Analysis of environmentally assisted crack initiation of Alloy 182 in simulated light water reactor primary water with the engineering initiation model EngInit
Restricted accessResearch articleFirst published online April, 2022
Analysis of environmentally assisted crack initiation of Alloy 182 in simulated light water reactor primary water with the engineering initiation model EngInit
Environmentally assisted cracking of nickel-base alloys has been observed in the primary coolant of light water reactors and is known as primary water stress corrosion cracking. In respect of crack growth, disposition curves are available for integrity analysis. However, in respect of initiation, there is no generally accepted approach. Here, a methodology is proposed to derive a usage factor towards initiation. Reaching a usage factor of 1 means that initiation is incipient. How far one is away from a usage factor of 1 tells us about the margin towards initiation. The key function in the approach is the rate at which the usage factor increases. It is proposed to be a function of strain rate and stress. Data from constant extension rate tests with flat, tapered tensile specimens have been used to parameterise the model. The parameterised model is subsequently used to predict initiation in a tensile-loaded, large-notch specimen.
Managing PWSCC in butt welds by mitigation and inspection, NUREG/CR-7187.
2.
Materials reliability program: generic guidance for alloy 600 management (MRP-126). Palo Alto, CA: EPRI; 2004. p. 1009561.
3.
Materials reliability program: crack growth rates for evaluating primary water stress corrosion cracking (PWSCC) of alloy 82, 182, and 132 welds (MRP-115NP). Palo Alto, CA: EPRI; 2004. p. 1006696.
4.
AmzallagCBoursierJMPagesC. Stress corrosion life experience of 182 and 82 welds in French PWRs. Proceedings of the Fontevraux 5 International Symposium, Sociéte Française D'Energie Nucléaire; 2002; 69-79.
5.
ScottPMCombradeP.General corrosion and stress corrosion cracking of alloy 600 in light water reactor primary coolants. J Nucl Mater. 2019; 524: 340–375.
6.
BeaversJABerryWEParkinsRN.Standard test procedure for stress corrosion cracking threshold stress determination. NACE Mater Perform. 1986; 25 (6): 9–17.
7.
PendersAKonstantinovicMBoschR-W. Crack initiation in tapered high Si stainless steel specimens – stress threshold analyses. Corros Eng Sci Technol. 2020; 55 (8): 721–728.
8.
MeadowsPJAndresenPLToloczkoMB. International round-robin on stress corrosion crack initiation of alloy 600 material in pressurized water reactor primary water. Corrosion. 2020; 76 (8): 719–733.
9.
BoschR-WRitterSHerbstM. Stress corrosion crack initiation testing with tapered specimens in high-temperature water – results of a collaborative research project,. Corros Eng Sci Technol. 2021; 56 (2): 1–17.
BaiJRitterSSeifertH-P. The use of tapered specimens to evaluate the SCC initiation susceptibility in Alloy 182 in BWR and PWR environments. Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Environmental Degradation of Materials in Nuclear Power Systems – Water Reactors, The Minerals, Metals & Materials Series; 2018; Springer, vol. 2, p. 713-732.
HenthorneM.The slow strain rate stress corrosion cracking test – a 50 year retrospective. Corrosion. Dec 2016; 72 (12): 1488–1518. NACE International.
14.
ASTM G129-00. Standard practice for slow strain rate testing to evaluate the susceptibility of metallic materials to environmentally assisted cracking. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM International.
15.
ISO 7539-7:2005. Corrosion of metals and alloys – stress corrosion testing – part 7: method for slow strain rate testing. International Organization for Standardization.
FengTYangWCongletonJ. Use of tapered specimens for evaluating the susceptibility of materials to SCC in high temperature water. Proceedings of International Symposium on plant aging and life predictions of corrodible structures; May 15-18, 1995; Sapporo, Japan.
18.
KaneRD., editor. Slow strain rate testing for the evaluation of environmentally induced cracking: research and engineering applications. West Conshohocken, USA: ASTM International; 1993.
19.
YuJHenry HolroydNJParkinsRN.Application of slow-strain-rate tests to defining the stress for stress corrosion crack initiation in 70/30 brass. In: DeanSPughEUgianskyG, editors. Environment-Sensitive fracture: evaluation and comparison of test methods. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM International; 1984. p. 288–309.
20.
JanousekJSceniniFVolpeL. Environmentally-Assisted cracking of type 316L austenitic stainless steel in low pressure hydrogen steam environments. Proc Struct Integ. 2019; 17: 440–447.
21.
HalodováPLorincikJHojnáA.Microstructural investigation of LME crack initiated in ferritic/martensitic steel T91 loaded in liquid lead-bismuth eutectic at 300°C. Materials (Basel). 2019; 12 (1): 38. doi: 10.3390/ma12010038.
22.
LuttonKScullyJR.Kinetics of oxide growth of passive films on transitions metals. In: WandeltK, editor. Encyclopedia of interfacial chemistry, surface science and electrochemistry. Elsevier; 2018. 6. p. 284–290. ISBN 9787-0-12-809739-7.
23.
MacdonaldDD.The history of the point defect model for the passive state: A brief review of film growth aspects. Electrochim Acta. 2011; 56 (4): 1761–1772.
24.
HwangSSKimJHKimJS. Scratch type repassivation technique at high temperature. Proceedings of the KNS autumn meeting, (pp. CD-ROM); Korea, Republic of: KNS.
25.
StellwagB.The mechanism of oxide film formation on austenitic stainless steels in high temperature water. Corros Sci. 1998; 40 (2-3): 337–370.
26.
WangJHanE-HWangJ.The repassivation kinetics study of Alloy 800 in high-temperature pressurized water. Electrochem Commun. 2015; 60: 100–103. doi: 10.1016/j.elecom.2015.08.017.
27.
BoschR-WSchepersBVankeerberghenM.Development of a scratch test in an autoclave for the measurement of repassivation kinetics of stainless steel in high temperature high pressure water. Electrochim Acta. 2004; 49 (17-18): 3029–3038. doi: 10.1016/S0013-4686(04)00275-0.
28.
VankeerberghenM.Catalog of MEACTOS and MICRIN+ CERT test results for environmentally-assisted crack initiation of Alloy 182, version 1.0. European Commission JRC, [Catalog]; 2021. doi: 10.5290/61.
29.
ZiminaMHojnaA. personal communication.
30.
ChopraOKStevensGL. NUREG/CR-6909, Rev.1; effect of LWR water environments on the fatigue life of reactor materials. Final Report, 2018.
