• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers Conference
• /
• 2002.10b
• /
• pp.379-380
• /
• 2002

Steam generators (S/G) of pressurized water reactors are large heat exchangers that use the heat from the primary reactor coolant to make steam in the secondary side for driving turbine generators. Reciprocating sliding wear experiments have been performed to examine the wear properties of Incoloy 800 and Inconel 690 steam generator tubes in high temperature water. In present study, the test rig was designed to examine the reciprocating and rolling wear properties in high temperature (room temperature - $300^{\circ}C$) water. The test was performed at constant applied load and sliding distance to investigate the effect of test temperature on wear properties of steam generator tube materials. To investigate the wear mechanism of material, the worn surfaces were observed using scanning electron microscopy. At $290^{\circ}C$, wear rate of Inconel 690 was higher than that of Incoloy 800. It was assumed to be resulted from the oxide layer property difference due to the a\loy composition difference. Between 25 and $150^{\circ}C$ the wear loss increased with increasing temperature. Beyond $150^{\circ}C$, the wear loss decreased with increasing temperature. The wear loss change with temperature were due to the formation of wear protective oxide layer. From the worn surface observation, texture patterns and wear particle layers were found. As test temperature increased, the proportion of particle layer increased.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers Conference
• /
• 2001.06a
• /
• pp.354-359
• /
• 2001

CNTs were added to Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) to improve the tribological properties of UHMWPE. CNTs which have a diameter of about 10-50nm, while their length is about 3-5nm were produced by the catalytic decomposition of tile C$_2$H$_2$ using a tube furnace. UHMWPE/CNTs composites were fabricated by hot pressing method. It is shown that friction coefficient was increased and wear resistance was improved as CNTs were added to UHMWPE because of excellent mechanical properties of CNTs located on UHMWPE surface.

• Tribology and Lubricants
• /
• v.21 no.1
• /
• pp.33-38
• /
• 2005

Fretting is the oscillatory motion with very small amplitudes, which usually occurs between two solid surfaces in contact. Fretting wear is the removal of material from contacting surfaces through fretting action. Fretting wear of steam generator tubes in nuclear power plant becomes a serious problem in recent years. The materials for the tubes usually are Inconel 690 (I-690) and Inconel 600 (I-600). In this paper, fretting wear tests for I-690 and I-600 were performed under various applied loads in water at room temperature. Results showed that the fretting wear loss of I-690 and I-600 tubes was largely influenced by stick-slip. The fretting wear mechanisms were the abrasive wear in slip regime and the delamination wear in stick regime. Also, I-690 had somewhat better wear resistance than I-600.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
• /
• v.6 no.2
• /
• pp.1-8
• /
• 2010

Nuclear steam generator tubes have experienced wear degradation at tube support structure. Morphology of wear scar was analyzed by using eddy current signal. A burst test facility for steam generator tubes was established and tubes with 3 types of defects were tested. The burst test results show that the depth of wear scar is the main factor influencing the burst pressure of tubes, meanwhile, both the longitudinal length and the angle also have effect on the burst pressure. Based on test results, the burst pressure equation for wear degradation was proposed.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
• /
• 1999.10a
• /
• pp.222.1-222
• /
• 1999

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.42 no.1
• /
• pp.97-108
• /
• 2010

Fluid-elastic instability and turbulence-induced vibration of steam generator U-tubes of a nuclear power plant are studied numerically to investigate the effect of design changes of support structures in the upper region of the tubes. Two steam generator models, Model A and Model B, are considered in this study. The main design features of both models are identical except for the conditions of vertical and horizontal support bars. The location and number of vertical and horizontal support bars at the middle of the U-bend region in Model A differs from that of Model B. The stability ratio and the amplitude of turbulence-induced vibration are calculated by a computer program based on the ASME code. The mode shape with a large modal displacement at the upper region of the U-tube is the key parameter related to the fretting wear between the tube and its support structures, such as vertical, horizontal, and diagonal support bars. Therefore, the location and the number of vertical and horizontal support bars have a great influence on the fretting wear mechanism. The variation in the stability ratios for each vibrational mode is compared with respect to Model A and Model B. Even though both models satisfy the design criteria, Model A shows substantial improvements over Model B, particularly in terms of having greater amplitude margins in the turbulence-excited vibration (especially at the inner region of the tube bundle) and better stability ratios for the fluid-elastic instability.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers Conference
• /
• 2002.10b
• /
• pp.203-204
• /
• 2002

