Miniature Center-Cracked-Tension Specimen for Fatigue Crack Growth Testing

摘要

A miniature specimen was developed to characterize the effects of neutron irradiation on the fatigue crack growth behavior of candidate fusion reactor first wall materials. The specimen was designed using the following guidelines: (1) it must be small enough to be compatible with existing irradiation facilities; (2) it must be capable of being economically tested in the relatively large numbers required in an alloy development program; and (3) it must be large enough to produce valid results. During the development effort, questions regarding thickness, buckling, excessive plasticity, accuracy of crack length measurements, length-to-width ratio and proximity of welds to the notch (for welded inserts) were systematically addressed. (ERA citation 09:002684)