship between the yield strength change and the transition temperature shift change at 41 J due to irradiation. The proportional coefficient was about $0.5^{\circ}C$/MPa in the base metals (plate/forgings). The upper shelf energy decrease ratio was non-linearly proportional to the yield strength change, and most of the data lay along the trend curve of the US results. The transition regime temperature interval, ${\Delta}T_T$, was less than the US data. The overall change from irradiation was very similar to the US results. It is expected that the results of this study will be applied to basic research on the multiscale modeling of the irradiation embrittlement of RPV materials in Korea.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.305-311
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• 2000

Applicability of crack arrest load measured from the Charpy V-notch impact test has been investigated to predict the fracture toughness of nuclear reactor pressure vessel (RPV) steels (ASME SA508 Cl.3). The temperature dependence of the crack arrest load was well described by the type of exponential function characterized by an index temperature at which the crack arrest load is 2kN. The specific index temperature, which also well correlated with $T_{NDT}\;and\;T_{41J}$ is expected to be representative index temperature characterizing the crack arrest fracture toughness of RPV steels. Also, the crack arrest load correlated well with the stable crack length measured from the fracture surface. From the measurements of the crack arrest load and the stable crack length, the lower bound fracture toughness, $K_{Ia}$ of RPV steels could be predicted with sufficient accuracy.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.52 no.6
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• pp.293-297
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• 2019

Quasi-nano-hardness and corrosion behaviors of neutron-irradiated reactor pressure vessel (RPV) steels such as 15Ch2MFA (Ni<0.4, 2.520 n/㎠ (En>1.0 MeV) for 32 days. Quasi-nano-hardnesses of the 15Ch2MFA and 15Cr2NHFA steels were 183.8 and 179.8 Hv, respectively. Their corrosion rates and corrosion potentials were 2.4×10^-4Acm^-2, -515.9 mV_SHE and 6.8×10^-4 Acm^-2, -523.6 mV_SHE in NACE standard TM0284-96 solution at room temperature, respectively. 15Ch2MFA steel showed better quasi-nano-hardness and corrosion resistance than 15Cr2NHFA steel in this test condition.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.47 no.9
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• pp.533-541
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• 2009

Materials used for a reactor pressure vessel(RPV) are required high strength and toughness, which determine the safety margin and life of a reactor. Ni-Mo-Cr low alloy steel shows better mechanical properties than existing RPV steels due to higher Ni and Cr contents compared to the existing RPV steels. The present study focuses on effects of Ni, Cr contents on the cleavage fracture toughness of Ni-Mo-Cr low alloy steels in the transition temperature region. The fracture toughness was characterized by a 3-point bend test of precracked Charpy V-notch(PCVN) specimens based on ASTM E1921-08. The test results indicated that the fracture toughness was considerably improved with an increase of Ni and Cr contents. Especially, control of Cr content was more effective in improving fracture toughness than manipulating Ni content, though Charpy impact toughness was changed more extensively by adjusting Ni content. These differences between changes in the fracture toughness and that in the impact toughness were derived from microstructural features, such as martensite lath size and carbide precipitation behavior.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 1998.10a
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• pp.208-208
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• 1998

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 1999.10a
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• pp.271.1-271
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• 1999

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.113-121
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• 2014

In this work, an integrated model including molecular dynamics and chemical rate theory was implemented to calculate the growth of point defect clusters(PDC) and copper-rich precipitates(CRP) which could change the mechanical properties of reactor pressure vessel(RPV) steels in a nuclear power plant. A number of time-dependent differential equations were established and numerically integrated to estimate the evolution of irradiation defects. The calculation showed that the concentration of the vacancies was higher than that of the self-interstitial atoms. The higher concentration of vacancies induced a formation of the CRPs in the later stage. The size of the CRPs was used to estimate the mechanical property changes in RPV steels, as is the same case with the PDCs. The calculation results were compared with the measured values of yield strength change and Charpy V-notch transition temperature shift, which were obtained from the surveillance test data of Korean light water reactors(LWRs). The estimated values were in fair agreement with the experimental results in spite of the uncertainty of the modeling parameters.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.122-132
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• 2010

Higher strength and fracture toughness of reactor pressure vessel steels can be obtained by changing the material specification from that of Mn-Mo-Ni low alloy steel (SA508 Gr.3) to Ni-Mo-Cr low alloy steel (SA508 Gr.4N). However, the operation temperature of the reactor pressure vessel is more than $300^{\circ}C$ and the reactor operates for over 40 years. Therefore, we need to have phase stability in the high temperature range in order to apply the SA508 Gr.4N low alloy steel for a reactor pressure vessel. It is very important to evaluate the temper embrittlement phenomena of SA508 Gr.4N for an RPV application. In this study, we have performed a Charpy impact test and tensile test of SA508 Gr.4N low alloy steel with changing impurity element contents such as Mn and P. And also, the mechanical properties of these low alloy steels after longterm heat treatment ($450^{\circ}C$, 2000hr) are evaluated. Further, evaluation of the temper embrittlement by fracture analysis was carried out. Temper embrittlement occurs in KL4-Ref and KL4-P, which show a decrease of the elongation and a shifting of the transition curve toward high temperature. The reason for the temper embrittlement is the grain boundary segregation of the impurity element P and the alloying element Ni. However, KL4-Ref shows temper embrittlement phenomena despite the same contents of P and Ni compared with SC-KL4. This result may be caused by the Mn contents. In addition, the behavior of embrittlement is not largely affected by the formation of $M_3P$ phosphide or the coarsening of Cr carbides.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.2071-2078
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• 2024

The precipitation of solutes is a major cause of irradiation hardening and embrittlement limiting the service life of reactor pressure vessel (RPV) steels. Impurities play a significant role in the formation of precipitation in RPV materials. In this study, the effects of carbon on cluster formation and irradiation hardening were investigated in an RPV alloy Fe-1.35Mn-0.75Ni using C and Fe ions irradiation at 290 ℃. Nanoindentation results showed that C ion irradiation led to less hardening below 1.0 dpa, with hardening continuing to increase gradually at higher doses, while it was saturated under Fe ion irradiation. Atom probe tomography revealed a broad size distribution of Ni-Mn clusters under Fe ion irradiation, contrasting a narrower size distribution of small Ni-Mn clusters under C ion irradiation. Further analysis indicated the influence of carbon on the cluster formation, with solute-precipitated defects dominating under C ion irradiation but interstitial clusters dominating under Fe ion irradiation. Simulations suggested that carbon significantly affected solute nucleation, with defect clusters displaying smaller size and higher density as carbon concentration increased. The higher hardening at doses above 1.0 dpa was attributed to a substantial increase in the number density of defect clusters when carbon was present in the matrix.