The wear behaviour of steam generator (SG) tubes (Inconel 600 and 690) against support materials (405 and 409 ferritic stainless steels) has been experimentally studied in room temperature water using reciprocating wear apparatus with tube-an-plate configuration. The results showed that the wear rate of Inconel 690 was lower than that of lnconel 600 with increasing normal loads and sliding amplitudes. Also, plastic deformation layers appear below the surface of both SG tubes, which have a specific thickness and are small compared with their grain size. This means that wear rate of SG tubes in water condition is closely related to the formation and fracture of plastic deformation layers.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers Conference
• /
• 2004.11a
• /
• pp.31-36
• /
• 2004

In this paper, fretting wear tests were conducted in air at room temperature (RT) and in water at high temperature and high pressure (HTHP) environment to analyze the wear characteristic. As for the supporting condition between the tube and spring/dimple, the gap of 0.2 mm in air at RT and the normal force of 10 N and the slip of $50\;{\mu}\;m$ in water at HTHP were applied. Four different shapes of spring/dimple specimen (type A, B, C, D) were used. Detail eaxamination of wear scar was also performed using SEM micrographs. As a result, in the case of the spring of truncated wedge, severer wear occurs than the others. Protrusion part was found and larger in air at RT. It is thought that the difference in the wear volume and the protrusion is caused by the different wear mechanism corresponding to the different environment.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers Conference
• /
• 2001.11a
• /
• pp.296-303
• /
• 2001

In nuclear power steam generators, high flow rates can induce vibration of the tubes resulting in fretting wear damage due to contacts between the tubes and their supports. In this paper the fretting wear tests and the sliding wear tests were performed using the steam generator tube materials of Inconel 690 against STS 304. Sliding tests with the pin-on-disk type tribometer were done under various applied loads and sliding speeds at air and water environment. Fretting tests were done under various vibrating amplitudes, applied normal loads and various temperatures. From the results of sliding and fretting wear tests, the wear of Inconel 690 can be predictable using the work rate model. Depending on normal loads and vibrating amplitudes, distinctively different wear mechanisms and often drastically different wear rates can occur. At room temperature, the wear coefficient K of Inconel 690 is 7.57${\times}$10$\^$13/Pa$\^$1/ in air and it is 1.93${\times}$10$\^$13/Pa$\^$1/ in water. At room temperature, it is found that the wear volume in air is more than in water. In water, the wear coefficient K at 50$^{\circ}C$ and 80$^{\circ}C$ is 4.35${\times}$10$\^$-13/Pa$^1$ and 5.81${\times}$10$\^$-13/Pa$^1$ respectively, Therefore, it is found that the wear volume extremely increases by increasing on temperature in water. This study shows that the dissolved oxygen with temperature increment increases and the wear due to fluidity is severe.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering Conference
• /
• 2003.11a
• /
• pp.84-91
• /
• 2003

Flow-Induced Vibration of steam generator tubes may result in fretting wear damage at the tube-to-support locations. KSNP(Korean Standard Nuclear Power plant) steam generators experienced fretting wear in the upper part of U-bend above the central cavity region of steam generators. This region has conditions susceptible to the flow-induced vibration, such as high flow velocity, high void fraction, and longer unsupported span. To improve its performance, APR1400 steam generator is designed with additional supports in this region to reduce unsupported span and to reduce peak velocity in the central cavity region. In this paper, we examined its performance improvement using ATHOS code. The thermal-hydraulic condition in the region of secondary side of APR1400 steam generator is obtained using the ATHOS3 code. The effective mass for modal analysis is calculated using the void fraction, enthalpy, and operating pressure information from ATHOS3 code result. With the effective mass distribution along the tube, natural frequency and mode shape is obtained using ANSYS code. Finally, stability ratios and real mean squared displacements for selected tubes of the APR1400 steam generator are computed. From these results, the current design of the APR1400 steam generator are examined.