TY - JOUR
T1 - Characterization of Austenitic Stainless Steels with Regard to Environmentally Assisted Fatigue in Simulated Light Water Reactor Conditions
AU - Bruchhausen, Matthias
AU - Dundulis, Gintautas
AU - McLennan, Alec
AU - Arrieta, Sergio
AU - Austin, Tim
AU - Cicero, Román
AU - Chitty, Walter-John
AU - Doremus, Luc
AU - Ernestova, Miroslava
AU - Grybenas, Albertas
AU - Huotilainen, Caitlin
AU - Mann, Jonathan
AU - Mottershead, Kevin
AU - Novotny, Radek
AU - Perosanz, Fransisco Javier
AU - Platts, Norman
AU - le Roux, Jean-Christophe
AU - Spätig, Philippe
AU - Torre Celeizábal, Claudia
AU - Twite, Marius
AU - Vankeerberghen, Marc
N1 - Score=10
PY - 2021/2/10
Y1 - 2021/2/10
N2 - A substantial amount of research effort has been applied to the field of environmentally assisted fatigue (EAF) due to the requirement to account for the EAF behaviour of metals for existing and new build nuclear power plants. We present the results of the European project INcreasing Safety in NPPs by Covering Gaps in Environmental Fatigue Assessment (INCEFA-PLUS), during which the sensitivities of strain range, environment, surface roughness, mean strain and hold times, as well as their interactions on the fatigue life of austenitic steels has been characterized. The project included a test campaign, during which more than 250 fatigue tests were performed. The tests did not reveal a significant effect of mean strain or hold time on fatigue life. An empirical model describing the fatigue life as a function of strain rate, environment and surface roughness is developed. There is evidence for statistically significant interaction effects between surface roughness and the environment, as well as between surface roughness and strain range. However, their impact on fatigue life is so small that they are not practically relevant and can in most cases be neglected. Reducing the environmental impact on fatigue life by modifying the temperature or strain rate leads to an increase of the fatigue life in agreement with predictions based on NUREG/CR-6909. A limited sub-programme on the sensitivity of hold times at elevated temperature at zero force conditions and at elevated temperature did not show the beneficial effect on fatigue life found in another study.
AB - A substantial amount of research effort has been applied to the field of environmentally assisted fatigue (EAF) due to the requirement to account for the EAF behaviour of metals for existing and new build nuclear power plants. We present the results of the European project INcreasing Safety in NPPs by Covering Gaps in Environmental Fatigue Assessment (INCEFA-PLUS), during which the sensitivities of strain range, environment, surface roughness, mean strain and hold times, as well as their interactions on the fatigue life of austenitic steels has been characterized. The project included a test campaign, during which more than 250 fatigue tests were performed. The tests did not reveal a significant effect of mean strain or hold time on fatigue life. An empirical model describing the fatigue life as a function of strain rate, environment and surface roughness is developed. There is evidence for statistically significant interaction effects between surface roughness and the environment, as well as between surface roughness and strain range. However, their impact on fatigue life is so small that they are not practically relevant and can in most cases be neglected. Reducing the environmental impact on fatigue life by modifying the temperature or strain rate leads to an increase of the fatigue life in agreement with predictions based on NUREG/CR-6909. A limited sub-programme on the sensitivity of hold times at elevated temperature at zero force conditions and at elevated temperature did not show the beneficial effect on fatigue life found in another study.
KW - Environmentally assisted fatigue (EAF)
KW - austenitic stainless steel
KW - nuclear power plant
KW - Light water reactor
KW - surface roughness
UR - https://ecm.sckcen.be/OTCS/llisapi.dll/overview/42742895
U2 - 10.3390/met11020307
DO - 10.3390/met11020307
M3 - Article
SN - 2075-4701
VL - 11
SP - 1
EP - 20
JO - Metals
JF - Metals
IS - 307
M1 - 1100307
ER -