Abstract
This chapter discusses the fracture toughness of reactor pressure vessel (RPV) materials as a consequence of service in a neutron irradiation environment. Fracture toughness of the materials is directly related to structural integrity of the operating RPV and the materials must be evaluated relative to their radiation sensitivity and effects on overall structural integrity. In radiation-sensitive steel, the fracture toughness is decreased and is the property used to describe the radiation-induced embrittlement. The chapter presents a brief history of the development of fracture mechanics followed by more detailed discussions of different aspects of material fracture toughness under both quasi-static and dynamic loading conditions.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Irradiation Embrittlement of Reactor Pressure Vessels (RPVs) in Nuclear Power Plants |
| Publisher | Elsevier Inc. |
| Pages | 295-332 |
| Number of pages | 38 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9780857096470 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9781845699673 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Aug 22 2014 |
Funding
Notice: This manuscript has been authored by UT-Battelle, LLC, under Contract No. DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the US Department of Energy. The United States Government retains and the publisher by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the United States Government retains a non-exclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, world-wide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for United States Government purposes.
Keywords
- Charpy impact
- Crack-arrest
- Embrittlement
- Fracture toughness
- Irradiation
- J-integral
- Master curve
- Nil-ductility transition (NDT) temperature
- Pressurized water reactor (PWR)