Embedded crack treatments and fracture toughness evaluation methods in probabilistic fracture mechanics analysis code for the PTS analysis of RPV

摘要

Using the probabilistic fracture mechanics analysis code PASCAL, we studied the treatment method of an embedded crack and the fracture toughness evaluation methods on the probability of crack initiation and fracture of a reactor pressure vessel (RPV). For calculating the stress intensity factor (SIF) of an embedded crack, the ASME and CRIEPI procedures were introduced into the PASCAL code. The CRIEPI method enables us to calculate the SIF values at three points on the crack tip. Under a severe pressurized thermal shock (PTS) condition, the crack growth analysis methods with different SIF calculation points and crack growth directions are compared. To evaluate precisely the fracture toughness after neutron irradiation, the new fracture toughness curves based on the Weibull distribution were incorporated into the PASCAL code. The calculated results with these new curves showed little difference in the conditional probabilities of RPV fracture as compared to the curve currently used in the U. S.