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Sample records for crack depth measurement

  1. Influence of crack length on crack depth measurement by an alternating current potential drop technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Raja, Manoj K; Mahadevan, S; Rao, B P C; Behera, S P; Jayakumar, T; Raj, Baldev

    2010-01-01

    An alternating current potential drop (ACPD) technique is used for sizing depth of surface cracks in metallic components. Crack depth estimations are prone to large deviations when ACPD measurements are made on very shallow and finite length cracks, especially in low conducting materials such as austenitic stainless steel (SS). Detailed studies have been carried out to investigate the influence of crack length and aspect ratio (length to depth) on depth estimation by performing measurements on electric discharge machined notches with the aspect ratio in the range of 1 to 40 in SS plates. In notches with finite length, an additional path for current to flow through the surface along the length is available causing the notch depths to be underestimated. The experimentally observed deviation in notch depth estimates is explained from a simple mathematical approach using the equivalent resistive circuit model based on the additional path available for the current to flow. A scheme is proposed to accurately measure the depth of cracks with finite lengths in SS components

  2. Development of measurement technique for crack depth in weld zone of thick stainless steel pipe with ultrasonic phased array TOFD

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ishida, Hitoshi

    2006-01-01

    Phased array TOFD (time of flight diffraction) method which makes possible to detect tip diffraction echoes and measure crack depth in an austenitic stainless steel weld zone with a thickness of more than 25 mm to which region it was difficult to apply ultrasonic test due to scattering of ultrasonic waves has been developed. The developed method uses a single array transducer to have a short distance between incident points of transmitter and receiver in order to propagate waves in shorter pass in the weld region. Transmitting and receiving ultrasonic beams from a single array probe can be set a crossing point and a focal point at desired depth. This method makes possible to scan with 16 kinds of combination of crossing points and focal pints of ultrasonic beam at a time. We have examined fundamental characteristics of depth measurement with electric discharge machining slits on base metal of a stainless steel with a thickness of 35 mm. As the results: (1) We could measure the slit depth with 0.2mm error from the slit depth with a estimating method of a lateral wave propagation time with back wall echo. (2) The largest error of the depth measurement from the slit depth with the ultrasonic beam crossing point set at the 4mm different point from the tip of the slit was 0.3 mm. (3) The largest error of the depth measurements due to the difference of focal point depth of ultrasonic beam was 0.2 mm. (4) The highest tip diffraction echo could be observed with the ultrasonic beam cross point set at the tip of the slit. The difference of 4 mm between the cross point and the tip of the slit caused attenuation of tip diffraction echo height in -6.8 dB. Furthermore we have measured a depth of electric discharge machining slits, fatigue cracks and stress corrosion cracking (SCC) on stainless steel welded pipe specimens with a thickness of 35 mm. As the results: (1) We could detect the tip diffraction echoes which have a signal noise ratio with more than 2.4 from the fatigue

  3. Application of ultrasonic inspection technique for crack depth sizing on nickel based alloy weld. Part 3. Establishment of UT procedure for crack depth sizing by phased array UT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hirasawa, Taiji; Okada, Hisao; Fukutomi, Hiroyuki

    2012-01-01

    Recently, it is reported that the primary water stress corrosion cracking (PWSCC) was occurred at the nickel based alloy weld components such as steam generator safe end weld, reactor vessel safe end weld, and so on, in PWR. Defect detection and sizing is important in order to ensure the reliable operation and life extension of nuclear power plants. In the reactor vessel safe end weld, it was impossible to measure crack depth of PWSCC. The crack was detected in the axial direction of the safe end weld. Furthermore, the crack had some features such as shallow, large aspect ratio (ratio of crack depth and length), sharp geometry of crack tip, and so on. Therefore, development and improvement of defect detection and sizing capabilities for ultrasonic testing (UT) is required. Phased array technique was applied to nickel based alloy weld specimen with SCC cracks. From the experimental results, good accuracy of crack depth sizing by phased array UT for the inside inspection was shown. From these results, UT procedure for crack depth sizing was verified. Therefore, effectiveness of phased array UT for crack depth sizing in the nickel based alloy welds was shown. (author)

  4. Nondestructive estimation of depth of surface opening cracks in concrete beams

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arne, Kevin; In, Chiwon; Kurtis, Kimberly; Kim, Jin-Yeon; Jacobs, Laurence J.

    2014-01-01

    Concrete is one of the most widely used construction materials and thus assessment of damage in concrete structures is of the utmost importance from both a safety point of view and a financial point of view. Of particular interest are surface opening cracks that extend through the concrete cover, as this can expose the steel reinforcement bars underneath and induce corrosion in them. This corrosion can lead to significant subsequent damage in concrete such as cracking and delamination of the cover concrete as well as rust staining on the surface of concrete. Concrete beams are designed and constructed in such a way to provide crack depths up to around 13 cm. Two different types of measurements are made in-situ to estimate depths of real surface cracks (as opposed to saw-cut notches) after unloading: one based on the impact-echo method and the other one based on the diffuse ultrasonic method. These measurements are compared to the crack depth visually observed on the sides of the beams. Discussions are given as to the advantages and disadvantages of each method

  5. Induction Thermography for Surface Crack Detection and Depth Determination

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Beate Oswald-Tranta

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available In the last few years, induction thermography has been established as a non-destructive testing method for localizing surface cracks in metals. The sample to be inspected is heated with a short induced electrical current pulse, and the infrared camera records—during and after the heating pulse—the temperature distribution at the surface. Transforming the temporal temperature development for each pixel to phase information makes not only highly reliable detection of the cracks possible but also allows an estimation of its depth. Finite element simulations were carried out to investigate how the phase contrast depends on parameters such as excitation frequency, pulse duration, material parameters, crack depth, and inclination angle of the crack. From these results, generalized functions for the dependency of the phase difference on all these parameters were derived. These functions can be used as an excellent guideline as to how measurement parameters should be optimized for a given material to be able to detect cracks and estimate their depth. Several experiments on different samples were also carried out, and the results compared with the simulations showed very good agreement.

  6. Determination of crack depth in aluminum using eddy currents and GMR sensors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lopes Ribeiro, A.; Pasadas, D.; Ramos, H. G.; Rocha, T.

    2015-03-01

    In this paper we use eddy currents to determine the depth of linear cracks in aluminum plates. A constant field probe is used to generate the spatially uniform excitation field and a single axis giant magneto-resistor (GMR) sensor is used to measure the eddy currents magnetic field. Different depths were machined in one aluminum plate with 4 mm of thickness. By scanning those cracks the magnetic field components parallel and perpendicular to the crack's line were measured when the eddy currents were launched perpendicularly to the crack's line. To characterize one crack in a plate of a given thickness and material, the experimental procedure was defined. The plate surface is scanned to detect and locate one crack. The acquired data enables the determination of the crack's length and orientation. A second scanning is performed with the excitation current perpendicular to the crack and the GMR sensing axis perpendicular and parallel to the crack's line.

  7. Development of phased array UT procedure for crack depth sizing on nickel based alloy weld

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hirasawa, Taiji; Okada, Hisao; Fukutomi, Hiroyuki

    2012-01-01

    Recently, it is reported that the primary water stress corrosion cracking (PWSCC) has been occurred at the nickel based alloy weld components such as steam generator safe end weld, reactor vessel safe end weld, and so on, in PWR. Defect detection and sizing is important in order to ensure the reliable operation and life extension of nuclear power plants. In the reactor vessel safe end weld, it was impossible to measure crack depth of PWSCC. The crack was detected in the axial direction of the safe end weld. Furthermore, the crack had some features such as shallow, large aspect ratio (ratio of crack depth and length), sharp geometry of crack tip, and so on. Therefore, development and improvement of defect detection and sizing capabilities for ultrasonic inspection technique is required. Phased array UT technique was applied to nickel based alloy weld specimen with SCC cracks. From the experimental results, good accuracy of crack depth sizing by phased array UT for the inside inspection was shown. From these results, UT procedure for crack depth sizing was verified. Therefore, effectiveness of phased array UT for crack depth sizing in the nickel based alloy welds was shown. (author)

  8. Eddy-current inversion in the thin-skin limit: Determination of depth and opening for a long crack

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burke, S. K.

    1994-09-01

    A method for crack size determination using eddy-current nondestructive evaluation is presented for the case of a plate containing an infinitely long crack of uniform depth and uniform crack opening. The approach is based on the approximate solution to Maxwell's equations for nonmagnetic conductors in the limit of small skin depth and relies on least-squares polynomial fits to a normalized coil impedance function as a function of skin depth. The method is straightforward to implement and is relatively insensitive to both systematic and random errors. The procedure requires the computation of two functions: a normalizing function, which depends both on the coil parameters and the skin depth, and a crack-depth function which depends only on the coil parameters in addition to the crack depth. The practical perfomance of the method was tested using a set of simulated cracks in the form of electro-discharge machined slots in aluminum alloy plates. The crack depths and crack opening deduced from the eddy-current measurements agree with the actual crack dimensions to within 10% or better. Recommendations concerning the optimum conditions for crack sizing are also made.

  9. Novel Method for Sizing Metallic Bottom Crack Depth Using Multi-frequency Alternating Current Potential Drop Technique

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Li Yuting

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Potential drop techniques are of two types: the direct current potential drop (DCPD technique and alternating current potential drop (ACPD technique, and both of them are used in nondestructive testing. ACPD, as a kind of valid method in sizing metal cracks, has been applied to evaluate metal structures. However, our review of most available approaches revealed that some improvements can be done in measuring depth of metal bottom crack by means of ACPD, such as accuracy and sensitivity of shallow crack. This paper studied a novel method which utilized the slope of voltage ratio-frequency curve to solve bottom crack depth by using a simple mathematic equation based on finite element analysis. It is found that voltage ratio varies linearly with frequency in the range of 5-15 Hz; this range is slightly higher than the equivalent frequency and lower than semi-permeable frequency. Simulation and experiment show that the novel method can measure the bottom crack depth accurately.

  10. Novel Method for Sizing Metallic Bottom Crack Depth Using Multi-frequency Alternating Current Potential Drop Technique

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yuting; Gan, Fangji; Wan, Zhengjun; Liao, Junbi; Li, Wenqiang

    2015-10-01

    Potential drop techniques are of two types: the direct current potential drop (DCPD) technique and alternating current potential drop (ACPD) technique, and both of them are used in nondestructive testing. ACPD, as a kind of valid method in sizing metal cracks, has been applied to evaluate metal structures. However, our review of most available approaches revealed that some improvements can be done in measuring depth of metal bottom crack by means of ACPD, such as accuracy and sensitivity of shallow crack. This paper studied a novel method which utilized the slope of voltage ratio-frequency curve to solve bottom crack depth by using a simple mathematic equation based on finite element analysis. It is found that voltage ratio varies linearly with frequency in the range of 5-15 Hz; this range is slightly higher than the equivalent frequency and lower than semi-permeable frequency. Simulation and experiment show that the novel method can measure the bottom crack depth accurately.

  11. Investigation of UT procedure for crack depth sizing by phased array UT in Ni-based alloy weld

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hirasawa, Taiji; Fukutomi, Hiroyuki

    2013-01-01

    Recently, it has been reported that the primary water stress corrosion cracking (PWSCC) has occurred in nickel based alloy weld components such as steam generator safe end weld, reactor vessel safe end weld, and so on, in PWR. Defect detection and sizing are important in order to ensure the reliable operation and life extension of nuclear power plants. In the reactor vessel safe end weld, it was impossible to measure crack depth of PWSCC. The cracks have occurred in the axial direction of the safe end weld. Furthermore, the cracks had some features such as deep, large aspect ratio (ratio of crack depth and length), sharp geometry of crack tip, and so on. Therefore, development and improvement of defect depth sizing capabilities by ultrasonic testing (UT) have been required. Phased array UT technique was applied with regard to defect depth sizing at the inside inspection in Ni-based alloy welds. Phased array UT was examined a standard block specimen with side drilled holes (SDHs). From the experimental results, the performance of linear array probes and dual matrix array probe were investigated. In the basis of the results, UT procedure for defect depth sizing was investigated and proposed. The UT procedure was applied to the defect depth measurement in Ni-based alloy weld specimen with electric discharge machine (EDM) notches. From these results, good accuracy of defect depth sizing by phased array UT for the inside inspection was shown. Therefore, it was clarified the effectiveness of the UT procedure for defect depth sizing in Ni-based alloy weld. (author)

  12. a Cost-Effective Method for Crack Detection and Measurement on Concrete Surface

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sarker, M. M.; Ali, T. A.; Abdelfatah, A.; Yehia, S.; Elaksher, A.

    2017-11-01

    Crack detection and measurement in the surface of concrete structures is currently carried out manually or through Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) such as imaging or scanning. The recent developments in depth (stereo) cameras have presented an opportunity for cost-effective, reliable crack detection and measurement. This study aimed at evaluating the feasibility of the new inexpensive depth camera (ZED) for crack detection and measurement. This depth camera with its lightweight and portable nature produces a 3D data file of the imaged surface. The ZED camera was utilized to image a concrete surface and the 3D file was processed to detect and analyse cracks. This article describes the outcome of the experiment carried out with the ZED camera as well as the processing tools used for crack detection and analysis. Crack properties that were also of interest were length, orientation, and width. The use of the ZED camera allowed for distinction between surface and concrete cracks. The ZED high-resolution capability and point cloud capture technology helped in generating a dense 3D data in low-lighting conditions. The results showed the ability of the ZED camera to capture the crack depth changes between surface (render) cracks, and crack that form in the concrete itself.

  13. A COST-EFFECTIVE METHOD FOR CRACK DETECTION AND MEASUREMENT ON CONCRETE SURFACE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. M. Sarker

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Crack detection and measurement in the surface of concrete structures is currently carried out manually or through Non-Destructive Testing (NDT such as imaging or scanning. The recent developments in depth (stereo cameras have presented an opportunity for cost-effective, reliable crack detection and measurement. This study aimed at evaluating the feasibility of the new inexpensive depth camera (ZED for crack detection and measurement. This depth camera with its lightweight and portable nature produces a 3D data file of the imaged surface. The ZED camera was utilized to image a concrete surface and the 3D file was processed to detect and analyse cracks. This article describes the outcome of the experiment carried out with the ZED camera as well as the processing tools used for crack detection and analysis. Crack properties that were also of interest were length, orientation, and width. The use of the ZED camera allowed for distinction between surface and concrete cracks. The ZED high-resolution capability and point cloud capture technology helped in generating a dense 3D data in low-lighting conditions. The results showed the ability of the ZED camera to capture the crack depth changes between surface (render cracks, and crack that form in the concrete itself.

  14. Depth-Sizing Technique for Crack Indications in Steam Generator Tubing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cho, Chan Hee; Lee, Hee Jeong; Kim, Hong Deok

    2009-01-01

    The nuclear power plants have been safely operated by plugging the steam generator tubes which have the crack indications. Tube rupture events can occur if analysts fail to detect crack indications during in-service inspection. There are various types of crack indication in steam generator tubes and they have been detected by the eddy current test. The integrity assessment should be performed using the crack-sizing results from eddy current data when the crack indication is detected. However, it is not easy to evaluate the crack-depth precisely and consistently due to the complexity of the methods. The current crack-sizing methods were reviewed in this paper and the suitable ones were selected through the laboratory tests. The retired steam generators of Kori Unit 1 were used for this study. The round robin tests by the domestic qualified analysts were carried out and the statistical models were introduced to establish the appropriate depth-sizing techniques. It is expected that the proposed techniques in this study can be utilized in the Steam Generator Management Program

  15. Experimental study of the crack depth ratio threshold to analyze the slow crack growth by creep of high density polyethylene pipes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Laiarinandrasana, Lucien; Devilliers, Clémence; Lucatelli, Jean Marc; Gaudichet-Maurin, Emmanuelle; Brossard, Jean Michel

    2014-01-01

    To assess the durability of drinking water connection pipes subjected to oxidation and slow crack growth, a comprehensive database was constructed on a novel specimen geometry: the pre-cracked NOL ring. 135 tests were carried out consisting of initial crack depth ratio ranging from 0.08 to 0.6; single or double longitudinal cracks: tensile with steady strain rate and creep loading. A threshold value of the crack depth ratio of 0.2, induced by the oxidation was determined by analyzing several mechanical parameters. This threshold value was shown to be independent on the strain rate effects, single or double crack configuration and the kind of loading: tensile or creep. Creep test results with crack depth ratio larger than 0.2 were then utilized to establish a failure assessment diagram. A methodology allowing the prediction of residual lifetime of in-service pipes was proposed, using this diagram. - Highlights: • Experimental data on pre-cracked rings featuring a longitudinally cracked HDPE pipe. • Crack depth ratio threshold for slow crack growth study consecutive to oxidation. • Investigation of the effects of the single/double notch(es) and of the strain rate. • Original results obtained from tests performed with tensile and creep loadings. • Correlation between creep initiation time and C* with DENT and ring specimens

  16. Potential drop crack measurement systems for CANDU components

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sahney, R [Carleton Univ., Ottawa, ON (Canada)

    1994-12-31

    A project to develop an automated crack measurement system for CANDU pressure tube burst testing is currently underway. The system will utilize either Direct Current Potential Drop (DCPD) or Alternating Current Potential Drop (ACPD) techniques for crack measurement. The preliminary stage of the project involves testing and comparison of both ACPD and DCPD methods on a Zr - 2.5% Nb alloy plate with saw cuts (used to simulate cracks). Preliminary results show that both ACPD and DCPD techniques are capable of detecting cracks; further testing is in progress to determine the ability of each of the two systems to make accurate crack depth measurements. This paper will describe the two potential drop techniques and will present test results from the experimental program. (author). 10 refs., 7 figs.

  17. Ultrasound data for laboratory calibration of an analytical model to calculate crack depth on asphalt pavements

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Miguel A. Franesqui

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available This article outlines the ultrasound data employed to calibrate in the laboratory an analytical model that permits the calculation of the depth of partial-depth surface-initiated cracks on bituminous pavements using this non-destructive technique. This initial calibration is required so that the model provides sufficient precision during practical application. The ultrasonic pulse transit times were measured on beam samples of different asphalt mixtures (semi-dense asphalt concrete AC-S; asphalt concrete for very thin layers BBTM; and porous asphalt PA. The cracks on the laboratory samples were simulated by means of notches of variable depths. With the data of ultrasound transmission time ratios, curve-fittings were carried out on the analytical model, thus determining the regression parameters and their statistical dispersion. The calibrated models obtained from laboratory datasets were subsequently applied to auscultate the evolution of the crack depth after microwaves exposure in the research article entitled “Top-down cracking self-healing of asphalt pavements with steel filler from industrial waste applying microwaves” (Franesqui et al., 2017 [1].

