Analysis of Radiation-Induced Embrittlement Gradients on Fracture Characteristics of Thick-Walled Pressure Vessel Steels.
Abstract
The fracture behavior of thick-walled nuclear vessels is considered for the case of a radiation-induced toughness gradient through the wall which characteristically results from neutron attenuation by the wall material itself. Fracture-safe design analyses based on linear elastic formulations or extrapolations of these formulations to the elastic-plastic regime are not sufficiently developed to characterize the integrated behavior of a wall whose toughness can range from brittle at the inner surface to highly ductile at the outer surface. Solutions to the problem in the foreseeable future will be obtained only by experimental means. The present approach uses the Fracture Analysis Diagram (FAD) together with a new interpretative method for fracture extension resistance based on modified dynamic tear specimens as the tools for gradient assessments. With these techniques the significance of the toughness gradient through the wall is assessed in terms of thich section mechanical constraint, and fracture characteristic of the complete wall are predicted. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 1971
- Accession Number
- AD0720676
Entities
People
- C. Z. Serpan Jr.
- Frank J. Loss
- J. Russell Hawthorne
- P. P. Puzak
Organizations
- United States Naval Research Laboratory