Experimental evaluation of mechanical properties and fracture-fatigue simulation of cryo- and room-temperature-rolled zircaloy-2

摘要

In this study, the mechanical properties of mercury-quenched, cryorolled (CR) and room-temperature-rolled (RTR) zircaloy-2 have been examined by performing the tensile and hardness tests. The effect of cryorolling and room temperature rolling on the fracture properties has been evaluated by performing two-dimensional (2D) quasi-static crack growth simulations using finite element approach under plane stress condition. J-integral and internal energy of the mercury-quenched, CR and RTR zircalloy-2 are evaluated and compared with each other. The S-N curves for mercury-quenched, CR and RTR zircaloy-2 are obtained through finite element simulations. After performing the fracture and fatigue simulations, it is found that 85% cryorolled zircaloy-2 possesses better fracture and fatigue behaviour when compared with mercury-quenched and 85% RTR zircaloy-2.