  18. Ultrasound data for laboratory calibration of an analytical model to calculate crack depth on asphalt pavements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Franesqui, Miguel A; Yepes, Jorge; García-González, Cándida

    2017-08-01

    This article outlines the ultrasound data employed to calibrate in the laboratory an analytical model that permits the calculation of the depth of partial-depth surface-initiated cracks on bituminous pavements using this non-destructive technique. This initial calibration is required so that the model provides sufficient precision during practical application. The ultrasonic pulse transit times were measured on beam samples of different asphalt mixtures (semi-dense asphalt concrete AC-S; asphalt concrete for very thin layers BBTM; and porous asphalt PA). The cracks on the laboratory samples were simulated by means of notches of variable depths. With the data of ultrasound transmission time ratios, curve-fittings were carried out on the analytical model, thus determining the regression parameters and their statistical dispersion. The calibrated models obtained from laboratory datasets were subsequently applied to auscultate the evolution of the crack depth after microwaves exposure in the research article entitled "Top-down cracking self-healing of asphalt pavements with steel filler from industrial waste applying microwaves" (Franesqui et al., 2017) [1].

  19. Application possibility of the direct current conduction method for nondestructive crack measurement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Riedl, R.

    1982-01-01

    An important value to determine the danger of cracks is the determination of crack depths. The crack depth can be determined quite accurate by means of the direct current conduction method, if one holds onto certain rules. Often complicated experimental set-ups are applied. However, portable commercial devices can be obtained that can be used for partial fluxation, that yield good results. By means of two examples: crack conduction samples in which the built-up of a constant-cracking is persued up to a certain depth, as well as the persuasion of an continuing crack in a bearing cylinder, shall be demonstrated that is very well possible to record accurate profiles with commercial devices and to avoid expensive measurement devices. (orig.) [de

  20. Detection and measurement of fatigue cracks in welded joints

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smith, F.C.

    1985-01-01

    A direct current potential drop system was developed for the detection and measurement of very small fatigue cracks that grow from the toes of welds. Measurement of crack growth less than 0.01 mm and of crack growth rates less than 10 -10 m/cycle, even for cracks less than 1.0 mm deep, is made possible by using a high stability measurement apparatus and an adjustment based on initial conditions. Thus far, the measurement system has successfully examined several aspects of fatigue in welded elements. Crack growth results justified the use of a linear elastic expression for the stress intensity factor and provided an evaluation of a growth law which includes the threshold stress intensity factor. Needle peening fillet welded joints did not change the small proportion of crack initiation life to total fatigue life observed for untreated (not improved) welded joints. However, the measurement system demonstrated that needle peening retarded crack growth rates up to 1 mm depth below the weld toe

  1. Simulation and experiment for depth sizing of cracks in anchor bolts by ultrasonic phased array technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Shan

    2018-04-01

    There have been lots of reports about the occurrence of cracks in bolts in aging nuclear and thermal power plants. Sizing of such cracks is crucial for assessing the integrity of bolts. Currently, hammering and visual tests are used to detect cracks in bolts. However, they are not applicable for sizing cracks. Although the tip diffraction method is well known as a crack sizing technique, reflection echoes from threads make it difficult to apply this technique to bolts. This paper addresses a method for depth sizing of cracks in bolts by means of ultrasonic phased array technology. Numerical results of wave propagation in bolts by the finite element method (FEM) shows that a peak associated within the vicinity of a crack tip can be observed in the curve of echo intensity versus refraction angle for deep cracks. The refraction angle with respect to this peak decreases as crack depth increases. Such numerical results are verified by experiments on bolt specimens that have electrical discharge machining notches or fatigue cracks with different depths. In the experiment, a 10-MHz linear array probe is used. Depth of cracks in bolts using the refraction angle associated with the peak is determined and compared to actual depths. The comparison shows that accurately determining a crack depth from the inspection results is possible.

  2. Inelastic analysis of finite length and depth cracked tubes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reich, M.; Gardner, D.; Prachuktam, S.; Chang, T.Y.

    1977-01-01

    Steam generator tube failure can at times result in reactor safety problems and subsequent premature reactor shutdown. This paper concerns itself with the prediction of the failure pressures for typical PWR steam generator tubes with longitudinal finite length and finite depth cracks. Only local plastic overload failure is considered since the material is non-notch sensitive. Non-linear finite element analyses are carried out to determine the burst pressures of steam generator tubes containing longitudinal cracks located on the outer surface of the tubes. The non-linearities considered herein include elastic-plastic material behaviour and large deformations. A non-proprietary general purpose non-linear finite element program, NFAP was adopted for the analysis. Due to the asymmetric nature of the cracks, two-dimensional as well as three-dimensional finite element analyses, were performed. The analysis clearly shows that for short cracks axial effects play a significant role. For long cracks, they are not important since two-dimensional conditions predominate and failure is governed by circumferential or hoop stress conditions. (Auth.)

  3. The reduction in fatigue crack growth resistance of dentin with depth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ivancik, J; Neerchal, N K; Romberg, E; Arola, D

    2011-08-01

    The fatigue crack growth resistance of dentin was characterized as a function of depth from the dentino-enamel junction. Compact tension (CT) specimens were prepared from the crowns of third molars in the deep, middle, and peripheral dentin. The microstructure was quantified in terms of the average tubule dimensions and density. Fatigue cracks were grown in-plane with the tubules and characterized in terms of the initiation and growth responses. Deep dentin exhibited the lowest resistance to the initiation of fatigue crack growth, as indicated by the stress intensity threshold (ΔK(th) ≈ 0.8 MPa•m(0.5)) and the highest incremental fatigue crack growth rate (over 1000 times that in peripheral dentin). Cracks in deep dentin underwent incremental extension under cyclic stresses that were 40% lower than those required in peripheral dentin. The average fatigue crack growth rates increased significantly with tubule density, indicating the importance of microstructure on the potential for tooth fracture. Molars with deep restorations are more likely to suffer from the cracked-tooth syndrome, because of the lower fatigue crack growth resistance of deep dentin.

  4. Impulse response measurements as dependent on crack depth. Delamination

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ulriksen, Peter

    2011-02-01

    The purpose of the project is to investigate the impulse-response method's ability to detect delamination at different depths. This method is of particular interest, since some of it's realizations strongly resembles established methods like 'bomknackning' . Since the personnel that will be responsible for future measurements with new technology, should feel confidence in new methods, it is an advantage if the new methods connect to older, accepted methods. The project consists of three parts and a fourth is planned. The first part of the investigation is made with a vibrator connected to an impedance head which in turn is connected to the surface of the concrete test specimen with internal delaminations at different depths. The vibrator is controlled by a dynamic signal analyze, which also measures the force- and acceleration signals from the impedance head and convert them to impedance. Since the impedance head must be glued to the surface of the concrete this method is only of laboratory interest. This method gives a complete description of the behavior of the concrete for the frequencies investigated. Thus in following investigations the frequencies of interest are known. From the experiment it follows that delamination down to a depth of 80-100 mm can be detected through a clear and solitary resonance peak. This resonance frequency is a function of concrete slab thickness and extension, so if the extension can be measured it may be possible to calculate depth. The second part of the investigation is about using an instrumented hammer to hit the different delamination specimens. The hammer is equipped with a force transducer giving an opportunity to measure the force exerted by the strike against the concrete surface. When a hammer is struck against a concrete surface a spectrum of vibrations is created, dependent on the weight of the hammer and the elasticity of the concrete. A light hammer generates higher frequencies than a heavy one. Three different hammer

  5. Novel Method for Sizing Metallic Bottom Crack Depth Using Multi-frequency Alternating Current Potential Drop Technique

    OpenAIRE

    Li Yuting; Gan Fangji; Wan Zhengjun; Liao Junbi; Li Wenqiang

    2015-01-01

    Potential drop techniques are of two types: the direct current potential drop (DCPD) technique and alternating current potential drop (ACPD) technique, and both of them are used in nondestructive testing. ACPD, as a kind of valid method in sizing metal cracks, has been applied to evaluate metal structures. However, our review of most available approaches revealed that some improvements can be done in measuring depth of metal bottom crack by means of ACPD, such as accuracy and sensitivity of s...

  6. Failure Assessment for the High-Strength Pipelines with Constant-Depth Circumferential Surface Cracks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    X. Liu

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available In the oil and gas transportation system over long distance, application of high-strength pipeline steels can efficiently reduce construction and operation cost by increasing operational pressure and reducing the pipe wall thickness. Failure assessment is an important issue in the design, construction, and maintenance of the pipelines. The small circumferential surface cracks with constant depth in the welded pipelines are of practical interest. This work provides an engineering estimation procedure based upon the GE/EPRI method to determine the J-integral for the thin-walled pipelines with small constant-depth circumferential surface cracks subject to tension and bending loads. The values of elastic influence functions for stress intensity factor and plastic influence functions for fully plastic J-integral estimation are derived in tabulated forms through a series of three-dimensional finite element calculations for different crack geometries and material properties. To check confidence of the J-estimation solution in practical application, J-integral values obtained from detailed finite element (FE analyses are compared with those estimated from the new influence functions. Excellent agreement of FE results with the proposed J-estimation solutions for both tension and bending loads indicates that the new solutions can be applied for accurate structural integrity assessment of high-strength pipelines with constant-depth circumferential surface cracks.

  7. Minimum critical crack depths in pressure vessels guidelines for nondestructive testing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Crossley, M.R.; Townley, C.H.A.

    1983-09-01

    Estimates of the minimum critical depths which can be expected in high quality vessels designed to certain British and American Code rules are given. A simple means of allowing for fatigue crack growth in service is included. The data which are presented can be used to decide what sensitivity and what reporting levels should be employed during an ultrasonic inspection of a pressure vessel. It is emphasised that the minimum crack depths are those which would be relevant to a vessel in which the material is stressed to its maximum permitted value during operation. Stresses may, in practice, be significantly less than this. Less restrictive inspection standards may be established, if it were considered worthwhile to carry out a detailed stress analysis of the particular vessel under examination. (author)

  8. Influence of crack depth on the fracture toughness of reactor pressure vessel steel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Theiss, T.J.; Bryson, J.W.

    1991-01-01

    The Heavy Section Steel Technology Program (HSST) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is investigating the influence of flaw depth on the fracture toughness of reactor pressure vessel (RPV) steel. Recently, it has been shown that, in notched beam testing, shallow cracks tend to exhibit an elevated toughness as a result of a loss of constraint at the crack tip. The loss of constraint takes place when interaction occurs between the elastic-plastic crack-tip stress field and the specimen surface nearest the crack tip. An increased shallow-crack fracture toughness is of interest to the nuclear industry because probabilistic fracture-mechanics evaluations show that shallow flaws play a dominant role in the probability of vessel failure during postulated pressurized-thermal-shock (PTS) events. Tests have been performed on beam specimens loaded in 3-point bending using unirradiated reactor pressure vessel material (A533 B). Testing has been conducted using specimens with a constant beam depth (W = 94 mm) and within the lower transition region of the toughness curve for A533 B. Test results indicate a significantly higher fracture toughness associated with the shallow flaw specimens compared to the fracture toughness determined using deep-crack (a/W = 0.5) specimens. Test data also show little influence of thickness on the fracture toughness for the current test temperature (-60 degree C). 21 refs., 5 figs., 3 tabs

  9. Research progress on expansive soil cracks under changing environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shi, Bei-xiao; Zheng, Cheng-feng; Wu, Jin-kun

    2014-01-01

    Engineering problems shunned previously rise to the surface gradually with the activities of reforming the natural world in depth, the problem of expansive soil crack under the changing environment becoming a control factor of expansive soil slope stability. The problem of expansive soil crack has gradually become a research hotspot, elaborates the occurrence and development of cracks from the basic properties of expansive soil, and points out the role of controlling the crack of expansive soil strength. We summarize the existing research methods and results of expansive soil crack characteristics. Improving crack measurement and calculation method and researching the crack depth measurement, statistical analysis method, crack depth and surface feature relationship will be the future direction.

  10. Measuring depth profiles of residual stress with Raman spectroscopy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Enloe, W.S.; Sparks, R.G.; Paesler, M.A.

    1988-12-01

    Knowledge of the variation of residual stress is a very important factor in understanding the properties of machined surfaces. The nature of the residual stress can determine a part`s susceptibility to wear deformation, and cracking. Raman spectroscopy is known to be a very useful technique for measuring residual stress in many materials. These measurements are routinely made with a lateral resolution of 1{mu}m and an accuracy of 0.1 kbar. The variation of stress with depth; however, has not received much attention in the past. A novel technique has been developed that allows quantitative measurement of the variation of the residual stress with depth with an accuracy of 10nm in the z direction. Qualitative techniques for determining whether the stress is varying with depth are presented. It is also demonstrated that when the stress is changing over the volume sampled, errors can be introduced if the variation of the stress with depth is ignored. Computer aided data analysis is used to determine the depth dependence of the residual stress.

  11. Noncontact measurement of guided ultrasonic wave scattering for fatigue crack characterization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fromme, P.

    2013-04-01

    Fatigue cracks can develop in aerospace structures at locations of stress concentration such as fasteners. For the safe operation of the aircraft fatigue cracks need to be detected before reaching a critical length. Guided ultrasonic waves offer an efficient method for the detection and characterization of fatigue cracks in large aerospace structures. Noncontact excitation of guided waves was achieved using electromagnetic acoustic transducers (EMAT). The transducers were developed for the specific excitation of the A0 Lamb mode. Based on the induced eddy currents in the plate a simple theoretical model was developed and reasonably good agreement with the measurements was achieved. However, the detection sensitivity for fatigue cracks depends on the location and orientation of the crack relative to the measurement locations. Crack-like defects have a directionality pattern of the scattered field depending on the angle of the incident wave relative to the defect orientation and on the ratio of the characteristic defect size to wavelength. The detailed angular dependency of the guided wave field scattered at crack-like defects in plate structures has been measured using a noncontact laser interferometer. Good agreement with 3D Finite Element simulation predictions was achieved for machined part-through and through-thickness notches. The amplitude of the scattered wave was quantified for a variation of angle of the incident wave relative to the defect orientation and the defect depth. These results provide the basis for the defect characterization in aerospace structures using guided wave sensors.

  12. Elastic-plastic finite element analyses for reducers with constant-depth internal circumferential surface cracks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu, Szu-Ying; Tsai, Bor-Jiun; Chen, Jien-Jong

    2015-01-01

    In this study, a 3-D automatic elastic-plastic finite element mesh generator is established to accurately predict the J-integral value of an arbitrary reducer with a constant-depth internal circumferential surface crack under bending and axial force. The contact pairs are used on the crack surfaces to simulate the actual contact behaviors of the crack model under loadings. In order to verify the accuracy of the proposed elastic-plastic finite element model for a reducer with a surface crack, the cracked straight pipe models are generated according to a special modeling procedure for a flawed reducer. The J-integral values along the crack front of surface crack are calculated and compared with the straight pipe models which have been verified in the previous published studies. Based on the comparison of computed results, good agreements are obtained to show the accuracy of present numerical models. More confidence on using the 3-D elastic-plastic finite element analysis for reducers with internal circumferential surface cracks can be thus established in this work

  13. Inelastic analysis of finite length and depth cracked tubes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reich, M.; Gardner, D.; Prachuktam, S.; Chang, T.Y.

    1977-01-01

    Steam generator tube failure can at times result in reactor safety problems and subsequent premature reactor shutdowns. This paper concerns itself with the prediction of the failure pressures for typical PWR steam generator tubes with longitudinal finite length and finite depth cracks. Only local plastic overload failure is considered since the material is non-notch sensitive. Non-linear finite element analyses are carried out to determine the burst pressures of steam generator tubes containing longitudinal cracks located on the outer surface of the tubes. The non-linearities considered herein include elastic-plastic material behavior and large deformations. A non-proprietary general purpose non-linear finite element program, NFAP was adopted for the analysis. Due to the asymmetric nature of the cracks, two-dimensional, as well as three-dimensional finite element analyses, were performed. The two-dimensional element and its formulations are similar to those of NONSAP. The three-dimensional isoparametric element with elastic-plastic material characteristics together with the large deformation formulations used in NFAP are described in the Report BNL-20684. The numerical accuracy of the program was investigated and checked with known solutions of benchmark problems. In addition to the three-dimensional element which was specifically inserted into NFAP for this problem, other features such as direct pressure inputs for isoparametric elements, automatic load increment adjustments for convergent non-linear solutions, and automatic bandwidth reduction schemes are incorporated into the program thus allowing for a more economical evaluation of three-dimensional inelastic analysis. In summary the analysis clearly shows that for short cracks axial effects play a significant role. For long cracks, they are not important since two-dimensional conditions predominate and failure is governed by circumferential or hoop stress conditions

  14. Standard test method for crack-tip opening displacement (CTOD) fracture toughness measurement

    CERN Document Server

    American Society for Testing and Materials. Philadelphia

    2008-01-01

    1.1 This test method covers the determination of critical crack-tip opening displacement (CTOD) values at one or more of several crack extension events, and may be used to measure cleavage crack initiation toughness for materials that exhibit a change from ductile to brittle behavior with decreasing temperature, such as ferritic steels. This test method applies specifically to notched specimens sharpened by fatigue cracking. The recommended specimens are three-point bend [SE(B)], compact [C(T)], or arc-shaped bend [A(B)] specimens. The loading rate is slow and influences of environment (other than temperature) are not covered. The specimens are tested under crosshead or clip gage displacement controlled loading. 1.1.1 The recommended specimen thickness, B, for the SE(B) and C(T) specimens is that of the material in thicknesses intended for an application. For the A(B) specimen, the recommended depth, W, is the wall thickness of the tube or pipe from which the specimen is obtained. Superficial surface machini...

  15. Measuring Crack Length in Coarse Grain Ceramics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salem, Jonathan A.; Ghosn, Louis J.

