Statistical analysis of the effect of lead-bismuth eutectic on fatigue resistance of 316L

Noelia O. Fuentes Solis; Serguei Gavrilov; Erich Stergar; Marc Seefeldt; Maria Wevers; Pierre Marmy

doi:10.1016/j.nucengdes.2023.112312

Statistical analysis of the effect of lead-bismuth eutectic on fatigue resistance of 316L

Noelia O. Fuentes Solis, Serguei Gavrilov, Erich Stergar, Marc Seefeldt, Maria Wevers, Pierre Marmy

Research output › peer-review

Abstract

Environments like liquid lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE) or air can have an effect on the fatigue resistance of nuclear materials such as ferritic-martensitic and austenitic stainless steels if compared to vacuum. This paper provides a quantitative assessment, supported by statistical tools, of the effects of LBE and air on the fatigue life. Low cycle fatigue tests were performed on cylindrical samples of 316L in three environments: air, vacuum, and LBE (oxygen concentration <10 ^–5 wt% and temperature 350 °C), and the experimental data was fitted to obtain life prediction models. The independent modelling of three separate environment datasets via the Langer equation showed that the slope of the fatigue curve is comparable among the three environments. In all models the sample standard deviation was found to be of the same order, suggesting that variations in microstructure and composition of 316L among samples have a similar impact in all three environments. A simplified model was then proposed considering vacuum as the reference condition, and assessing the effect of air and LBE as a quotient of lifetime in vacuum and air or lead-bismuth eutectic respectively. Analysis of the fracture surfaces indicated the existence of an LBE-steel interaction which seemed independent from oxygen content. For both air and LBE environments, fatigue life was found to be reduced by a factor of around 3 when compared to vacuum. Statistical analysis revealed that the difference in life reduction due to air and LBE is not significant.

Original language	English
Article number	112312
Number of pages	13
Journal	Nuclear Engineering and Design
Volume	407
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nucengdes.2023.112312
State	Published - Jun 2023

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Mechanical Engineering
Nuclear and High Energy Physics
Safety, Risk, Reliability and Quality
Waste Management and Disposal
General Materials Science
Nuclear Energy and Engineering

Access to Document

10.1016/j.nucengdes.2023.112312

Cite this

@article{297b1e08988848e8995aab08dba6a450,

title = "Statistical analysis of the effect of lead-bismuth eutectic on fatigue resistance of 316L",

abstract = "Environments like liquid lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE) or air can have an effect on the fatigue resistance of nuclear materials such as ferritic-martensitic and austenitic stainless steels if compared to vacuum. This paper provides a quantitative assessment, supported by statistical tools, of the effects of LBE and air on the fatigue life. Low cycle fatigue tests were performed on cylindrical samples of 316L in three environments: air, vacuum, and LBE (oxygen concentration <10 –5 wt% and temperature 350 °C), and the experimental data was fitted to obtain life prediction models. The independent modelling of three separate environment datasets via the Langer equation showed that the slope of the fatigue curve is comparable among the three environments. In all models the sample standard deviation was found to be of the same order, suggesting that variations in microstructure and composition of 316L among samples have a similar impact in all three environments. A simplified model was then proposed considering vacuum as the reference condition, and assessing the effect of air and LBE as a quotient of lifetime in vacuum and air or lead-bismuth eutectic respectively. Analysis of the fracture surfaces indicated the existence of an LBE-steel interaction which seemed independent from oxygen content. For both air and LBE environments, fatigue life was found to be reduced by a factor of around 3 when compared to vacuum. Statistical analysis revealed that the difference in life reduction due to air and LBE is not significant.",

keywords = "Austenitic stainless steel, Bismuth, Eutectics, Fatigue testing, Statistical mechanics, Statistical methods, Vacuum applications, 316L, Cylindrical samples, Fatigue-resistance, Ferritic/martensitic, Lead-bismuth eutectics, Liquid lead, Low-cycle fatigue tests, Nuclear material, Quantitative assessments, Statistical tools, Oxygen",

author = "{Fuentes Solis}, {Noelia O.} and Serguei Gavrilov and Erich Stergar and Marc Seefeldt and Maria Wevers and Pierre Marmy",

note = "Score=10 Funding Information: This work is supported and partially funded by the Belgian government through the MYRRHA project. The authors would like to express special thanks to Y. Florenty for their assistance in the experimental work, and E. Lopes, A. Lescur, and C.A. Fitriani for the valuable discussions. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2023 Elsevier B.V.",

year = "2023",

month = jun,

doi = "10.1016/j.nucengdes.2023.112312",

language = "English",

volume = "407",

journal = "Nuclear Engineering and Design",

issn = "0029-5493",

publisher = "Elsevier",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Statistical analysis of the effect of lead-bismuth eutectic on fatigue resistance of 316L

AU - Fuentes Solis, Noelia O.

