• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2004.04a
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• pp.96-101
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• 2004

Cast austenitic stainless steel is used for several components, such as primary coolant piping, elbow, pump casing and valve bodies in light water reactors. These components are subject to thermal embrittlement at the reactor operating temperature. The objective of this study is to summarize the method of estimating ferrite content, Charpy impact energy and J-R curve and to evaluate the thermal embrittlement of the cast austenitic stainless steel piping used in the domestic nuclear power plants. The result of evaluation, two domestic nuclear power plants used CF-8M and CF-8A material has adequate fracture toughness after saturation.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.51 no.7
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• pp.1816-1821
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• 2019

This research investigates the feasibility of using the thermoelectric power to monitor the thermal embrittlement in 2507 super duplex stainless steel (SDSS) exposed to a temperature between $280^{\circ}C$ and $500^{\circ}C$. It is well known that the precipitation of Cr-rich ${\alpha}^{\prime}$ phase as a result of the spinodal decomposition is the major cause of the embrittlement and the loss of corrosion resistance in this material. The specimens are thermally aged at $475^{\circ}C$ for different holding times. A series of mechanical testing including the tensile test, Vickers microhardness measurement, and Charpy impact test are conducted to determine the property changes with holding time due to the embrittlement. The mechanical strengths and ferrite hardness exhibit very similar trends. Scanning electron microscopy images of impactfractured surfaces reveal a ductile to brittle transition in the fracture mode as direct evidence of the embrittlement. It is shown that the thermoelectric power is highly sensitive to the thermal embrittlement and has an excellent linear correlation with the ferrite hardness. This paper, therefore, demonstrates that the thermoelectric power is an excellent nondestructive evaluation technique for detecting and evaluating the $475^{\circ}C$ embrittlement of field 2507 SDSS structures.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2004.11a
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• pp.118-123
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• 2004

Cast austenitic stainless steel have been widely used for primary coolant piping in light water reactors. This material is subject to thermal embrittlement at reactor operating temperature. CF-8M and CF-8A cast austenitic stainless steel is used for several components, such as primary coolant piping, elbow, pump casing, and valve bodies in light water reactors. Thermal embrittlement results in spinodal decomposition of delta-ferrite leading to decreased fracture toughness. In this study, the specimens were prepared using an accelerated aging method. The measurement of ferrite content, Charpy impact test and J-R test were performed to verify the predicting equation for aged material properties. In case of above 25% ferrite content, predicted result of J-R curve might be non-conservative.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 1995.05b
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• pp.635-640
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• 1995

Two techniques for the verification of the phase separation in ferrite phase of primary pressure bounary component materials, the primary cause of thermal aging embrittlement, are presented. Data base of room-temperature Charpy V-notch impact energy during reactor service was estimated as a measure of the degree of embrittlement. The serviceable period of CF-3 and CF-8 alloys as the primary pressure boundary components may be acceptably extended for 60 years of lifetime. However, the integrity of CF-8M alloys can be degraded seriously after several years of service in the nuclear reactor.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.56-65
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• 2024

Cast austenitic stainless steels (CASS) and austenitic stainless steel weldments with a ferrite-austenite duplex structure are widely used in nuclear power plants, incorporating ferrite phase to enhance strength, stress relief, and corrosion resistance. Thermal aging at 290-325℃ can induce embrittlement, primarily due to spinodal decomposition and G-phase precipitation in the ferrite phase. This study evaluates the effects of thermal aging by collecting and analyzing various mechanical properties, such as Charpy impact energy, ferrite microhardness, and tensile strength, from various literature sources. Different model expressions, including hyperbolic tangent and phase transformation equations, are applied to calculate activation energy (Q) of room-temperature impact energies, and the results are compared. Additionally, predictive models for Q based on material composition are evaluated, and the potential of machine learning techniques for improving prediction accuracy is explored. The study also examines the use of ferrite microhardness and tensile strength in calculating Q and assessing thermal embrittlement. The findings provide insights for developing advanced prediction models for the thermal embrittlement behavior of CASS and the weldments of austenitic steels, contributing to the safety and reliability of nuclear power plant components.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2003.04a
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• pp.131-136
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• 2003

CF8M cast austenitic stainless steel is used for several components such as primary coolant piping, elbow, pump casing, and valve bodies in light water reactors. These components are subject to thermal aging at the reactor operating temperature. Thermal aging results in spinodal decomposition of the delta-ferrite leading to increased strength and decreased toughness. In this study, three kinds of the aged CF8M specimen were prepared using an artificially simulated aging method. The objective of this study is to summarize the method of estimating ferrite contents, Charpy impact energy and J-R curve, and to evaluate the thermal embrittlement of the CF8M cast austenitic stainless steel piping used in the domestic nuclear power plants.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.24 no.7 s.178
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• pp.1771-1778
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• 2000

The purpose of this study is to investigate the thermal embrittlement and the mechanical properties of 2.25Cr-1Mo steel aged at high temperature for the extended periods. Original, aged artificiall y and used material were tested to obtain the tensile strength, hardness and impact absorbed energy. Tensile strength, hardness and impact absorbed energy decreased with the increasing aging time. The carbide morphology with the thermal embrittlement was found to contribute to the mechanical property change by X-Ray diffraction method.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2001.06a
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• pp.517-522
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• 2001

The purpose of this study is to investigate the thermal embrittlement and the mechanical properties of 2.25Cr-1Mo steel aged at high temperature and stress for 250 hours. Original, aged artificially material were tested to obtain the hardness and impact absorbed energy. Hardness and impact absorbed energy decreased with the increasing aging time. The carbide morphology with the thermal embrittlement was found to contribute to the mechanical property change by X-Ray diffraction method.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.92-100
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• 2017

Due to the presence of ferrite phase in the finished welds, austenitic stainless steel welds (ASSWs) are considered susceptible to the thermal aging embrittlement during long-term service in light water reactor environment. In this study, the thermal aging embrittlement of typical ASSWs, E308 and ER316L welds, were evaluated after the long-term exposure up to 20,000 h at $400^{\circ}C$, which is considered as an accelerated thermal aging condition. After thermal aging, the decrease of tensile ductility and fracture toughness was observed. The microstructure observation with high resolution transmission electron microscopy revealed that spinodal decomposition in ferrite phase of both E308 and ER316L welds would be the main cause of the degradation of mechanical properties. Also, it was shown that the difference of thermal ageing embrittlement between ER316L and E308 welds was significant, such that the reduction of fracture resistance for ER316L weld was much larger than that of E308 weld.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 1996.05c
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• pp.79-84
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• 1996

Small punch test was performed on CF8 duplex stainless steel aged at 370 and 400$^{\circ}C$ up to 5,000 h to evaluate the degree of the thermal aging embrittlement. At room temperature, the SP load-displacement curve was in a similar shape to those of ferritic steels and had a good reproducibility in spite of two-phase structure. The aging heat treatment resulted in a slight increase of the yield strength. As test temperature was lowered, the SP load showed a sudden drop followed by serrations before the SP specimen was fractured, resulting from the cracking of ferrite phase. The extent of thermal embrittlement was assessed in terms of the SP energy. Aging treatment at higher temperature led to a larger shift in the transition temperature and the corresponding change in the fracture mode. The main cause of the degradation was the embrittlement of ferrite phase. Additionally the phase boundary separation profoundly contributed to the degradation of the specimen aged at 400$^{\circ}C$.