    2010-01-01

    Due to a coarse grain structure, crack lengths in precracked spinel specimens could not be measured optically, so the crack lengths and fracture toughness were estimated by strain gage measurements. An expression was developed via finite element analysis to correlate the measured strain with crack length in four-point flexure. The fracture toughness estimated by the strain gaged samples and another standardized method were in agreement.

  16. Prediction and measurement of the reflection of the fundamental anti-symmetric Lamb wave from cracks and notches

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lowe, M.J.S.; Cawley, P.; Kao, J-Y; Diligent, O.

    2000-01-01

    The interaction of the fundamental antisymmetric Lamb wave (a o ) with cracks and with notches of different depth and width has been investigated both experimentally and by finite element analysis. Excellent agreement between the predictions and the measurements has been obtained. It has been shown that the reflection coefficient is a function of both the notch width to wavelength and notch depth to wavelength ratios. Both the relationship between the reflection coefficient and notch, depth, and the frequency dependence of the reflection coefficient, are very different for the a o mode compared to the s o mode which was studied earlier. Physical insight into the reasons for the different behavior is given by examination of the stress fields and opening displacements at the crack or notch

  17. Analysis on the Initial Cracking Parameters of Cross-Measure Hydraulic Fracture in Underground Coal Mines

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yiyu Lu

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Initial cracking pressure and locations are important parameters in conducting cross-measure hydraulic fracturing to enhance coal seam permeability in underground coalmines, which are significantly influenced by in-situ stress and occurrence of coal seam. In this study, stress state around cross-measure fracturing boreholes was analyzed using in-situ stress coordinate transformation, then a mathematical model was developed to evaluate initial cracking parameters of borehole assuming the maximum tensile stress criterion. Subsequently, the influences of in-situ stress and occurrence of coal seams on initial cracking pressure and locations in underground coalmines were analyzed using the proposed model. Finally, the proposed model was verified with field test data. The results suggest that the initial cracking pressure increases with the depth cover and coal seam dip angle. However, it decreases with the increase in azimuth of major principle stress. The results also indicate that the initial cracking locations concentrated in the second and fourth quadrant in polar coordinate, and shifted direction to the strike of coal seam as coal seam dip angle and azimuth of maximum principle stress increase. Field investigation revealed consistent rule with the developed model that the initial cracking pressure increases with the coal seam dip angle. Therefore, the proposed mathematical model provides theoretical insight to analyze the initial cracking parameters during cross-measure hydraulic fracturing for underground coalmines.

  18. Crack-depth effects in the cylindrically guided wave technique for bolt and pump-shaft inspections

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tsai, Y.M.; Liu, S.N.; Light, G.M.

    1991-01-01

    Nuclear power plants have experienced the failures of bolts and pump shafts. The industry is concerned about nondestructive evaluation (NDE) techniques that can be applied to these components. The cylindrically guided wave technique (CGWT) has been developed to detect the simulated circumferential defects in long bolts and studs. The ultrasonic CGWT employs the zero-degree longitudinal waves constrained to travel within the boundary of the components with cylindrical shape during inspection. When longitudinal waves are guided to travel along a cylinder, and impinge onto a circumferential defect, the waves are scattered at the crack on the cylinder surface. In this work, the wave scattering at the circumferential crack on a long cylinder is investigated. The transfer factor of the scattered waves is calculated for a wide range of frequency spectra. The scattered waveform at a distance away from a crack is calculated. The effect that crack depth exerts to the waveform in CGWT is shown. CGWT signals, waveform calculation and so on are reported. (K.I.)

  19. Polarimetric borehole radar measurement near Nojima fault and its application to subsurface crack characterization; Polarimetric borehole radar ni yoru Nojima danso shuhen no chika kiretsu keisoku jikken

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sato, M.; Taniguchi, Y.; Miwa, T.; Niitsuma, H. [Tohoku University, Sendai (Japan); Ikeda, R. [National Research Institute for Disaster Prevention, Tsukuba (Japan); Makino, K. [Geophysical Surveying and Consulting Co. Ltd., Tokyo (Japan)

    1997-05-27

    Practical application of subsurface crack characterization by the borehole radar measurement to which the radar polarimetric method was introduced was attempted to measuring objects for which the borehole radar has not been much used, for example, the inside of low loss rock mass or fracture zone where cracks tightly exist. A system was trially manufactured which makes the radar polarimetric measurement possible in the borehole at a 1000m depth and with a about 10cm diameter, and a field experiment was conducted for realizing the subsurface crack characterization near the Nojima fault. For the measuring experiment by the polarimetric borehole radar, used were Iwaya borehole and Hirabayashi borehole drilled in the north of Awaji-shima, Hyogo-ken. In a comparison of both polarization systems of Hirabayashi borehole, reflected waves at depths of 1038m and 1047m are relatively stronger in both polarization systems than those with the same polarization form and at different depths, whereas reflected waves around a 1017m depth are strong only as to the parallel polarization system. Characteristics of the polarization in this experiment indirectly reflect crack structures. 6 refs., 6 figs., 1 tab.

  20. Sizing of small surface-breaking tight cracks by using laser-ultrasonics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ochiai, M.; Miura, T.; Kuroda, H.; Yamamoto, S.; Onodera, T.

    2004-01-01

    On the nondestructive testing, not only detection but also sizing of crack is desirable because the crack depth is one of the most important parameter to evaluate the impact of the crack to the material, to estimate crack growth and ultimately to predict lifetime of the component. Moreover, accurate measurement of the crack depth optimizes countermeasures and timing of repairs, and eventually reduces total cost for plant maintenance. Laser-ultrasonic is a technique that uses two laser beams; one with a short pulse for the generation of ultrasound and another one, long pulse or continuous, coupled to an optical interferometer for detection. The technique features a large detection bandwidth, which is important for small defect inspection. Another feature of laser-ultrasonics is the remote optical scanning of generation and detection points, which enables to inspect components in narrow space and/or having complex shapes. A purpose of this paper is to describe the performance of a laser-ultrasonic testing (LUT) system on stress corrosion cracking (SCC) inspection. We have developed a new technique for sizing shallow cracks, say 0.5-1.5mm, based on the laser-induced surface wave and its frequency analysis. First, sizing capability of the system will be demonstrated by using an artificial surface-breaking slot having depth of 0-2mm in a stainless steel plate. Evaluated depths show good agreement with the machined slot depths within the accuracy of about a few hundred micrometers. Then, SCCs in a stainless steel plate are examined by using the system. Depth of SCC is evaluated every 0.2mm over the crack aperture length. The evaluated depths are compared with the depths measured by the destructive testing. (author)

  1. Crack identification based on synthetic artificial intelligent technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shim, Mun Bo; Suh, Myung Won

    2001-01-01

    It has been established that a crack has an important effect on the dynamic behavior of a structure. This effect depends mainly on the location and depth of the crack. To identify the location and depth of a crack in a structure, a method is presented in this paper which uses synthetic artificial intelligent technique, that is, Adaptive-Network-based Fuzzy Inference System(ANFIS) solved via hybrid learning algorithm(the back-propagation gradient descent and the least-squares method) are used to learn the input(the location and depth of a crack)-output(the structural eigenfrequencies) relation of the structural system. With this ANFIS and a Continuous Evolutionary Algorithm(CEA), it is possible to formulate the inverse problem. CEAs based on genetic algorithms work efficiently for continuous search space optimization problems like a parameter identification problem. With this ANFIS, CEAs are used to identify the crack location and depth minimizing the difference from the measured frequencies. We have tried this new idea on a simple beam structure and the results are promising

  2. Failure Assessment for the High-Strength Pipelines with Constant-Depth Circumferential Surface Cracks

    OpenAIRE

    X. Liu; Z. X. Lu; Y. Chen; Y. L. Sui; L. H. Dai

    2018-01-01

    In the oil and gas transportation system over long distance, application of high-strength pipeline steels can efficiently reduce construction and operation cost by increasing operational pressure and reducing the pipe wall thickness. Failure assessment is an important issue in the design, construction, and maintenance of the pipelines. The small circumferential surface cracks with constant depth in the welded pipelines are of practical interest. This work provides an engineering estimation pr...

  3. Inelastic analysis of finite length and depth cracked tubes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reich, M.; Prachuktam, S.; Gardner, D.

    1977-01-01

    Steam generator tube failure can at times result in reactor safety problems and subsequent premature reactor shutdowns. Typical PWR steam generator units contain thousands of long straight tubes with U-bend sections. These tubes are primarily made from alloy 600 and their sizes vary between 3 / 4 '' and 7 / 8 '' (1.905 cm and 2.223 cm) in diameter with nominal thicknesses of 0.043'' to 0.053'' (0.109 cm to 0.135 cm). Since alloy 600 (and the previously used 304-SS tubes) are ductile, high toughness materials LEFM (linear elastic fracture mechanics) criteria do not apply. This paper concerns itself with the prediction of the failure pressures for typical PWR steam generator tubes with longitudinal finite length and finite depth cracks. Only local plastic overload failure is considered

  4. Impacts of weld residual stresses and fatigue crack growth threshold on crack arrest under high-cycle thermal fluctuations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Taheri, Said, E-mail: Said.taheri@edf.fr [EDF-LAB, IMSIA, 7 Boulevard Gaspard Monge, 91120 Palaiseau Cedex (France); Julan, Emricka [EDF-LAB, AMA, 7 Boulevard Gaspard Monge, 91120 Palaiseau Cedex (France); Tran, Xuan-Van [EDF Energy R& D UK Centre/School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering, The University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL (United Kingdom); Robert, Nicolas [EDF-DPN, UNIE, Strategic Center, Saint Denis (France)

    2017-01-15

    Highlights: • For crack growth analysis, weld residual stress field must be considered through its SIF in presence of a crack. • Presence of cracks of same depth proves their arrest, where equal depth is because mean stress acts only on crack opening. • Not considering amplitudes under a fatigue crack growth threshold (FCGT) does not compensate the lack of FGCT in Paris law. • Propagation rates are close for axisymmetric and circumferential semi-elliptical cracks. - Abstract: High cycle thermal crazing has been observed in some residual heat removal (RHR) systems made of 304 stainless steel in PWR nuclear plants. This paper deals with two types of analyses including logical argumentation and simulation. Crack arrest in networks is demonstrated due to the presence of two cracks of the same depth in the network. This identical depth may be proved assuming that mean stress acts only on crack opening and that cracks are fully open during the load cycle before arrest. Weld residual stresses (WRS) are obtained by an axisymmetric simulation of welding on a tube with a chamfer. Axisymmetric and 3D parametric studies of crack growth on: representative sequences for variable amplitude thermal loading, fatigue crack growth threshold (FCGT), permanent mean stress, cyclic counting methods and WRS, are performed with Code-Aster software using XFEM methodology. The following results are obtained on crack depth versus time: the effect of WRS on crack growth cannot be determined by the initial WRS field in absence of crack, but by the associated stress intensity factor. Moreover the relation between crack arrest depth and WRS is analyzed. In the absence of FCGT Paris’s law may give a significant over-estimation of crack depth even if amplitudes of loading smaller than FCGT have not been considered. Appropriate depth versus time may be obtained using different values of FCGT, but axisymmetric simulations do not really show a possibility of arrest for shallow cracks in

  5. Impacts of weld residual stresses and fatigue crack growth threshold on crack arrest under high-cycle thermal fluctuations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Taheri, Said; Julan, Emricka; Tran, Xuan-Van; Robert, Nicolas

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • For crack growth analysis, weld residual stress field must be considered through its SIF in presence of a crack. • Presence of cracks of same depth proves their arrest, where equal depth is because mean stress acts only on crack opening. • Not considering amplitudes under a fatigue crack growth threshold (FCGT) does not compensate the lack of FGCT in Paris law. • Propagation rates are close for axisymmetric and circumferential semi-elliptical cracks. - Abstract: High cycle thermal crazing has been observed in some residual heat removal (RHR) systems made of 304 stainless steel in PWR nuclear plants. This paper deals with two types of analyses including logical argumentation and simulation. Crack arrest in networks is demonstrated due to the presence of two cracks of the same depth in the network. This identical depth may be proved assuming that mean stress acts only on crack opening and that cracks are fully open during the load cycle before arrest. Weld residual stresses (WRS) are obtained by an axisymmetric simulation of welding on a tube with a chamfer. Axisymmetric and 3D parametric studies of crack growth on: representative sequences for variable amplitude thermal loading, fatigue crack growth threshold (FCGT), permanent mean stress, cyclic counting methods and WRS, are performed with Code-Aster software using XFEM methodology. The following results are obtained on crack depth versus time: the effect of WRS on crack growth cannot be determined by the initial WRS field in absence of crack, but by the associated stress intensity factor. Moreover the relation between crack arrest depth and WRS is analyzed. In the absence of FCGT Paris’s law may give a significant over-estimation of crack depth even if amplitudes of loading smaller than FCGT have not been considered. Appropriate depth versus time may be obtained using different values of FCGT, but axisymmetric simulations do not really show a possibility of arrest for shallow cracks in

  6. Evaluation on ultrasonic examination methods applied to Ni-base alloy weld including cracks due to stress corrosion cracking found in BWR reactor internal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aoki, Takayuki; Kobayashi, Hiroyuki; Higuchi, Shinichi; Shimizu, Sadato

    2005-01-01

    A Ni-base alloy weld, including cracks due to stress corrosion cracking found in the reactor internal of the oldest BWR in Japan, Tsuruga unit 1, in 1999, was examined by three (3) types of UT method. After this examination, a depth of each crack was confirmed by carrying out a little excavation with a grinder and PT examination by turns until each crack disappeared. Then, the depth measured by the former method was compared with the one measured by the latter method. In this fashion, performances of the UT methods were verified. As a result, a combination of the three types of UT method was found to meet the acceptance criteria given by ASME Sec.XI Appendix VIII, Performance Demonstration for Ultrasonic Examination Systems-Supplement 6. In this paper, the results of the UT examination described above and their evaluation are discussed. (author)

  7. Fatigue crack growth thresholds measurements in structural materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lindstroem, R.; Lidar, P.; Rosborg, B.

    1999-05-01

    Fatigue crack growth thresholds and da/dN-data at low Δk I -values ( 1/2 ) have been determined for type 304 stainless steel, nickel-base weld metal Alloy 182, nickel-base metal Alloy 600, and low-alloy steel in air at ambient temperature and in high-temperature water and steam. The stainless alloys have been tested in water with 0.2 ppm O 2 at 288 deg C and the low-alloy steel in steam at 286 deg C. The fatigue crack growth threshold was defined as the ΔK I -value resulting in a crack growth rate of 10 -7 mm per cycle. The measured fatigue crack growth thresholds (at frequencies from 0.5 to 20 Hz) are quite similar independent of the material and the environment. A relatively inexpensive and time-saving method for measuring fatigue crack growth thresholds, and fatigue crack growth rates at low ΔK I -values, has been used in the tests. The method is a ΔK I -decreasing test with constant K I Max

  8. Estimation of the failure risk of a maxillary premolar with different crack depths with endodontic treatment by computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing ceramic restorations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Chun-Li; Chang, Yen-Hsiang; Hsieh, Shih-Kai; Chang, Wen-Jen

    2013-03-01

    This study evaluated the risk of failure for an endodontically treated premolar with different crack depths, which was shearing toward the pulp chamber and was restored by using 3 different computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing ceramic restoration configurations. Three 3-dimensional finite element models designed with computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing ceramic onlay, endocrown, and conventional crown restorations were constructed to perform simulations. The Weibull function was incorporated with finite element analysis to calculate the long-term failure probability relative to different load conditions. The results indicated that the stress values on the enamel, dentin, and luting cement for endocrown restorations exhibited the lowest values relative to the other 2 restoration methods. Weibull analysis revealed that the overall failure probabilities in a shallow cracked premolar were 27%, 2%, and 1% for the onlay, endocrown, and conventional crown restorations, respectively, in the normal occlusal condition. The corresponding values were 70%, 10%, and 2% for the depth cracked premolar. This numeric investigation suggests that the endocrown provides sufficient fracture resistance only in a shallow cracked premolar with endodontic treatment. The conventional crown treatment can immobilize the premolar for different cracked depths with lower failure risk. Copyright © 2013 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Measurements of delayed hydride cracking propagation rate in the radial direction of Zircaloy-2 cladding tubes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kubo, T., E-mail: kubo@nfd.co.jp [Nippon Nuclear Fuel Development Co., Ltd., 2163 Narita-cho, Oarai-machi, Ibaraki 311-1313 (Japan); Kobayashi, Y. [M.O.X. Co., Ltd., 1828-520 Hirasu-cho, Mito, Ibaraki 311-0853 (Japan); Uchikoshi, H. [Nippon Nuclear Fuel Development Co., Ltd., 2163 Narita-cho, Oarai-machi, Ibaraki 311-1313 (Japan)

    2012-08-15

    Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The delayed hydride cracking (DHC) velocity of Zircaloy-2 was measured. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The velocity followed the Arrhenius law up to 270 Degree-Sign C. Activation energy was 49 kJ/mol. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The threshold stress intensity factor for the DHC was from 4 to 6 MPa m{sup 1/2}. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer An increase in material strength accelerated the DHC. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Precipitation and fracture of hydrides at a crack tip is responsible for the DHC. - Abstract: Delayed hydride cracking (DHC) tests of Zircaloy-2 cladding tubes were performed in the chamber of a scanning electron microscope (SEM) to directly observe the crack propagation and measure the crack velocity in the radial direction of the tubes. Pre-cracks were produced at the outer surfaces of the tubes. Hydrogen contents of the tubes were from 90 ppm to 130 ppm and test temperatures were from 225 Degree-Sign C to 300 Degree-Sign C. The crack velocity followed the Arrhenius law at temperatures lower than about 270 Degree-Sign C with apparent activation energy of about 49 kJ/mol. The upper temperature limit for DHC, above which DHC did not occur, was about 280 Degree-Sign C. The threshold stress intensity factor for the initiation of the crack propagation, K{sub IH}, was from about 4 MPa m{sup 1/2} to 6 MPa m{sup 1/2}, almost independent of temperature. An increase in 0.2% offset yield stress of the material accelerated the crack velocity and slightly decreased K{sub IH}. Detailed observations of crack tip movement showed that cracks propagated in an intermittent fashion and the propagation gradually approached the steady state as the crack depth increased. The SEM observations also showed that hydrides were formed at a crack tip and a number of micro-cracks were found in the hydrides. It was presumed from these observations that the repetition of precipitation and fracture of hydrides at the crack tip would be

  10. Thermal fatigue cracking in T-fittings of feed water systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oesterberg, J.