AU - Gavrilov, Serguei

AU - Stergar, Erich

AU - Seefeldt, Marc

AU - Wevers, Maria

AU - Marmy, Pierre

N1 - Score=10 Funding Information: This work is supported and partially funded by the Belgian government through the MYRRHA project. The authors would like to express special thanks to Y. Florenty for their assistance in the experimental work, and E. Lopes, A. Lescur, and C.A. Fitriani for the valuable discussions. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 Elsevier B.V.

PY - 2023/6

Y1 - 2023/6

N2 - Environments like liquid lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE) or air can have an effect on the fatigue resistance of nuclear materials such as ferritic-martensitic and austenitic stainless steels if compared to vacuum. This paper provides a quantitative assessment, supported by statistical tools, of the effects of LBE and air on the fatigue life. Low cycle fatigue tests were performed on cylindrical samples of 316L in three environments: air, vacuum, and LBE (oxygen concentration <10 –5 wt% and temperature 350 °C), and the experimental data was fitted to obtain life prediction models. The independent modelling of three separate environment datasets via the Langer equation showed that the slope of the fatigue curve is comparable among the three environments. In all models the sample standard deviation was found to be of the same order, suggesting that variations in microstructure and composition of 316L among samples have a similar impact in all three environments. A simplified model was then proposed considering vacuum as the reference condition, and assessing the effect of air and LBE as a quotient of lifetime in vacuum and air or lead-bismuth eutectic respectively. Analysis of the fracture surfaces indicated the existence of an LBE-steel interaction which seemed independent from oxygen content. For both air and LBE environments, fatigue life was found to be reduced by a factor of around 3 when compared to vacuum. Statistical analysis revealed that the difference in life reduction due to air and LBE is not significant.

AB - Environments like liquid lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE) or air can have an effect on the fatigue resistance of nuclear materials such as ferritic-martensitic and austenitic stainless steels if compared to vacuum. This paper provides a quantitative assessment, supported by statistical tools, of the effects of LBE and air on the fatigue life. Low cycle fatigue tests were performed on cylindrical samples of 316L in three environments: air, vacuum, and LBE (oxygen concentration <10 –5 wt% and temperature 350 °C), and the experimental data was fitted to obtain life prediction models. The independent modelling of three separate environment datasets via the Langer equation showed that the slope of the fatigue curve is comparable among the three environments. In all models the sample standard deviation was found to be of the same order, suggesting that variations in microstructure and composition of 316L among samples have a similar impact in all three environments. A simplified model was then proposed considering vacuum as the reference condition, and assessing the effect of air and LBE as a quotient of lifetime in vacuum and air or lead-bismuth eutectic respectively. Analysis of the fracture surfaces indicated the existence of an LBE-steel interaction which seemed independent from oxygen content. For both air and LBE environments, fatigue life was found to be reduced by a factor of around 3 when compared to vacuum. Statistical analysis revealed that the difference in life reduction due to air and LBE is not significant.

KW - Austenitic stainless steel

KW - Bismuth

KW - Eutectics

KW - Fatigue testing

KW - Statistical mechanics

KW - Statistical methods

KW - Vacuum applications

KW - 316L

KW - Cylindrical samples

KW - Fatigue-resistance

KW - Ferritic/martensitic

KW - Lead-bismuth eutectics

KW - Liquid lead

KW - Low-cycle fatigue tests

KW - Nuclear material

KW - Quantitative assessments

KW - Statistical tools

KW - Oxygen

U2 - 10.1016/j.nucengdes.2023.112312

DO - 10.1016/j.nucengdes.2023.112312

M3 - Article

SN - 0029-5493

VL - 407

JO - Nuclear Engineering and Design

JF - Nuclear Engineering and Design

M1 - 112312

ER -