TY - GEN
T1 - Use of small specimens for fracture toughness evaluation of RPV steels
AU - Sokolov, Mikhail A.
AU - Nanstad, Randy K.
PY - 2016
Y1 - 2016
N2 - Small specimens are playing the key role in evaluating properties of irradiated materials. The use of small specimens provides several advantages. Typically, only a small volume of material can be irradiated in a reactor at desirable conditions in terms of temperature, neutron flux, and neutron dose. A small volume of irradiated material may also allow for easier handling of specimens. Smaller specimens reduce the amount of radioactive material, minimizing personnel exposures and waste disposal. However, use of small specimens imposes a variety of challenges as well. These challenges are associated with proper accounting for size effects and transferability of small specimen data to the real structures of interest. Any fracture toughness specimen that can be made out of standard Charpy specimen or its broken half may have exceptional utility for evaluation of reactor pressure vessels (RPVs) since it would allow one to determine and monitor directly actual fracture toughness instead of requiring indirect predictions using correlations established with impact data. The Charpy Vnotch specimen is the most commonly used specimen geometry in surveillance programs and most likely to be used in advanced reactors as per ASME code.
AB - Small specimens are playing the key role in evaluating properties of irradiated materials. The use of small specimens provides several advantages. Typically, only a small volume of material can be irradiated in a reactor at desirable conditions in terms of temperature, neutron flux, and neutron dose. A small volume of irradiated material may also allow for easier handling of specimens. Smaller specimens reduce the amount of radioactive material, minimizing personnel exposures and waste disposal. However, use of small specimens imposes a variety of challenges as well. These challenges are associated with proper accounting for size effects and transferability of small specimen data to the real structures of interest. Any fracture toughness specimen that can be made out of standard Charpy specimen or its broken half may have exceptional utility for evaluation of reactor pressure vessels (RPVs) since it would allow one to determine and monitor directly actual fracture toughness instead of requiring indirect predictions using correlations established with impact data. The Charpy Vnotch specimen is the most commonly used specimen geometry in surveillance programs and most likely to be used in advanced reactors as per ASME code.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84986205295&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:84986205295
T3 - International Congress on Advances in Nuclear Power Plants, ICAPP 2016
SP - 238
EP - 242
BT - International Congress on Advances in Nuclear Power Plants, ICAPP 2016
PB - American Nuclear Society
T2 - 2016 International Congress on Advances in Nuclear Power Plants, ICAPP 2016
Y2 - 17 April 2016 through 20 April 2016
ER -