    1983-03-01

    The existence of thermal fatigue cracks can be determined by ultrasonic methods. The depth of the cracks will be of importance for evaluation of the seriousness of the situation. Currently, no method is available for determining depth of cracks without cutting and grinding. Methods for gaining information of crack depth have been discussed with leading European materials testing institutes. More elaborate ultrasonic methods have been tested with negative results. On testing signals from crack corners flood possible signals from the crack tips. At present no reliable technique based on ultrasonics exist (in Europe, that will give information of crack depth.(P.Aa.)

  11. Effect of Voltage Measurement on the Quantitative Identification of Transverse Cracks by Electrical Measurements

    KAUST Repository

    Selvakumaran, Lakshmi

    2016-03-24

    Electrical tomography can be used as a structural health monitoring technique to identify different damage mechanisms in composite laminates. Previous work has established the link between transverse cracking density and mesoscale conductivity of the ply. Through the mesoscale relationship, the conductivity obtained from electrical tomography can be used as a measure of the transverse cracking density. Interpretation of this measure will be accurate provided the assumptions made during homogenization are valid. One main assumption of mesoscale homogenization is that the electric field is in the plane. Here, we test the validity of this assumption for laminates with varying anisotropy ratios and for different distances between the cracked ply and surface that is instrumented with electrodes. We also show the equivalence in electrical response between measurements from cracked laminates and their equivalent mesoscale counterparts. Finally, we propose some general guidelines on the measurement strategy for maximizing the accuracy of transverse cracks identification.

  12. Inspecting cracks in foam insulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cambell, L. W.; Jung, G. K.

    1979-01-01

    Dye solution indicates extent of cracking by penetrating crack and showing original crack depth clearly. Solution comprised of methylene blue in denatured ethyl alcohol penetrates cracks completely and evaporates quickly and is suitable technique for usage in environmental or structural tests.

  13. Detection of a surface breaking crack by using the centroid variations of laser ultrasonic spectrums

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, Seung Kyu; Baik, Sung Hoon; Lim, Chang Hwan; Joo, Young Sang; Jung, Hyun Kyu; Cha, Hyung Ki; Kang, Young June

    2006-01-01

    A laser ultrasonic system is a non-contact inspection device with a wide-band spectrum and a high spatial resolution. It provides absolute measurements of the moving distance and it can be applied to hard-to-access locations including curved or rough surfaces like in a nuclear power plant. In this paper, we have investigated the detection methods of the depth of a surface-breaking crack by using the surface wave of a laser ultrasound. The filtering function of a surface-breaking crack is a kind of a low-pass filter. The higher frequency components are more highly decreased in proportion to the crack depth. Also, the center frequency value of each ultrasound spectrum is decreased in proportion to the crack depth. We extracted the depth information of a surface-breaking crack by observing the centroid variation of the frequency spectrum. We describe the experimental results to detect the crack depth information by using the peak-to-valley values in the time domain and the center frequency values in the frequency domain.

  14. Finite-Element Analysis of Crack Arrest Properties of Fiber Reinforced Composites Application in Semi-Elliptical Cracked Pipelines

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Linyuan; Song, Shulei; Deng, Hongbo; Zhong, Kai

    2018-04-01

    In nowadays, repair method using fiber reinforced composites as the mainstream pipe repair technology, it can provide security for X100 high-grade steel energy long-distance pipelines in engineering. In this paper, analysis of cracked X100 high-grade steel pipe was conducted, simulation analysis was made on structure of pipes and crack arresters (CAs) to obtain the J-integral value in virtue of ANSYS Workbench finite element software and evaluation on crack arrest effects was done through measured elastic-plastic fracture mechanics parameter J-integral and the crack arrest coefficient K, in a bid to summarize effect laws of composite CAs and size of pipes and cracks for repairing CAs. The results indicate that the K value is correlated with laying angle λ, laying length L2/D1, laying thickness T1/T2of CAs, crack depth c/T1 and crack length a/c, and calculate recommended parameters for repairing fiber reinforced composite CAs in terms of two different crack forms.

  15. Pavement cracking measurements using 3D laser-scan images

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ouyang, W; Xu, B

    2013-01-01

    Pavement condition surveying is vital for pavement maintenance programs that ensure ride quality and traffic safety. This paper first introduces an automated pavement inspection system which uses a three-dimensional (3D) camera and a structured laser light to acquire dense transverse profiles of a pavement lane surface when it carries a moving vehicle. After the calibration, the 3D system can yield a depth resolution of 0.5 mm and a transverse resolution of 1.56 mm pixel −1 at 1.4 m camera height from the ground. The scanning rate of the camera can be set to its maximum at 5000 lines s −1 , allowing the density of scanned profiles to vary with the vehicle's speed. The paper then illustrates the algorithms that utilize 3D information to detect pavement distress, such as transverse, longitudinal and alligator cracking, and presents the field tests on the system's repeatability when scanning a sample pavement in multiple runs at the same vehicle speed, at different vehicle speeds and under different weather conditions. The results show that this dedicated 3D system can capture accurate pavement images that detail surface distress, and obtain consistent crack measurements in repeated tests and under different driving and lighting conditions. (paper)

  16. Eddy current technique for detecting and sizing surface cracks in steel components

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cecco, V.S.; Carter, J.R.; Sullivan, S.P.

    1995-01-01

    Cracking has occurred in pressure vessel nozzles and girth welds due to thermal fatigue. Pipe welds, welds in support structures, and welds in reactor vault liner panels in nuclear facilities have failed because of cracks. Cracking can also occur in turbine rotor bore surfaces due to high cycle fatigue. Dye penetrant, magnetic particle and other surface NDT methods are used to detect cracks but cannot be used for depth sizing. Crack depth can be measured with various NDT methods such as ultrasonic time-of-flight diffraction (TOFD), potential drop, and eddy current. The TOFD technique can be difficult to implement on nozzle welds and is best suited for sizing deep cracks (>5 mm). The conventional eddy current method is easy to implement, but crack sizing is normally limited to shallow cracks ( 2 mm) cracks. Eddy current testing (ET) techniques are readily amenable to remote/automatic inspections. These new probes could augment present magnetic particle (MT) and dye penetrant (PT) testing through provision of reliable defect depth information. Reliable crack sizing permits identification of critical cracks for plant life extension and licensing purposes. In addition, performing PT and MT generates low level radioactive waste in some inspection applications in nuclear facilities. Replacing these techniques with ET for some components will eliminate some of this radioactive waste. (author)

  17. Tomographic visualization of stress corrosion cracks in tubing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morris, R.A.; Kruger, R.P.; Wecksung, G.W.

    1979-06-01

    A feasibility study was conducted to determine the possibility of detecting and sizing cracks in reactor cooling water tubes using tomographic techniques. Due to time and financial constraints, only one tomographic reconstruction using the best technique available was made. The results indicate that tomographic reconstructions can, in fact, detect cracks in the tubing and might possibly be capable of measuring the depth of the cracks. Limits of detectability and sensitivity have not been determined but should be investigated in any future work

  18. Cracking susceptibility of stainless steel subjected to plasma disruption

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Madarame, H.

    1995-01-01

    The similarities and differences in the cracking susceptibility between welding and resolidification after plasma disruption were examined experimentally using a number of primary candidate alloy samples with different chemical compositions. The product of the number density and the average depth of the cracks was measured after simulated disruption, employing a hydrogen ion beam as the heat source, and was compared with the Varestraint test result. An adequate correlation was observed between them, which indicates that the cracking susceptibility during plasma disruption can be well estimated from the welding cracking susceptibility. (orig.)

  19. Comparative study of direct and inverse problems of cracked beams

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mahieddine Chettah

    2018-01-01

    supported beam obtained from measurements as inputs. The two approaches are compared with a number of numerical examples for simply supported beams including one crack. The theoretical results show that the accuracy of the Rayleigh’s method to predict natural frequencies decreases for higher modes when crack depth increases. It is also found that for the inverse problem, the transfer matrix method show a good agreement with those obtained from previous works done in this field.

  20. Shaft Crack Identification Based on Vibration and AE Signals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wenxiu Lu

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available The shaft crack is one of the main serious malfunctions that often occur in rotating machinery. However, it is difficult to locate the crack and determine the depth of the crack. In this paper, the acoustic emission (AE signal and vibration response are used to diagnose the crack. The wavelet transform is applied to AE signal to decompose into a series of time-domain signals, each of which covers a specific octave frequency band. Then an improved union method based on threshold and cross-correlation method is applied to detect the location of the shaft crack. The finite element method is used to build the model of the cracked rotor, and the crack depth is identified by comparing the vibration response of experiment and simulation. The experimental results show that the AE signal is effective and convenient to locate the shaft crack, and the vibration signal is feasible to determine the depth of shaft crack.

  1. Dynamic Characteristics of Electrostatically Actuated Microbeams with Slant Crack

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Han Zhou

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available An improved model of the slant crack on a microbeam is presented. Based on fracture mechanics, the rotation coefficient for the slant crack is derived as a massless rotational spring accounting for the additional stress intensity factors generated by the orientation of the crack compared to the transverse crack. Comparisons between microbeams with a slant crack of different geometry parameters (slant angle, depth ratio, and crack position are investigated with regard to the dynamic mechanical behaviors and nonlinear response. By presenting a mathematical modeling, the effects of the slant crack and the electric actuation of an electrostatically actuated fixed-fixed microbeam on the dynamic characteristics are examined in detail. It is shown that the crack position has more significant influence on the pull-in voltage value than the slant angle or the depth ratio. Approaching the slant crack to the fixed end or enlarging the external incentives amplifies the nonlinearity of the microbeam system, while the effects of depth ratio and slant angle are dependent on the crack position. The resonance frequency and the resonance amplitude are affected as well.

  2. Automatic measurement for monitoring crack growth with electric potential technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nakajima, Nobuya; Kikuchi, Masaaki; Shima, Seishi

    1981-10-01

    In the study of fracture mechanics, it is one of the most important problems to monitor the crack growth phenomena. Recently, many experimental methods have been developed. In this report, the Direct Current (DC) potential method is employed for measuring the crack growth length in the pressuried high temperature water. The objective of the current investigation is to develop an experimental method to quantify the sensitivity of this method in the air environment using the Compact Tension (CT) specimen. The main results obtained are as follows: 1) It is ignored that the electrical potential changes with plastic deformation at the crack tip of the specimen. 2) Using the Reversible Direct Current (RDC) Method, the measurement system gives no effect on the electrical stability for a long time. 3) For the fatigue and statical crack growth length, good relation is observed between the crack length-to-specimen width ratio (a/W) and potential ratio (Va/Vo). (author)

  3. Chloride Penetration through Cracks in High-Performance Concrete and Surface Treatment System for Crack Healing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    In-Seok Yoon

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available For enhancing the service life of concrete structures, it is very important to minimize crack at surface. Even if these cracks are very small, the problem is to which extend these cracks may jeopardize the durability of these decks. It was proposed that crack depth corresponding with critical crack width from the surface is a crucial factor in view of durability design of concrete structures. It was necessary to deal with chloride penetration through microcracks characterized with the mixing features of concrete. This study is devoted to examine the effect of high strength concrete and reinforcement of steel fiber on chloride penetration through cracks. High strength concrete is regarded as an excellent barrier to resist chloride penetration. However, durability performance of cracked high strength concrete was reduced seriously up to that of ordinary cracked concrete. Steel fiber reinforcement is effective to reduce chloride penetration through cracks because steel fiber reinforcement can lead to reduce crack depth significantly. Meanwhile, surface treatment systems are put on the surface of the concrete in order to seal the concrete. The key-issue is to which extend a sealing is able to ensure that chloride-induced corrosion can be prevented. As a result, penetrant cannot cure cracks, however, coating and combined treatment can prevent chloride from flowing in concrete with maximum crack width of 0.06 mm and 0.08 mm, respectively.

  4. Angle-Beam Shear Wave Scattering from Buried Crack-like Defects in Bonded Specimens (Postprint)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-02-01

    defects: such as understanding the scattering behavior of fatigue cracks emanating from fastener holes in aluminum structural components [2]. Angle...Ultrasonic NDE techniques using angle-beam wedges coupled to PZT transducers have also been utilized in measuring the depth of surface-breaking cracks

  5. Effect of lapping slurry on critical cutting depth of spinel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Zhan-kui; Wang, Zhuan-kui; Zhu, Yong-wei; Su, Jian-xiu

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Measured spinel wafers’ hardness and crack length in different slurries. • Evaluated the softened layer thickness in different slurries. • Discussed the effect of slurries on critical cutting depth of spinel. - Abstract: The critical cutting depth for lapping process is very important because it influences the mode of material removal. In this paper, a serial of microscopic indentation experiments were carried out for measuring spinel wafers’ hardness and crack length in different lapping slurries. Their critical cutting depth and fracture toughness were calculated. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was also employed to study the surface chemical composition and softened layer thickness of wafers in different slurries. Experimental results indicate that the softened layers of spinel wafers are formed due to the corrosion of lapping slurries, which leads to a lower hardness and a larger fracture toughness of samples, and increases the critical cutting depth. Among them, the critical cutting depth in ethylene glycol solution is the largest and up to 21.8 nm. The increase of critical cutting depth is helpful to modify the surface quality of the work-piece being lapped via ductile removal mode instead of brittle fracture mode

  6. Crack modeling of rotating blades with cracked hexahedral finite element method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Chao; Jiang, Dongxiang

    2014-06-01

    Dynamic analysis is the basis in investigating vibration features of cracked blades, where the features can be applied to monitor health state of blades, detect cracks in an early stage and prevent failures. This work presents a cracked hexahedral finite element method for dynamic analysis of cracked blades, with the purpose of addressing the contradiction between accuracy and efficiency in crack modeling of blades in rotor system. The cracked hexahedral element is first derived with strain energy release rate method, where correction of stress intensity factors of crack front and formulation of load distribution of crack surface are carried out to improve the modeling accuracy. To consider nonlinear characteristics of time-varying opening and closure effects caused by alternating loads, breathing function is proposed for the cracked hexahedral element. Second, finite element method with contact element is analyzed and used for comparison. Finally, validation of the cracked hexahedral element is carried out in terms of breathing effects of cracked blades and natural frequency in different crack depths. Good consistency is acquired between the results with developed cracked hexahedral element and contact element, while the computation time is significantly reduced in the previous one. Therefore, the developed cracked hexahedral element achieves good accuracy and high efficiency in crack modeling of rotating blades.

  7. Surface crack growth in cylindrical hollow specimen subject to tension and torsion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. Shlyannikov

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available The subject for studies is an aluminium cylindrical hollow specimen with external axial and part circumferential semi-elliptical surface crack undergoing fatigue loads. Both the optical microscope measurements and the crack opening displacement (COD method are used to monitor and calculate both crack depth and crack length during the tests. The variation of crack growth behaviour is studied under cyclic axial tension, pure torsion and combined tension+torsion fatigue loading. For the particular surface flaw geometries considered, the elastic and plastic in-plane and out-of-plane constraint parameters, as well as the governing parameter for stress fields in the form of In-integral and plastic stress intensity factor, are obtained as a function of the aspect ratio, dimensionless crack length and crack depth. The combined effect of tension and torsion loading and initial surface flaw orientation on the crack growth for two type of aluminium alloys is made explicit. The experimental and numerical results of the present study provided the opportunity to explore the suggestion that fatigue crack propagation may be governed more strongly by the plastic stress intensity factor rather than the magnitude of the elastic SIFs alone. One advantage of the plastic SIF is its sensitivity to combined loading due to accounting for the plastic properties of the material.

  8. The interaction of pulsed eddy current with metal surface crack for various coils

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang, H.-C.; Tai, C.-C.

    2002-01-01

    We study the interaction of pulsed eddy current (PEC) with metal surface cracks using various coils that have different geometric sizes. In the previous work, we have showed that the PEC technique can be used to inspect electrical-discharge-machined (EDM) notches with depth from 0.5 mm to 9 mm. The results showed that the relationship between PEC signals and crack depth is obvious. In this work, we further try a series of coils with different radii, heights, turns and shapes. We will discuss the effects of these coil parameters on the PEC signal. Some other critical problems of PEC measurements such as signal drift that caused by heating effect of coil currents will be studied. We also show more experiments on fatigue cracks to demonstrate the capability of PEC technique for cracks inspection

  9. Crack arrest toughness measurements with A533B steel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Salonen, Seppo.

    1979-11-01

    This work covers crack arrest toughness measurements on A533B steel done at the Technical Research Centre of Finland. These measurements are one part of a multinational effort, involving 30 laboratories. The aim of the cooperative test program is to examine two test procedures for measuring the crack arrest toughness, to give information about their reproducibility, and to identify the factors affecting the interpretation. The principles given for the testing were easy to apply in general and the results were satisfactory. Some factors in the test runs and in the specimen's behaviour are indicated which can cause error in the results or make implementation of the test more difficult. By comparing the results from our laboratory with average values from the test program a good agreement can be seen. Crack arrest toughness values derived from the compared procedures with a static analysis agree closely, but values calculated using a dynamic analysis differ considerably. (author)

  10. The initiation of environmentally-assisted cracking in semi-elliptical surface cracks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    James, L.A.

    1997-01-01

    A criterion to predict under what conditions EAC would Initiate In cracks In a high-sulfur steel in contact with low-oxygen water was recently proposed by Wire and U. This EAC Initiation Criterion was developed using transient analyses for the diffusion of sulfides plus experimental test results. The experiments were conducted mainly on compact tension-type specimens with initial crack depths of about 2.54 mm. The present paper expands upon the work of Wire and U by presenting results for significantly deeper initial semi-elliptical surface cracks. In addition, in one specimen, the surface crack penetrated weld-deposited cladding into the high-sulfur steel. The results for the semi-elliptical surface cracks agreed quite well with the EAC Initiation Criterion, and provide confirmation of the applicability of the criterion to crack configurations with more restricted access to water

  11. Detection and closure measurement of short fatigue crack initiated at notch root

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Jong-Hyung; Kobayashi, Hideo

    1985-01-01

    Short fatigue cracks initiated at the notch root were successfully detected at a fairly high accuracy by the ultrasonic amplitude calibration method for the notched compact specimens of an A508-3 steel. Crack closure measurements by the ultrasonic and back-face strain compliance methods were also performed. Crack growth characteristics at the notch root are similar to those of delyed retardation caused by a single peak overload. Also, transitional behavior from short cracks to long cracks was interpreted in terms of effective stress intensity ΔKsub(eff). The relation between crack growth rate da/dN and ΔKsub(eff) for short cracks shows a fairly good agreement with those for long cracks. (author)

  12. Delayed hydride cracking: alternative pre-cracking method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mieza, Juan I.; Ponzoni, Lucio M.E.; Vigna, Gustavo L.; Domizzi, Gladys

    2009-01-01

    The internal components of nuclear reactors built-in Zr alloys are prone to a failure mechanism known as Delayed Hydride Cracking (DHC). This situation has triggered numerous scientific studies in order to measure the crack propagation velocity and the threshold stress intensity factor associated to DHC. Tests are carried out on fatigued pre-crack samples to ensure similar test conditions and comparable results. Due to difficulties in implementing the fatigue pre-crack method it would be desirable to replace it with a pre-crack produced by the same process of DHC, for which is necessary to demonstrate equivalence of this two methods. In this work tests on samples extracted from two Zr-2.5 Nb tubes were conducted. Some of the samples were heat treated to obtain a range in their metallurgical properties as well as different DHC velocities. A comparison between velocities measured in test samples pre-cracked by fatigue and RDIH is done, demonstrating that the pre-cracking method does not affect the measured velocity value. In addition, the incubation (t inc ), which is the time between the application of the load and the first signal of crack propagation, in samples pre-cracked by RDIH, was measured. It was found that these times are sufficiently short, even in the worst cases (lower speed) and similar to the ones of fatigued pre-cracked samples. (author)

  13. Confocal examination of subsurface cracking in ceramic materials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Etman, Maged K

    2009-10-01

    The original ceramic surface finish and its microstructure may have an effect on crack propagation. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relation between crack propagation and ceramic microstructure following cyclic fatigue loading, and to qualitatively evaluate and quantitatively measure the surface and subsurface crack depths of three types of ceramic restorations with different microstructures using a Confocal Laser Scanning Microscope (CLSM) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). Twenty (8 x 4 x 2 mm(3)) blocks of AllCeram (AC), experimental ceramic (EC, IPS e.max Press), and Sensation SL (SSL) were prepared, ten glazed and ten polished of each material. Sixty antagonist enamel specimens were made from the labial surfaces of permanent incisors. The ceramic abraders were attached to a wear machine, so that each enamel specimen presented at 45 degrees to the vertical movement of the abraders, and immersed in artificial saliva. Wear was induced for 80K cycles at 60 cycles/min with a load of 40 N and 2-mm horizontal deflection. The specimens were examined for cracks at baseline, 5K, 10K, 20K, 40K, and 80K cycles. Twenty- to 30-microm deep subsurface cracking appeared in SSL, with 8 to 10 microm in AC, and 7 microm close to the margin of the wear facets in glazed EC after 5K cycles. The EC showed no cracks with increasing wear cycles. Seventy-microm deep subsurface cracks were detected in SSL and 45 microm in AC after 80K cycles. Statistically, there was significant difference among the three materials (p 0.05) in crack depth within the same ceramic material with different surface finishes. The ceramic materials with different microstructures showed different patterns of subsurface cracking.

  14. A probabilistic model of brittle crack formation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chudnovsky, A.; Kunin, B.

    1987-01-01

    Probability of a brittle crack formation in an elastic solid with fluctuating strength is considered. A set Omega of all possible crack trajectories reflecting the fluctuation of the strength field is introduced. The probability P(X) that crack penetration depth exceeds X is expressed as a functional integral over Omega of a conditional probability of the same event taking place along a particular path. Various techniques are considered to evaluate the integral. Under rather nonrestrictive assumptions, the integral is reduced to solving a diffusion-type equation. A new characteristic of fracture process, 'crack diffusion coefficient', is introduced. An illustrative example is then considered where the integration is reduced to solving an ordinary differential equation. The effect of the crack diffusion coefficient and of the magnitude of strength fluctuations on probability density of crack penetration depth is presented. Practical implications of the proposed model are discussed.

  15. A probabilistic approach to crack instability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chudnovsky, A.; Kunin, B.

    1989-01-01

    A probabilistic model of brittle fracture is examined with reference to two-dimensional problems. The model is illustrated by using experimental data obtained for 25 macroscopically identical specimens made of short-fiber-reinforced composites. It is shown that the model proposed here provides a predictive formalism for the probability distributions of critical crack depth, critical loads, and crack arrest depths. It also provides similarity criteria for small-scale testing.

  16. Cracking in Flexural Reinforced Concrete Members

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rasmussen, Annette Beedholm; Fisker, Jakob; Hagsten, Lars German

    2017-01-01

    The system of cracks developing in reinforced concrete is in many aspects essential when modelling structures in both serviceability- and ultimate limit state. This paper discusses the behavior concerning crack development in flexural members observed from tests and associates it with two different...... existing models. From the investigations an approach is proposed on how to predict the crack pattern in flexural members involving two different crack systems; primary flexural cracks and local secondary cracks. The results of the approach is in overall good agreement with the observed tests and captures...... the pronounced size effect associated with flexural cracking in which the crack spacing and crack widths are approximately proportional to the depth of the member....

  17. Fatigue crack growth behavior under cyclic thermal transient stress

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ueda, Masahiro; Kano, Takashi; Yoshitoshi, Atsushi.

    1986-01-01

    Thermal fatigue tests were performed using straight pipe specimens subjected to cyclic thermal shocks of liquid sodium, and crack growth behaviors were estimated using striation patterns observed clearly on any crack surface. Crack growth rate under cyclic thermal strain reaches the maximum at one depth, and after that it decreases gradually with crack depth. The peak location of crack growth rate becomes deeper by superposition of constant primary stress. Parallel cracks co-existing in the neighborhood move the peak to shallower location and decrease the maximum crack growth rate. The equivalent stress intensity factor range calculated by Walker's formula is successfully applied to the case of negative stress ratio. Fatigue crack growth rate under cyclic thermal strain agreed well with that under the constant temperature equal to the maximum value in the thermal cycle. Simplified methods for calculating the stress intensity factor and the crack interference factor have been developed. Crack growth behavior under thermal fatigue could be well predicted using numerical analysis results. (author)

  18. Fatigue crack growth behavior under cyclic transient thermal stress

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ueda, Masahiro; Kano, Takashi; Yoshitoshi, Atsushi.

    1987-01-01

    Thermal fatigue tests were performed using straight pipe specimens subjected to cyclic thermal shocks of liquid sodium, and crack growth behaviors were estimated using striation patterns observed clearly on any crack surface. Crack growth rate under cyclic thermal strain reaches the maximum at one depth, and after that it decreases gradually with crack depth. The peak location of crack growth rate becomes deeper by superposition of constant primary stress. Parallel cracks co-existing in the neighborhood move the peak to shallower location and decrease the maximum crack growth rate. The equivalent stress intensity factor range calculated by Walker's formula is successfully applied to the case of negative stress ratio. Fatigue crack growth rate under cyclic thermal strain agreed well with that under the constant temperature equal to the maximum value in the thermal cycle. Simplified methods for calculating the stress intensity factor and the crack interference factor have been developed. Crack growth behavior under thermal fatigue could be well predicted using numerical analysis results. (author)

  19. Detection and sizing of inside-surface cracks in reactor pressure vessels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kamata, Hiroshi; Kanazawa, Katsuo; Satoh, Kunio; Honma, Takashi

    1984-01-01

    According to the past operational experience of LWRs, most of the defects arising in reactor pressure vessels accompanying operation are cracks occurring in the build up welding of austenitic stainless steel on the internal surfaces. The detection of these cracks has been carried out by ultrasonic flaw detection from outside in BWRs and from inside in PWRs as in-service inspection. However, there are difficulties such as ultrasonic echoes often occur though defects do not exist, and the quantitative evaluation of detected cracks is difficult by this method because of its accuracy. One of the means to reduce the first difficulty is to use eddy current method together to help the judgement, and for overcoming the second, the ultrasonic method catching end peak echo, that catching diffracted waves, eddy current method and electric resistance method were tried and compared. It is desirable to detect cracks in early stage before they reach parent material. The techniques to detect cracks on the internal surfaces of pressure vessels from the inside and to measure the depth are reported in this paper. The methods of flaw detection examined and the instruments used, the experimental method and the results are reported. It was concluded that eddy current method can be used as the backup for ultrasonic remote flaw detection, and the accuracy of depth measurement was the highest in ultrasonic diffraction wave method. (Kako, I.)

  20. The effect of crack branching on the residual lifetime of machine components containing stress corrosion cracks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Magdowski, R.M.; Uggowitzer, P.J.; Speidel, M.O.

    1985-01-01

    A comparison is presented of theoretical, numerical and experimental investigations concerning the effect of crack branching on the reduction of stress intensity at the tip of single cracks. The results indicate that the division of a single crack into n branches reduces the stress intensity at the branch tips by a factor of about 1/√n. This permits branched cracks to grow to larger depths before becoming critical. The implication is that longer residual lifetimes and longer operating times between inspections can be calculated for machine components with growing branched stress corrosion cracks. (author)

  1. Detection and Sizing of Fatigue Cracks in Steel Welds with Advanced Eddy Current Techniques

    Science.gov (United States)

    Todorov, E. I.; Mohr, W. C.; Lozev, M. G.

    2008-02-01

    Butt-welded specimens were fatigued to produce cracks in the weld heat-affected zone. Advanced eddy current (AEC) techniques were used to detect and size the cracks through a coating. AEC results were compared with magnetic particle and phased-array ultrasonic techniques. Validation through destructive crack measurements was also conducted. Factors such as geometry, surface treatment, and crack tightness interfered with depth sizing. AEC inspection techniques have the potential of providing more accurate and complete sizing flaw data for manufacturing and in-service inspections.

  2. Simulation of surface cracks measurement in first walls by laser spot array thermography

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pei, Cuixiang; Qiu, Jinxin; Liu, Haocheng; Chen, Zhenmao, E-mail: chenzm@mail.xjtu.edu.cn

    2016-11-01

    The inspection of surface cracks in first walls (FW) is very important to ensure the safe operation of the fusion reactors. In this paper, a new laser excited thermography technique with using laser spot array source is proposed for the surface cracks imaging and evaluation in the FW with an intuitive and non-contact measurement method. Instead of imaging a crack by scanning a single laser spot and superimposing the local discontinuity images with the present laser excited thermography methods, it can inspect a relatively large area at one measurement. It does not only simplify the measurement system and data processing procedure, but also provide a faster measurement for FW. In order to investigate the feasibility of this method, a numerical code based on finite element method (FEM) is developed to simulate the heat flow and the effect of the crack geometry on the thermal wave fields. An imaging method based on the gradient of the thermal images is proposed for crack measurement with the laser spot array thermography method.

  3. Measurement of fatigue crack growth using low-profile eddy-current sensors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ditchburn, R.J.; Ibrahim, M.E.; Burke, S.K.

    2011-01-01

    Conformable spiral coils show promise as permanently mounted eddy-current sensors for the detection and monitoring of surface-breaking cracks in electrically conductive structures. Flexibility and a low profile (typically less than 0.5 mm) are key advantages that allow the sensors to be unobtrusively mounted on curved surfaces and beneath surface coatings. Furthermore, these sensors can be permanently mounted in areas that would otherwise be difficult or impossible to reach without significant disassembly. The sensors can be activated and interrogated using the same well-established electromagnetic measurement principles in eddy-current nondestructive inspection. A material test machine was used to grow through-thickness fatigue crack in a compact-tension specimen made from the aerospace-grade aluminium alloy AA2014. The growth of the crack was examined by measuring the small impedance changes of planar spiral-coil sensors attached to the specimen. The results indicate that permanently attached conformable spiral coils can be used to detect a deep crack once it has grown beneath the sensor, and then to monitor subsequent crack growth.

  4. Measuring depth in boreholes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hodson, G.M.

    1979-01-01

    This invention relates to a method of determining the depth of rock strata and other features of a borehole. It may be employed with particular advantage when access to the top of the borehole is difficult, for example in underwater operations. A radioactive marker, such as a source of gamma rays, is positioned near the top of the riser of a sub-sea wellhead structure. A radiation detector is lowered between the marker and a radioactive stratum and the length of line supplied is measured on the floating platform. This enables the depth of the stratum to be measured irrespective of tidal variations of the height of the platform. (U.K.)

  5. Fatigue crack growth behaviour of semi-elliptical surface cracks for an API 5L X65 gas pipeline under tension

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shaari, M. S.; Akramin, M. R. M.; Ariffin, A. K.; Abdullah, S.; Kikuchi, M.

    2018-02-01

    The paper is presenting the fatigue crack growth (FCG) behavior of semi-elliptical surface cracks for API X65 gas pipeline using S-version FEM. A method known as global-local overlay technique was used in this study to predict the fatigue behavior that involve of two separate meshes each specifically for global (geometry) and local (crack). The pre-post program was used to model the global geometry (coarser mesh) known as FAST including the material and boundary conditions. Hence, the local crack (finer mesh) will be defined the exact location and the mesh control accordingly. The local mesh was overlaid along with the global before the numerical computation taken place to solve the engineering problem. The stress intensity factors were computed using the virtual crack closure-integral method (VCCM). The most important results is the behavior of the fatigue crack growth, which contains the crack depth (a), crack length (c) and stress intensity factors (SIF). The correlation between the fatigue crack growth and the SIF shows a good growth for the crack depth (a) and dissimilar for the crack length (c) where stunned behavior was resulted. The S-version FEM will benefiting the user due to the overlay technique where it will shorten the computation process.

  6. A new methodology for non-contact accurate crack width measurement through photogrammetry for automated structural safety evaluation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jahanshahi, Mohammad R; Masri, Sami F

    2013-01-01

    In mechanical, aerospace and civil structures, cracks are important defects that can cause catastrophes if neglected. Visual inspection is currently the predominant method for crack assessment. This approach is tedious, labor-intensive, subjective and highly qualitative. An inexpensive alternative to current monitoring methods is to use a robotic system that could perform autonomous crack detection and quantification. To reach this goal, several image-based crack detection approaches have been developed; however, the crack thickness quantification, which is an essential element for a reliable structural condition assessment, has not been sufficiently investigated. In this paper, a new contact-less crack quantification methodology, based on computer vision and image processing concepts, is introduced and evaluated against a crack quantification approach which was previously developed by the authors. The proposed approach in this study utilizes depth perception to quantify crack thickness and, as opposed to most previous studies, needs no scale attachment to the region under inspection, which makes this approach ideal for incorporation with autonomous or semi-autonomous mobile inspection systems. Validation tests are performed to evaluate the performance of the proposed approach, and the results show that the new proposed approach outperforms the previously developed one. (paper)

  7. Measurements of fatigue crack length at elevated temperature by D. C. electrical potential method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matsumoto, Masakatsu; Yamauchi, Isamu; Kodaira, Tsuneo

    1982-07-01

    The direct current (d.c.) electrical potential method was used to automatically and continuously measure the crack length in cyclic crack growth test at elevated temperature. This report describes some results concerning the calibration curves, i.e. the relation between electrical potential change and amount of crack extention, using SUS 304 and 2 1/4Cr-1Mo steels. It can be concluded that the measurements of fatigue crack length is possible even at elevated temperature as well as at room temperature with the equivalent accuracy. (author)

  8. Cracked rotors. A survey on static and dynamic behaviour including modelling and diagnosis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bachschmid, Nicolo; Pennacchi, Paolo; Tanzi, Ezio [Politecnico di Milano (Italy). Dept. of Mechanical Engineering

    2010-07-01

    Cracks can develop in rotating shafts and can propagate to relevant depths without affecting consistently the normal operating conditions of the shaft. In order to avoid catastrophic failures, accurate vibration analyses have to be performed for crack detection. The identification of the crack location and depth is possible by means of a model based diagnostic approach, provided that the model of the crack and the model of the cracked shaft dynamical behavior are accurate and reliable. This monograph shows the typical dynamical behavior of cracked shafts and presents tests for detecting cracks. The book describes how to model cracks, how to simulate the dynamical behavior of cracked shaft, and compares the corresponding numerical with experimental results. All effects of cracks on the vibrations of rotating shafts are analyzed, and some results of a numerical sensitivity analysis of the vibrations to the presence and severity of the crack are shown. Finally the book describes some crack identification procedures and shows some results in model based crack identification in position and depth. The book is useful for higher university courses in mechanical and energetic engineering, but also for skilled technical people employed in power generation industries. (orig.)

  9. Stress corrosion cracking mitigation by ultrasound induced cavitation technique

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fong, C.; Lee, Y.C. [Industrial Technology Research Inst., Taiwan (China); Yeh, T.K. [National Tsing Hua Univ., Taiwan (China)

    2014-07-01

    Cavitation is usually considered as a damaging mechanism under erosion corrosion condition. However, if used appropriately, cavitation can be applied as a peening technique for surface stress modification process. The aim of surface stress modification is to alter the stress state of processed surface through direct or indirect thermo-mechanical treatments to reduce cracking problems initiated from surface. Ultrasonic devices are used to generate cavitation bubbles which when collapse will produce high intensity shock waves and high velocity micro-jet streams. The cavitation impact when properly controlled will create plastically deformed compressive layers in nearby surfaces and minimize cracking susceptibility in corrosive environments. This study is to investigate the effectiveness of Ultrasound Induced Cavitation (UIC) technique in surface stress improvement. Ultrasonic cavitation treatment of SS304 stainless steel under pure water is carried out with different controlling parameters. The cavitation impact on SS304 surface is measured in terms of surface roughness, surface strain, hardness, and microstructural characteristics. The in-depth residual stress distribution and crack mitigation effect are also evaluated. Test result indicates ultrasound induced cavitation treatment only has minor effect on surface physical characteristics. The extent of compressive stress produced on top surface exceeds the yield strength and can reach a depth above 150 μm. The maximum surface strain measured is generally below 20%, which is not considered detrimental to accelerate crack initiation. Stress corrosion verification tests show UIC treatment is capable in preventing environmental assisted cracking of stainless steels in severely corrosive conditions. In view of the test results, UIC technique has demonstrated to be a low cost, low contaminating, and effective surface stress improvement technology. (author)

  10. Stress corrosion cracking mitigation by ultrasound induced cavitation technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fong, C.; Lee, Y.C.; Yeh, T.K.

    2014-01-01

    Cavitation is usually considered as a damaging mechanism under erosion corrosion condition. However, if used appropriately, cavitation can be applied as a peening technique for surface stress modification process. The aim of surface stress modification is to alter the stress state of processed surface through direct or indirect thermo-mechanical treatments to reduce cracking problems initiated from surface. Ultrasonic devices are used to generate cavitation bubbles which when collapse will produce high intensity shock waves and high velocity micro-jet streams. The cavitation impact when properly controlled will create plastically deformed compressive layers in nearby surfaces and minimize cracking susceptibility in corrosive environments. This study is to investigate the effectiveness of Ultrasound Induced Cavitation (UIC) technique in surface stress improvement. Ultrasonic cavitation treatment of SS304 stainless steel under pure water is carried out with different controlling parameters. The cavitation impact on SS304 surface is measured in terms of surface roughness, surface strain, hardness, and microstructural characteristics. The in-depth residual stress distribution and crack mitigation effect are also evaluated. Test result indicates ultrasound induced cavitation treatment only has minor effect on surface physical characteristics. The extent of compressive stress produced on top surface exceeds the yield strength and can reach a depth above 150 μm. The maximum surface strain measured is generally below 20%, which is not considered detrimental to accelerate crack initiation. Stress corrosion verification tests show UIC treatment is capable in preventing environmental assisted cracking of stainless steels in severely corrosive conditions. In view of the test results, UIC technique has demonstrated to be a low cost, low contaminating, and effective surface stress improvement technology. (author)

  11. Assessing the Portion of the Crack Length Contributing to Water Sorption in Concrete Using X-ray Absorption

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pease, Bradley Justin; Couch, Jon; Geiker, Mette Rica

    2009-01-01

    While it is generally known that cracks accelerate fluid movements, there is a need to quantify how cracks influence the controlling transport mechanism(s) for more accurate service life modeling. This paper describes an experimental approach using x-ray absorption measurements to quantify the in......-ray absorption measurements over time. The effect cracks have on sorption is discussed and compared to the behavior of pristine concrete. In addition, the maximum water sorption depth after one hour of exposure is compared to crack lengths determined by the cracked hinge model.......While it is generally known that cracks accelerate fluid movements, there is a need to quantify how cracks influence the controlling transport mechanism(s) for more accurate service life modeling. This paper describes an experimental approach using x-ray absorption measurements to quantify...... the influence of cracks with varying width and length on water sorption in concrete. Concrete wedge splitting specimens, conditioned to 50% relative humidity, were loaded to varying crack openings. Water sorption was monitored for ponded specimens with varying crack widths and lengths by taking multiple x...

  12. New breathing functions for the transverse breathing crack of the cracked rotor system: Approach for critical and subcritical harmonic analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Shudeifat, Mohammad A.; Butcher, Eric A.

    2011-01-01

    The actual breathing mechanism of the transverse breathing crack in the cracked rotor system that appears due to the shaft weight is addressed here. As a result, the correct time-varying area moments of inertia for the cracked element cross-section during shaft rotation are also determined. Hence, two new breathing functions are identified to represent the actual breathing effect on the cracked element stiffness matrix. The new breathing functions are used in formulating the time-varying finite element stiffness matrix of the cracked element. The finite element equations of motion are then formulated for the cracked rotor system and solved via harmonic balance method for response, whirl orbits and the shift in the critical and subcritical speeds. The analytical results of this approach are compared with some previously published results obtained using approximate formulas for the breathing mechanism. The comparison shows that the previously used breathing function is a weak model for the breathing mechanism in the cracked rotor even for small crack depths. The new breathing functions give more accurate results for the dynamic behavior of the cracked rotor system for a wide range of the crack depths. The current approach is found to be efficient for crack detection since the critical and subcritical shaft speeds, the unique vibration signature in the neighborhood of the subcritical speeds and the sensitivity to the unbalance force direction all together can be utilized to detect the breathing crack before further damage occurs.

  13. The stress corrosion cracking of copper nuclear waste containers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    King, F.; Litke, C.D.; Ikeda, B.M.

    1999-01-01

    The extent of stress corrosion cracking (SCC) of copper nuclear waste containers is being predicted on the basis of a 'limited propagation' argument. In this argument, it is accepted that crack initiation may occur, but it is argued that the environmental conditions and material properties required for a through-wall crack to propagate will not be present. In this paper, the effect of one environmental parameter, the supply of oxidant (J ox ), on the crack growth rate is examined. Experiments have been conducted on two grades of Cu in NANO 2 environments using two loading techniques. The supply of oxidant has been varied either electrochemically in bulk solution using different applied current densities or by embedding the loaded test specimens in compacted buffer material containing O 2 as the oxidant. Measured and theoretical crack growth rates as a function of J ox are compared with the predicted oxidant flux to the containers in a disposal vault and an estimate of the maximum crack depth on a container obtained. (author)

  14. The stress corrosion cracking of copper nuclear waste containers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    King, F.; Litke, C.D.; Ikeda, B.M.

    1999-01-01

    The extent of stress corrosion cracking (SCC) of copper nuclear waste containers is being predicted on the basis of a limited propagation argument. In this argument, it is accepted that crack initiation may occur, but it is argued that the environmental conditions and material properties required for a through-wall crack to propagate will not be present. In this paper, the effect of one environmental parameter, the supply of oxidant (J OX ), on the crack growth rate is examined. Experiments have been conducted on two grades of Cu in NaNO 2 environments using two loading techniques. The supply of oxidant has been varied either electrochemically in bulk solution using different applied current densities or by embedding the loaded test specimens in compacted buffer material containing O 2 as the oxidant. Measured and theoretical crack growth rates as a function of J OX are compared with the predicted oxidant flux to the containers in a disposal vault and an estimate of the maximum crack depth on a container obtained

  15. Measures against concrete cracking in underground type light oil tank pit construction work

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koike, Takeo; Kadowaki, Kazuhiko; Date, Masanao

    2017-01-01

    The underground type light oil tank pit set at Onagawa Nuclear Power Station is a tripartite underground pit structure made of reinforced concrete. This is a mass concrete made of deck slab / outer wall of 1.5 m in thickness and inner wall / top slab of 1.0 m in thickness. Since concrete placement season was July for the deck slab and October for the walls, the occurrence of thermal cracking was highly conceivable. As a result of investigating crack suppression measures based on the crack width of 0.2 mm or less as a guide, the application of fly ash cement and the addition of expansion material to the walls were judged effective and adopted. Thanks to these preliminary studies and careful construction control, it was possible to minimize the occurrence of cracks, but several through cracks of 0.2 mm or less were confirmed on part of the outer walls. As a countermeasure, repair by means of surface impregnation method was adopted, and quality and schedule could be secured. This paper outlines crack suppression measures and repair of the cracks that occurred after the implementation. (A.O.)

  16. Experimental study on the crack detection with optimized spatial wavelet analysis and windowing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghanbari Mardasi, Amir; Wu, Nan; Wu, Christine

    2018-05-01

    In this paper, a high sensitive crack detection is experimentally realized and presented on a beam under certain deflection by optimizing spatial wavelet analysis. Due to the crack existence in the beam structure, a perturbation/slop singularity is induced in the deflection profile. Spatial wavelet transformation works as a magnifier to amplify the small perturbation signal at the crack location to detect and localize the damage. The profile of a deflected aluminum cantilever beam is obtained for both intact and cracked beams by a high resolution laser profile sensor. Gabor wavelet transformation is applied on the subtraction of intact and cracked data sets. To improve detection sensitivity, scale factor in spatial wavelet transformation and the transformation repeat times are optimized. Furthermore, to detect the possible crack close to the measurement boundaries, wavelet transformation edge effect, which induces large values of wavelet coefficient around the measurement boundaries, is efficiently reduced by introducing different windowing functions. The result shows that a small crack with depth of less than 10% of the beam height can be localized with a clear perturbation. Moreover, the perturbation caused by a crack at 0.85 mm away from one end of the measurement range, which is covered by wavelet transform edge effect, emerges by applying proper window functions.

  17. Stress corrosion cracking

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dietzel, W.; Turnbull, A.

    2007-01-01

    Comprehensive Structural Integrity is a reference work which covers all activities involved in the assurance of structural integrity. It provides engineers and scientists with an unparalleled depth of knowledge in the disciplines involved. The new online Volume 11 is dedicated to the mechanical characteristics of materials. This paper contains the chapter 11.03 and is structured as follows: General aspects of SCC testing; Non-precracked specimens; Precracked specimens - the fracture mechanics approach to SCC; Crack growth measurement; Limitations of the LEFM approach to SCC; The use of SCC data; Guide to selection of mechanical scc test method

  18. Influence of bending test configuration on cracking behavior of FRC

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Finazzi, Silvia; Paegle, Ieva; Fischer, Gregor

    2014-01-01

    the flexural load-deformation response of FRC. This research focuses particularly on the influence of the appearance and depth of the notch on the cracking behavior of FRC. For this purpose, several specimens, both un-notched and notched with different depths of the notch (25 mm and 45 mm), were tested....... The results obtained in the various tests are compared to determine to what extent the notch can affect cracking behavior and the resulting evaluation of the material according to the method described in the standard. Formation of cracking and the crack development has been documented by means of a digital...

  19. Effect of Voltage Measurement on the Quantitative Identification of Transverse Cracks by Electrical Measurements

    KAUST Repository

    Selvakumaran, Lakshmi; Lubineau, Gilles

    2016-01-01

    of the ply. Through the mesoscale relationship, the conductivity obtained from electrical tomography can be used as a measure of the transverse cracking density. Interpretation of this measure will be accurate provided the assumptions made during

  20. Spectrometric kidney depth measurement method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    George, P.; Soussaline, F.; Raynaud, C.

    1976-01-01

    The method proposed uses the single posterior surface measurement of the kidney radioactivity distribution. The ratio C/P of the number of scattered photons to the number of primary photons, which is a function of the tissue depth penetrated, is calculated for a given region. The parameters on which the C/P value depends are determined from studies on phantoms. On the basis of these results the kidney depth was measured on a series of 13 patients and a correlation was established between the value thus calculated and that obtained by the profile method. The reproducibility of the method is satisfactory [fr

  1. On the measurement of the crack tip stress field as a means of determining Delta K(sub eff) under conditions of fatigue crack closure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wallhead, Ian R.; Edwards, Lyndon; Poole, Peter

    1994-01-01

    The optical method of caustics has been successfully extended to enable stress intensity factors as low as 1MPa square root of m to be determined accurately for central fatigue cracks in 2024-T3 aluminium alloy test panels. The feasibility of using this technique to study crack closure, and to determine the effective stress intensity factor range, Delta K(sub eff), has been investigated. Comparisons have been made between the measured values of stress intensity factor, K(sub caus), and corresponding theoretical values, K(sub theo), for a range of fatigue cracks grown under different loading conditions. The values of K(sub caus) and K(sub theo) were in good agreement at maximum stress, where the cracks are fully open, while K(sub caus) exceeded K(sub theo) at minimum stress, due to crack closure. However, the levels of crack closure and values of Delta K(sub eff) obtained could not account for the variations of crack growth rate with loading conditions. It is concluded that the values of Delta K(sub eff), based on caustic measurements in a 1/square root of r stress field well outside the plastic zone, do not fully reflect local conditions which control crack tip behavior.

  2. Intercomparison On Depth Dose Measurement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rohmah, N; Akhadi, M

    1996-01-01

    Intercomparation on personal dose evaluation system has been carried out between CSRSR-NAEA of Indonesia toward Standard Laboratory of JAERI (Japan) and ARL (Australia). The intercomparison was in 10 amm depth dose measurement , Hp (10), from the intercomparison result could be stated that personal depth dose measurement conducted by CSRSR was sufficiently good. Deviation of dose measurement result using personal dosemeter of TLD BG-1 type which were used by CSRSR in the intercomparison and routine photon personal dose monitoring was still in internationally agreed limit. Maximum deviation of reported doses by CSRSR compared to delivered doses for dosemeter irradiation by JAERI was -10.0 percent and by ARL was +29 percent. Maximum deviation permitted in personal dose monitoring is ± 50 percent

  3. Outcome of Endodontically Treated Cracked Teeth

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-06-01

    directed by: CAPT Te!Ty Webb, D.D.S., M.S. A " cracked tooth" is defined as a thin surface enamel and dentin disruption of unknown depth, and is often...OUTCOME OF ENDODONTICALL Y TREATED CRACKED TEETH by David Michael Dow II, D.D.S. Lieutenant Commander, Dental Corps United States Navy A thesis...copyrighted material in the thesis manuscript titled: "Outcome ofEndodontically Treated Cracked Teeth" is appropriately acknowledged and, beyond

  4. Study of deflection and crack interrelation that use deck slab's automatic measurement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, Sung Woo; Park, Yung Suk; Joo, Kwon Yong

    2004-01-01

    Reinforce concrete slab executes finish work if 6 - 8 hours pass since concrete placing. Specially, because minimize process composition slab occasion early space-time that use structure deck plate, concrete strength revelation is very important. The reason is that when strength revelation is not made, fine shock and deflection can provoke concrete crack. Executed radio automatic measure to prevent these crack initiation cause in the advance. Apply radio automatic measure is il-san culture center building and pasta measure period 03/09/06 - 03/10/08.

  5. On the detectability of transverse cracks in laminated composites using electrical potential change measurements

    KAUST Repository

    Selvakumaran, Lakshmi

    2015-03-01

    Real-time health monitoring of structures made of laminated composites is necessary as significant damage may occur without any visible signs on the surface. Inspection by electrical tomography (ET) seems a viable approach that relies on voltage measurements from a network of electrodes across the inspected domain to infer conductivity change within the bulk material. If conductivity decreases significantly with increasing damage, the obtained conductivity map can be correlated to the degradation state of the material. We focus here on detection of transverse cracks. As transverse cracks modify the in-plane transverse conductivity of a single ply, we expect them to be detectable by electrical measurements. Yet, the quality of detection is directly related to the sensitivity of the measurements to the presence of cracks. We use numerical experiments to demonstrate that the sensitivity depends on several material and geometrical parameters. Based on the results, the applicability of ET to detect transverse cracks is discussed. One conclusion from the study is that detecting transverse cracks using ET is more reliable in some laminate configurations than in others. Recommendations about the properties of either the pristine material or the inspected structures are provided to establish if ET is reliable in detecting transverse cracks.

  6. Residual stress measurement of large scaled welded pipe using neutron diffraction method. Effect of SCC crack propagation and repair weld on residual stress distribution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Suzuki, Hiroshi; Katsuyama, Jinya; Tobita, Tohru; Morii, Yukio

    2011-01-01

    The RESA-1 neutron engineering diffractometer in the JRR-3 (Japan Research Reactor No.3) at the Japan Atomic Energy Agency, which is used for stress measurements, was upgraded to realize residual stress measurements of large scaled mechanical components. A series of residual stress measurements was made to obtain through-thickness residual stress distributions in a Type 304 stainless steel butt-welded pipe of 500A-sch.80 using the upgraded RESA-1 diffractometer. We evaluated effects of crack propagation such as stress corrosion cracking (SCC) and a part-circumference repair weld on the residual stress distributions induced by girth welding. Measured residual stress distributions near original girth weld revealed good agreement with typical results shown in some previous works using finite element method, deep hole drilling as well as neutron diffraction. After introducing a mock crack with 10 mm depth in the heat affected zone on the inside wall of the pipe by electro discharge machining, the axial residual stresses were found to be released in the part of the mock crack. However, changes in the through-wall bending stress component and the self-equilibrated stress component were negligible and hence the axial residual stress distribution in the ligament was remained in the original residual stresses near girth weld without the mock crack. Furthermore, changes in hoop and radial residual stress were also small. The residual stress distributions after a part repair welding on the outer circumference of the girth weld were significantly different from residual stress distributions near the original girth weld. The through-thickness average axial residual stress was increased due to increase of the tensile membrane stress and mitigation of the bending stress after repair welding. Throughout above studies, we evidenced that the neutron diffraction technique is useful and powerful tool for measuring residual stress distributions in large as well as thick mechanical

  7. Stress-intensity factor equations for cracks in three-dimensional finite bodies subjected to tension and bending loads

    Science.gov (United States)

    Newman, J. C., Jr.; Raju, I. S.

    1984-01-01

    Stress intensity factor equations are presented for an embedded elliptical crack, a semielliptical surface crack, a quarter elliptical corner crack, a semielliptical surface crack along the bore of a circular hole, and a quarter elliptical corner crack at the edge of a circular hole in finite plates. The plates were subjected to either remote tension or bending loads. The stress intensity factors used to develop these equations were obtained from previous three dimensional finite element analyses of these crack configurations. The equations give stress intensity factors as a function of parametric angle, crack depth, crack length, plate thickness, and, where applicable, hole radius. The ratio of crack depth to plate thickness ranged from 0 to 1, the ratio of crack depth to crack length ranged from 0.2 to 2, and the ratio of hole radius to plate thickness ranged from 0.5 to 2. The effects of plate width on stress intensity variation along the crack front were also included.

  8. Measurement of crack in rock using transmitted elastic wave; Toka danseiha ni yoru ganbannai kiretsu keisoku

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tomishima, Y [National Institute for Resources and Environment, Tsukuba (Japan)

    1997-10-22

    With an objective to measure at high accuracy the positions and sizes of cracks existing in rocks, a theoretical study has been carried out on a method which utilizes initial movement characteristics of P-wave. The P-wave which diffracts and propagates at a crack tip has a characteristic that its phase may reverse according to the positional relationship between vibration transmitting and receiving points. This positional relationship is decided by the Poisson ratio of media alone. Therefore, when the P-wave is measured while the vibration transmitting and receiving points are moved sandwiching a crack, the polarity of received waveform is changed from negative to positive at a certain position as a boundary. In order to measure this change at high accuracy, an elastic wave of high frequency is required, but it is not easy to obtain the wave in situ. In contrast, utilizing the initial movement polarity can not only identify the change in the polarity, but also perform measurement at high accuracy. The present study discussed a case where cracks are parallel with a free surface and a case where the cracks have angles with the free surface, whereas it was shown that positions of the upper and lower tips of a crack, and length of the crack can be measured accurately. 4 refs., 5 figs.

  9. Delayed hydride cracking velocity and crack growth measurement using DCPD technique in Zr-2.5Nb pressure tube material

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Singh, R.N.; Kishore, R.; Roychaudhury, S.; Unnikrishnan, M.; Sinha, T.K.; De, P.K.; Banerjee, S.; Kumar, Santosh

    2000-12-01

    Nuclear structural materials have to perform under most demanding and exotic environmental conditions. Due to its unique properties dilute zirconium alloys are the only choice for in-core structural materials in water cooled nuclear reactors. Hydrogen related problems have been recognized as the life-limiting factor for the core components of Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWR). Delayed Hydride Cracking (Dhc) is one of them. In this study, Dhc crack growth has been monitored using Direct Current Potential Drop (Dcp) technique. Calibration curve between normalized Dcp output and normalized crack length was established at different test temperatures. Dhc velocity was measured along the axial direction of the Zirconium-2.5Niobium pressure tube material at 203 and 250 degree C. (author)

  10. Identifying and Understanding Environment-Induced Crack propagation Behavior in Ni-based Superalloy INCONEL 617

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ma, Longzhou

    2012-11-30

    The nickel-based superalloy INCONEL 617 is a candidate material for heat exchanger applications in the next-generation nuclear plant (NGNP) system. This project will study the crack propagation process of alloy 617 at temperatures of 650°C-950°C in air under static/cyclic loading conditions. The goal is to identify the environmental and mechanical damage components and to understand in-depth the failure mechanism. Researchers will measure the fatigue crack propagation (FCP) rate (da/dn) under cyclic and hold-time fatigue conditions, and sustained crack growth rates (da/dt) at elevated temperatures. The independent FCP process will be identified and the rate-controlled sustained loading crack process will be correlated with the thermal activation equation to estimate the oxygen thermal activation energy. The FCP-dependent model indicates that if the sustained loading crack growth rate, da/dt, can be correlated with the FCP rate, da/dn, at the full time dependent stage, researchers can confirm stress-accelerated grain-boundary oxygen embrittlement (SAGBOE) as a predominate effect. Following the crack propagation tests, the research team will examine the fracture surface of materials in various cracking stages using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and an optical microscope. In particular, the microstructure of the crack tip region will be analyzed in depth using high resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and electron energy loss spectrum (EELS) mapping techniques to identify oxygen penetration along the grain boundary and to examine the diffused oxygen distribution profile around the crack tip. The cracked sample will be prepared by focused ion beam nanofabrication technology, allowing researchers to accurately fabricate the TEM samples from the crack tip while minimizing artifacts. Researchers will use these microscopic and spectroscopic results to interpret the crack propagation process, as well as distinguish and understand the environment or

  11. Shallow-crack toughness results for reactor pressure vessel steel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Theiss, T.J.; Shum, D.K.M.; Rolfe, S.T.

    1992-01-01

    The Heavy Section Steel Technology Program (HSST) is investigating the influence of flaw depth on the fracture toughness of reactor pressure vessel (RPV) steel. To complete this investigation, techniques were developed to determine the fracture toughness from shallow-crack specimens. A total of 38 deep and shallow-crack tests have been performed on beam specimens about 100 mm deep loaded in 3-point bending. Two crack depths (a ∼ 50 and 9 mm) and three beam thicknesses (B ∼ 50, 100, and 150 mm) have been tested. Techniques were developed to estimate the toughness in terms of both the J-integral and crack-tip opening displacement (CTOD). Analytical J-integral results were consistent with experimental J-integral results, confirming the validity of the J-estimation schemes used and the effect of flaw depth on fracture toughness. Test results indicate a significant increase in the fracture toughness associated with the shallow flaw specimens in the lower transition region compared to the deep-crack fracture toughness. There is, however, little or no difference in toughness on the lower shelf where linear-elastic conditions exist for specimens with either deep or shallow flaws. The increase in shallow-flaw toughness compared with deep-flaw results appears to be well characterized by a temperature shift of 35 degree C

  12. Crack propagation tests on the fundamental structure under cyclic thermal transients. Results of nondestructive inspection for cracks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kobayashi, S.; Horikiri, M.

    2001-06-01

    This report shows the results of crack inspection in crack propagation tests that were carried out at the Air-cooling Thermal Transient Test Facility (ATTF). Test specimens were made of 304 type austenitic stainless steel, and they were the same cylindrical shape, 1,500 mm in height, 130 mm in outer diameter and 30 mm in thickness. And they had initial slits machined on inner surfaces. Firstly the specimens were heated up to 650degC in a furnace, then cooled by pressurized air blowing through the specimen for 90 seconds. These cyclic changes of temperature gradients in the wall of specimens were loaded. Specimens were tested for several years. The specimen No. CPTT-102 with machined two circumferential slits and two semi-elliptical slits was tested up to 10,000 cycles. And the specimen No. CPTT-103 with machined six semi-elliptical slits of different length respectively was tested up to 5,000 cycles. Cracks of specimens were inspected nondestructively for a giving cycle in these tests. Applied inspection methods were ultra-sonic testing, potential-drop method and inner surface observation. Ultra-sonic testing was carried out by applying the pulse-echo method. Potential-drop testing was carried out by measurement of localized constant direct current beyond cracks. Photographs of the inner surface of specimens were taken using a bore-scope. The results of ultra-sonic testing have been close to destructive test results. The depth of crack by the potential-drop method was almost corresponding to destructive test results, too. Photographs of the inner surface were synthesized by the computer, and connection between main crack and hair crack was observed. (author)

  13. Comparative evaluation of preventive measures against primary side stress corrosion cracking of mill annealed Inconel 600 steam generator tubes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Frederick, G.; Hernalsteen, P.

    1986-01-01

    Significant amounts of primary side cracking have been reported in the mechanically expanded area of the tubes of PWR steam generators in Europe, in Japan and to a lesser extent in the USA. The Belgian utilities are faced with the same problem. At Doel 2, where the tubes are rolled for only a part of the tubesheet, primary side cracking appeared in the roll transition. The Doel 3 and Tihange 2 steam generators, whose tubes are expanded for the full depth of the tube sheet, have experienced cracking after about 10 000 h of operation not only in the roll transition but also at roll overlaps. While some leaks and eddy current indications are associated with tubesheet or rolling anomalies, many of them are found on normal tubes. A programme was launched by the Belgian utilities and was further co-sponsored by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) to develop preventive actions applicable not only to hot steam generators but also to cold steam generators already installed on site. These preventive measures include stress relaxation and metallurgical improvement of the material by an in situ heat treatment of the whole tube sheet (a steam generator model was used to evaluate the feasibility of this treatment), and the introduction of residual compressive stresses on ID by rotopeening or shotpeening without inducing unacceptable tensile stresses on OD. A comparative evaluation of these measures was established on the basis of tests performed on representative mock-ups and specimens. (author)

  14. Detection of a Surface-Breaking Crack by Using the Surface Wave of a Laser Ultrasound

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, Seung-Kyu; Baik, Sung-Hoon; Jung, Hyun-Kyu; Joo, Young-Sang; Cha, Hyung-Ki; Kang, Young-June

    2006-01-01

    A laser ultrasonic system is a non-contact inspection device with a high spatial resolution and a wide-band spectrum. Also it provides absolute measurements of the moving distance and can be applied to the hard-to access locations with curved or rough surfaces like a nuclear power plant. Several laser ultrasonic techniques are applied for the detection of micro cracks in a nuclear power plant. Also, laser ultrasonic techniques are used to measure the grain size of materials and to detect cracks in railroads and aircrafts. Though the laser ultrasonic inspection system is widely applicable, it is comparatively expensive and it provides a low signal-to-noise ratio when compared to the conventional piezoelectric transducers. Many studies have been carried out to improve the system performance. One of the widely used measurement devices of a ultrasound is the Confocal Fabry-Perot Interferometer(CFPI) with a dynamic stabilizer. The dynamic stabilizer improves the stability of the CFPI by adaptively maintaining the optimum working status at the measuring time of the CFPI. In this paper, we have investigated the detection methods of the depth of a surface-breaking crack by using the surface wave of a laser ultrasound. We have fabricated a laser ultrasonic inspection system on an optical table by using a pulse laser, a CFPI with a dynamic stabilizer and a computer. The computer acquires the laser ultrasound by using a high speed A/D converter with a sampling rate of 1000 MHz. The dynamic stabilizer stabilizes the CFPI by adaptively maintaining it at an optimum status when the laser ultrasound is generated. The computer processes the ultrasonic signal in real time to extract the depth information of a surface-breaking crack. We extracted the depth information from the peak-to-valley values in the time domain and also from the center frequencies of the spectrum in the frequency domain

  15. Depth Measurement Based on Infrared Coded Structured Light

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tong Jia

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Depth measurement is a challenging problem in computer vision research. In this study, we first design a new grid pattern and develop a sequence coding and decoding algorithm to process the pattern. Second, we propose a linear fitting algorithm to derive the linear relationship between the object depth and pixel shift. Third, we obtain depth information on an object based on this linear relationship. Moreover, 3D reconstruction is implemented based on Delaunay triangulation algorithm. Finally, we utilize the regularity of the error curves to correct the system errors and improve the measurement accuracy. The experimental results show that the accuracy of depth measurement is related to the step length of moving object.

  16. Crack detection using image processing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moustafa, M.A.A

    2010-01-01

    This thesis contains five main subjects in eight chapters and two appendices. The first subject discus Wiener filter for filtering images. In the second subject, we examine using different methods, as Steepest Descent Algorithm (SDA) and the Wavelet Transformation, to detect and filling the cracks, and it's applications in different areas as Nano technology and Bio-technology. In third subject, we attempt to find 3-D images from 1-D or 2-D images using texture mapping with Open Gl under Visual C ++ language programming. The fourth subject consists of the process of using the image warping methods for finding the depth of 2-D images using affine transformation, bilinear transformation, projective mapping, Mosaic warping and similarity transformation. More details about this subject will be discussed below. The fifth subject, the Bezier curves and surface, will be discussed in details. The methods for creating Bezier curves and surface with unknown distribution, using only control points. At the end of our discussion we will obtain the solid form, using the so called NURBS (Non-Uniform Rational B-Spline); which depends on: the degree of freedom, control points, knots, and an evaluation rule; and is defined as a mathematical representation of 3-D geometry that can accurately describe any shape from a simple 2-D line, circle, arc, or curve to the most complex 3-D organic free-form surface or (solid) which depends on finding the Bezier curve and creating family of curves (surface), then filling in between to obtain the solid form. Another representation for this subject is concerned with building 3D geometric models from physical objects using image-based techniques. The advantage of image techniques is that they require no expensive equipment; we use NURBS, subdivision surface and mesh for finding the depth of any image with one still view or 2D image. The quality of filtering depends on the way the data is incorporated into the model. The data should be treated with

  17. Stress-intensity factor equations for cracks in three-dimensional finite bodies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Newman, J. C., Jr.; Raju, I. S.

    1981-01-01

    Empirical stress intensity factor equations are presented for embedded elliptical cracks, semi-elliptical surface cracks, quarter-elliptical corner cracks, semi-elliptical surface cracks at a hole, and quarter-elliptical corner cracks at a hole in finite plates. The plates were subjected to remote tensile loading. Equations give stress intensity factors as a function of parametric angle, crack depth, crack length, plate thickness, and where applicable, hole radius. The stress intensity factors used to develop the equations were obtained from three dimensional finite element analyses of these crack configurations.

  18. A synchrotron X-ray diffraction deconvolution method for the measurement of residual stress in thermal barrier coatings as a function of depth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, C; Jacques, S D M; Chen, Y; Daisenberger, D; Xiao, P; Markocsan, N; Nylen, P; Cernik, R J

    2016-12-01

    The average residual stress distribution as a function of depth in an air plasma-sprayed yttria stabilized zirconia top coat used in thermal barrier coating (TBC) systems was measured using synchrotron radiation X-ray diffraction in reflection geometry on station I15 at Diamond Light Source, UK, employing a series of incidence angles. The stress values were calculated from data deconvoluted from diffraction patterns collected at increasing depths. The stress was found to be compressive through the thickness of the TBC and a fluctuation in the trend of the stress profile was indicated in some samples. Typically this fluctuation was observed to increase from the surface to the middle of the coating, decrease a little and then increase again towards the interface. The stress at the interface region was observed to be around 300 MPa, which agrees well with the reported values. The trend of the observed residual stress was found to be related to the crack distribution in the samples, in particular a large crack propagating from the middle of the coating. The method shows promise for the development of a nondestructive test for as-manufactured samples.

  19. Near-IR imaging of cracks in teeth

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fried, William A.; Simon, Jacob C.; Lucas, Seth; Chan, Kenneth H.; Darling, Cynthia L.; Staninec, Michal; Fried, Daniel

    2014-02-01

    Dental enamel is highly transparent at near-IR wavelengths and several studies have shown that these wavelengths are well suited for optical transillumination for the detection and imaging of tooth decay. We hypothesize that these wavelengths are also well suited for imaging cracks in teeth. Extracted teeth with suspected cracks were imaged at several wavelengths in the near-IR from 1300-1700-nm. Extracted teeth were also examined with optical coherence tomography to confirm the existence of suspected cracks. Several teeth of volunteers were also imaged in vivo at 1300-nm to demonstrate clinical potential. In addition we induced cracks in teeth using a carbon dioxide laser and imaged crack formation and propagation in real time using near-IR transillumination. Cracks were clearly visible using near-IR imaging at 1300-nm in both in vitro and in vivo images. Cracks and fractures also interfered with light propagation in the tooth aiding in crack identification and assessment of depth and severity.

  20. On multiple crack detection in beam structures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Moradi, Shapour; Kargozarfard, Mohammad [Shahid Chamran University, Ahvaz (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

    2013-01-15

    This study presents an inverse procedure to identify multiple cracks in beams using an evolutionary algorithm. By considering the crack detection procedure as an optimization problem, an objective function can be constructed based on the change of the eigenfrequencies and some strain energy parameters. Each crack is modeled by a rotational spring. The changes in natural frequencies due to the presence of the cracks are related to a damage index vector. Then, the bees algorithm, a swarm-based evolutionary optimization technique, is used to optimize the objective function and find the damage index vector, whose positive components show the number and position of the cracks. A second objective function is also optimized to find the crack depths. Several experimental studies on cracked cantilever beams are conducted to ensure the integrity of the proposed method. The results show that the number of cracks as well as their sizes and locations can be predicted well through this method.

  1. Impact of Crack on Stability of Slope with Linearly Increasing Undrained Strength

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bing Li

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a procedure for assessment of the impact of tension crack on stability of slope in clays with linearly increasing undrained strength. The procedure is based on the limit equilibrium method with variational extremization. The distribution of the normal stress over slip surface is mathematically obtained for slopes in clays with the linearly increasing undrained strength and then used to determine the tension crack for clays with zero tensile strength. The seismic effect is also included using the pseudostatic approach. Closed-form solutions to the minimum safety factor and the maximum crack depth can be derived and given in the form of chart for convenient use. The results demonstrate a significant effect of the tension crack on the stability of steep slopes, especially for strong seismic conditions. In this situation, neglecting the impact of tension crack in traditional ϕ=0 analyses may overestimate the slope safety. The most adverse location of the tension crack can be also determined and presented in the charts, which may be useful in designing reinforcements and remedial measures for slope stabilization.

  2. Critical experiments, measurements, and analyses to establish a crack arrest methodology for nuclear pressure vessel steels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hahn, G.T.

    1977-01-01

    Substantial progress was made in three important areas: crack propagation and arrest theory, two-dimensional dynamic crack propagation analyses, and a laboratory test method for the material property data base. The major findings were as follows: Measurements of run-arrest events lent support to the dynamic, energy conservation theory of crack arrest. A two-dimensional, dynamic, finite-difference analysis, including inertia forces and thermal gradients, was developed. The analysis was successfully applied to run-arrest events in DCB (double-cantilever-beam) and SEN (single-edge notched) test pieces. A simplified procedure for measuring K/sub D/ and K/sub Im/ values with ordinary and duplex DCB specimens was demonstrated. The procedure employs a dynamic analysis of the crack length at arrest and requires no special instrumentation. The new method was applied to ''duplex'' specimens to measure the large K/sub D/ values displayed by A533B steel above the nil-ductility temperature. K/sub D/ crack velocity curves and K/sub Im/ values of two heats of A533B steel and the corresponding values for the plane strain fracture toughness associated with static initiation (K/sub Ic/), dynamic initiation (K/sub Id/), and the static stress intensity at crack arrest (K/sub Ia/) were measured. Possible relations among these toughness indices are identified. During the past year the principal investigators of the participating groups reached agreement on a crack arrest theory appropriate for the pressure vessel problem. 7 figures

  3. Experimental analysis of crack evolution in concrete by the acoustic emission technique

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Saliba

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available The fracture process zone (FPZ was investigated on unnotched and notched beams with different notch depths. Three point bending tests were realized on plain concrete under crack mouth opening displacement (CMOD control. Crack growth was monitored by applying the acoustic emission (AE technique. In order to improve our understanding of the FPZ, the width and length of the FPZ were followed based on the AE source locations maps and several AE parameters were studied during the entire loading process. The bvalue analysis, defined as the log-linear slope of the frequency-magnitude distribution of acoustic emissions, was also carried out to describe quantitatively the influence of the relative notch depth on the fracture process. The results show that the number of AE hits increased with the decrease of the relative notch depth and an important AE energy dissipation was observed at the crack initiation in unnotched beams. In addition, the relative notch depth influenced the AE characteristics, the process of crack propagation, and the brittleness of concrete.

  4. A study on the evolution of crack networks under thermal fatigue loading

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kamaya, Masayuki; Taheri, Said

    2008-01-01

    The crack network is a typical cracking morphology caused by thermal fatigue loading. It was pointed out that the crack network appeared under relatively small temperature fluctuations and did not grow deeply. In this study, the mechanism of evolution of crack network and its influence on crack growth was examined by numerical calculation. First, the stress field near two interacting cracks was investigated. It was shown that there are stress-concentration and stress-shielding zones around interacting cracks, and that cracks can form a network under the bi-axial stress condition. Secondly, a Monte Carlo simulation was developed in order to simulate the initiation and growth of cracks under thermal fatigue loading and the evolution of the crack network. The local stress field formed by pre-existing cracks was evaluated by the body force method and its role in the initiation and growth of cracks was considered. The simulation could simulate the evolution of the crack network and change in number of cracks observed in the experiments. It was revealed that reduction in the stress intensity factor due to stress feature in the depth direction under high cycle thermal fatigue loading plays an important role in the evolution of the crack network and that mechanical interaction between cracks in the network affects initiation rather than growth of cracks. The crack network appears only when the crack growth in the depth direction is interrupted. It was concluded that the emergence of the crack network is preferable for the structural integrity of cracked components

  5. Fatigue crack nucleation of type 316LN stainless steel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Dae Whan; Kim, Woo Gon; Hong, Jun Hwa; Ryu, Woo Seog

    2000-01-01

    Low Cycle Fatigue (LCF) life decreases drastically with increasing temperature but increases with the addition of nitrogen at room and high temperatures. The effect of nitrogen on LCF life may be related to crack nucleation at high temperatures in austenitic stainless steel because the fraction of crack nucleation in LCF life is about 40%. The influence of nitrogen on the crack nucleation of LCF in type 316LN stainless steel is investigated by observations of crack population and crack depth after testing at 40% of fatigue life. Nitrogen increases the number of cycles to nucleate microcracks of 100 μm but decreases the crack population

  6. Measurements of radiated elastic wave energy from dynamic tensile cracks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boler, Frances M.

    1990-01-01

    The role of fracture-velocity, microstructure, and fracture-energy barriers in elastic wave radiation during a dynamic fracture was investigated in experiments in which dynamic tensile cracks of two fracture cofigurations of double cantilever beam geometry were propagating in glass samples. The first, referred to as primary fracture, consisted of fractures of intact glass specimens; the second configuration, referred to as secondary fracture, consisted of a refracture of primary fracture specimens which were rebonded with an intermittent pattern of adhesive to produce variations in fracture surface energy along the crack path. For primary fracture cases, measurable elastic waves were generated in 31 percent of the 16 fracture events observed; the condition for radiation of measurable waves appears to be a local abrupt change in the fracture path direction, such as occurs when the fracture intersects a surface flaw. For secondary fractures, 100 percent of events showed measurable elastic waves; in these fractures, the ratio of radiated elastic wave energy in the measured component to fracture surface energy was 10 times greater than for primary fracture.

  7. Preliminary test results from the HSST shallow-crack fracture toughness program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Theiss, T.J.; Robinson, G.C.; Rolfe, S.T.

    1991-01-01

    The Heavy Section Steel Technology (HSST) Program under sponsorship of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is investigating the influence of crack depth on the fracture toughness of reactor pressure vessel steel. The ultimate goal of the investigation is the generation of a limited data base of elastic-plastic fracture toughness values appropriate for shallow flaws in a reactor pressure vessel and the application of this data to reactor vessel life assessments. It has been shown that shallow-flaws play a dominant role in the probabilistic fracture mechanics analysis of reactor pressure vessels during a pressurized-thermal-shock event. In addition, recent research has shown that the crack initiation toughness measured using specimens with shallow flaws is greater that the toughness determined with conventional, deeply notched specimens at temperatures within the transition region for non-nuclear steels. The influence of crack depth on the elastic-plastic fracture toughness for prototypic reactor material is being investigated. Preliminary results indicate a significant increase in the toughness associated with shallow-flaws which has the potential to significantly impact the conditional probability of vessel failure. 8 refs., 4 figs., 1 tab

  8. Method of evaluation of stress corrosion cracking susceptibility of clad fuel tubes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Takase, Iwao; Yoshida, Toshimi; Ikeda, Shinzo; Masaoka, Isao; Nakajima, Junjiro.

    1986-01-01

    Purpose: To determine, by an evaluation in out-pile test, the stress corrosion cracking susceptibility of clad fuel tubes in the reactor environment. Method: A plurality of electrodes are mounted in the circumferential direction on the entire surface of cladding tubes. Of the electrodes, electrodes at two adjacent places are used as measuring terminals and electrodes at another two places adjacent thereto are used as constant-current terminals. With a specific current flowing in the constant-current terminals, measurements are made of a potential difference between the terminals to be measured, and from a variation in the potential difference the depth of cracking of the cladding tube surface is presumed to determine the stress corrosion cracking susceptibility of the cladding tube. To check the entire surface of the cladding tube, the cladding tube is moved by each block in the circumferential direction by a contact changeover system, repeating the measurements of the potential difference. Contact type electrodes are secured with an insulator and held in uniform contact with the cladding tube by a spring. It is detachable by use of a locking system and movable as desired. Thus the stress corrosion cracking susceptibility can be determined without mounting the cladding tube through and also a fuel failure can be prevented. (Horiuchi, T.)

  9. Measurements of seasonal frost depth by frost tube in Japan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harada, K.; Yoshikawa, K.; Iwahana, G.; Stanilovskaya, J. V.; Sawada, Y.; Sone, T.

    2017-12-01

    Since 2011 winter season, frost depths have been measured as an outreach program in Hokkaido, northern part of Japan, where seasonal ground freezing occurs in winter. Frost depths were measured in elementary, junior high and high schools in order to emphasis their interest for earth sciences. At schools, using simple frost tube, measurements were conducted directly once a week by students or teacher during ground freezing under no snow-removal condition. A lecture was made in class and a frost tube was set at schoolyard, as the same tube and protocol as UAF's Permafrost Outreach Program, using clear tube with blue-colored water. In 2011 winter season, we started measurements at three schools, and the number of school extended to 32 in 2016 season, 26 elementary schools, 5 junior high schools and one high school. We visited schools in summer time or just before frost season to talk about the method of measurement, and measurements by students started just after ground freezing. After the end of frozen period, we visited schools again to explain results of each school or another schools in Japan, Alaska, Canada or Russia. The measured frost depths in Hokkaido ranged widely, from only a few centimeter to more than 50 cm. However, some schools had no frost depth due to heavy snow. We confirmed that the frost depth strongly depends on air temperature and snow depth. The lecture was made to student why the frost depth ranged widely, and the effect of snow was explained by using the example of igloo. In order to validate the effect of snow and to compare frost depths, we tried to measure frost depths under snow-removal and no snow-removal conditions at the same elementary school. At the end of December, depths had no significant difference between these conditions, and the difference went to 14 cm after one month, with about 30 cm of snow depth. After these measurements and lectures, students noticed snow has a role as insulator and affects the frost depth.

  10. Crack propagation under thermal cycling loading inducing a thermal gradient in the specimen thickness

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Le, H.N.

    2009-05-01

    This study aims to figure out the crack growth phenomenon by thermal fatigue induced by thermal gradient through thickness of specimen. Firstly, an experimental facility has been developed: a rectangular parallelepiped specimen is subjected to thermal cycling between 350 C and 100 C; the specimen is freed to expand and contract. Two semi-circular notches (0,1 mm depth and 4 mm length) have been machined on the surface of the specimen. A series of interrupted tests has been carried out to characterize and quantify the crack growth in depth and surface of the pre-existing crack. Next, a three-dimensional crack growth simulation has been implemented in ABAQUS. Automation using Python was used to simulate the propagation of a crack under thermal cycling, with re-meshing at crack front after each calculation step. No assumption has been taken on the crack front during the crack propagation. A comparison with test results showed very good agreement on the evolution of crack front shape and on the kinetics of propagation on the edge and the heart of pre-existing crack. An analytical approach was also developed based on the calculation of stress intensity factors (SIC). A two-dimensional approach was first introduced enabling us to better understand the influence of various thermal and geometric parameters. Finally, a three dimensional approach, with an elliptical assumption crack shape during the propagation, leading to a prediction of crack growth on the surface and in depth which is very similar to that obtained numerically, but with computational time much lower. (author)

  11. Sizing of cracks by ultrasonic testing - Diffraction methods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hoegberg, K.; Sattari-Far, I.; Pers-Anderson, E.B.

    1989-01-01

    The work has been concentrated on manual ultrasonic testing of plates in carbon and austenitic steel with thicknesses of 10-40 mm. Evaluation of data was performed by studying the amplitude, accuracy (crack depth) and visibility. The experience from the project showed that identification of the weak signals from the crack tips requires well-trained personnel. Besides that, the following can be recommended: Estimate if the crack has compressive stresses. Especially shallow cracks are exposed for compressive stresses. Chose a refraction angle ≥ 60 degrees if the crack is deep. Try both low (approx equivalent to 2MHz) and high (approx equivalent to 4-5MHz) frequency. Lower frequencies often increase amplitude response. Avoid the combination of refraction angle greater than 60 degrees and low frequency. Inspect with half as well as full skip. Sometimes a stronger signal is received for full skip, because the amplitude of the diffracted signal is higher from the cracked side. Use complementary measurements with mode conversion techniques. Focused probes can improve the results, especially for complicated geometries. Do not use reference reflectors of EDM-notch type for verification of signal amplitude. No correlation between amplitude from an EDM-notch tip and a crack tip exists. Reference reflectors of EDM-notch type can be used to verify the resolution of the system. A shallow EDM-notch can show if the probe can separate the tip and corner. It is our experience that general solutions does not exist, and each case needs an individual solution

  12. Process and device for magnetic crack testing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seiler, D.; Meili, E.; Fuchs, E.

    1983-01-01

    There is a problem of sufficient crack depth discrimination to suppress fault signals or pictures due to unevenness not caused by cracks. To solve this, when magnetising in the preferred direction of adhesion, the effect depending on the direction of the crack, before magnetic powder detection, magnetic powder is blown on, showing the fault and for the comparison of the adhesion effect crack direction characteristics it is blown on parallel to the preferred direction, or if one wants to stress the directional characteristic, it is blown on transversely to the preferred direction. In both cases one blows with the same force, without removing the magnetic powder remnants relevant to faults in the intended crack areas. This strong blowing removes the magnetic powder remnants relevant to interference and not relevant to faults. (orig./HP) [de

  13. Quantitative optical fluorescence microprobe measurements of stresses around indentations in Al2O3 and Al2O3/SiC nanocomposites: The influence of depth resolution and specimen translucency

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guo Sheng; Todd, R.I.

    2011-01-01

    Residual stresses around 1 kg Vickers indentations in Al 2 O 3 and Al 2 O 3 /SiC nanocomposites were measured using high-resolution Cr 3+ fluorescence microscopy. Experiments and modelling showed that the use of non-confocal microscopes can lead to significant underestimation of the surface stress in Al 2 O 3 because of the sampling of subsurface regions where the stresses are lower. The nanocomposites were less sensitive to the depth resolution of the microscope because their strong absorption limited the depth from which fluorescent radiation was collected. The use of confocal microscope settings allowed accurate measurements to be made and the indentation stresses were found to be very similar in Al 2 O 3 and the Al 2 O 3 /SiC nanocomposites. The stresses measured were significantly different from the predictions of the Yoffe model for indentation stresses. This was because of indentation cracking, which is not accounted for in the model. Cracking was also considered to be important in determining the plastic zone size in ceramics, which is much smaller relative to the indentation size than in metals.

  14. ASK Procedure for Instrumented Pre-cracked Charpy-Type Tests

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Varga, T.; Njo, D.H.; Prantl, G.

    1981-01-01

    The essential technical content of the ASK procedure originated from development work in Switzerland since 1963, and practical experiences gained since 1972. The remainder of the content and the format of the procedure are based on the ASTM E 24.03.03. (Tentative Draft Copy) 'Proposed Method for Pre-cracked Charpy Impact and Slow-Bend Testing of Metallic Materials' by C. E. Harbower, 1973. Two different velocities, 5 m/s and 0.1 m/s were used with a Schnadt-type machine of rigid construction. The stiffness of the machine proved to be very suitable for instrumented testing. The instrumented Schnadt-Type machine was equipped with strain gauges both on the top of the pendulum and on the chisel. A static force calibration was followed by energy calibration, comparing potential energy losses with the area under the force-deflection curve. Deflection was measured using a high frequency eddy current method on the pendulum, and for slow testing by means of an inductive gauge on the chisel. Charpy-Type specimens of 1.0 mm max notch depth and 0.12 mm max notch radius were pre-cracked using a resonant fatigue testing machine, or an eccentric drive machine. Crack propagation rate da/dN was measured using 'Russenberger' measuring gauges. In addition a new technique for the detection of dynamic crack initiation, developed at the Institute of Research and Technology (TVFA) in Vienna is discussed and some results presented

  15. Crack identification method in beam-like structures using changes in experimentally measured frequencies and Particle Swarm Optimization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khatir, Samir; Dekemele, Kevin; Loccufier, Mia; Khatir, Tawfiq; Abdel Wahab, Magd

    2018-02-01

    In this paper, a technique is presented for the detection and localization of an open crack in beam-like structures using experimentally measured natural frequencies and the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) method. The technique considers the variation in local flexibility near the crack. The natural frequencies of a cracked beam are determined experimentally and numerically using the Finite Element Method (FEM). The optimization algorithm is programmed in MATLAB. The algorithm is used to estimate the location and severity of a crack by minimizing the differences between measured and calculated frequencies. The method is verified using experimentally measured data on a cantilever steel beam. The Fourier transform is adopted to improve the frequency resolution. The results demonstrate the good accuracy of the proposed technique.

  16. Crack velocity measurement by induced electromagnetic radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Frid, V.; Rabinovitch, A.; Bahat, D.

    2006-01-01

    Our model of electromagnetic radiation (EMR) emanated from fracture implies that EMR amplitude is proportional to crack velocity. Soda lime glass samples were tested under uniaxial tension. Comparison of crack velocity observed by Wallner line analysis and the peak amplitude of EMR signals registered during the test, showed very good correlation, validating this proportionality

  17. Crack velocity measurement by induced electromagnetic radiation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Frid, V. [Deichmann Rock Mechanics Laboratory of the Negev, Geological and Environmental Sciences Department, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva (Israel)]. E-mail: vfrid@bgu.ac.il; Rabinovitch, A. [Deichmann Rock Mechanics Laboratory of the Negev, Physics Department, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva (Israel); Bahat, D. [Deichmann Rock Mechanics Laboratory of the Negev, Geological and Environmental Sciences Department, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva (Israel)

    2006-07-31

    Our model of electromagnetic radiation (EMR) emanated from fracture implies that EMR amplitude is proportional to crack velocity. Soda lime glass samples were tested under uniaxial tension. Comparison of crack velocity observed by Wallner line analysis and the peak amplitude of EMR signals registered during the test, showed very good correlation, validating this proportionality.

  18. Measurement of fatigue crack growth rate of reactor structural material in air based on DCPD method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Du Donghai; Chen Kai; Yu Lun; Zhang Lefu; Shi Xiuqiang; Xu Xuelian

    2014-01-01

    The principles and details of direct current potential drop (DCPD) in monitoring the crack growth of reactor structural materials was introduced in this paper. Based on this method, the fatigue crack growth rate (CGR) of typical structural materials in nuclear power systems was measured. The effects of applied load, load ratio and loading frequency on the fatigue crack growth rate of reactor structural materials were discussed. The result shows that the fatigue crack growth rate of reactor structural materials depends on the hardness of materials, and the harder the material is, the higher the rate of crack growth is. (authors)

  19. Numerical simulations of electric potential field for alternating current potential drop associated with surface cracks in low-alloy steel nuclear material

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yeh, Chun-Ping; Huang, Jiunn-Yuan

    2018-04-01

    Low-alloy steels used as structural materials in nuclear power plants are subjected to cyclic stresses during power plant operations. As a result, cracks may develop and propagate through the material. The alternating current potential drop technique is used to measure the lengths of cracks in metallic components. The depth of the penetration of the alternating current is assumed to be small compared to the crack length. This assumption allows the adoption of the unfolding technique to simplify the problem to a surface Laplacian field. The numerical modelling of the electric potential and current density distribution prediction model for a compact tension specimen and the unfolded crack model are presented in this paper. The goal of this work is to conduct numerical simulations to reduce deviations occurring in the crack length measurements. Numerical simulations were conducted on AISI 4340 low-alloy steel with different crack lengths to evaluate the electric potential distribution. From the simulated results, an optimised position for voltage measurements in the crack region was proposed.

  20. A New Method to Measure Crack Extension in Nuclear Graphite Based on Digital Image Correlation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shigang Lai

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Graphite components, used as moderators, reflectors, and core-support structures in a High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor, play an important role in the safety of the reactor. Specifically, they provide channels for the fuel elements, control rods, and coolant flow. Fracture is the main failure mode for graphite, and breaching of the above channels by crack extension will seriously threaten the safety of a reactor. In this paper, a new method based on digital image correlation (DIC is introduced for measuring crack extension in brittle materials. Cross-correlation of the displacements measured by DIC with a step function was employed to identify the advancing crack tip in a graphite beam specimen under three-point bending. The load-crack extension curve, which is required for analyzing the R-curve and tension softening behaviors, was obtained for this material. Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis of the threshold value employed for the cross-correlation parameter in the crack identification process was conducted. Finally, the results were verified using the finite element method.

  1. A Small Crack Length Evaluation Technique by Electronic Scanning

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cho, Yong Sang; Kim, Jae Hoon

    2009-01-01

    The results of crack evaluation by conventional UT(Ultrasonic Test)is highly depend on the inspector's experience or knowledge of ultrasound. Phased array UT system and its application methods for small crack length evaluation will be a good alternative method which overcome present UT weakness. This study was aimed at checking the accuracy of crack length evaluation method by electronic scanning and discuss about characteristics of electronic scanning for crack length evaluation. Especially ultrasonic phased array with electronic scan technique was used in carrying out both sizing and detect ability of crack as its length changes. The response of ultrasonic phased array was analyzed to obtain the special method of determining crack length without moving the transducer and detectability of crack minimal length and depth from the material. A method of crack length determining by electronic scanning for the small crack is very real method which has it's accuracy and verify the effectiveness of method compared to a conventional crack length determination

  2. Unsaturated Seepage Analysis of Cracked Soil including Development Process of Cracks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ling Cao

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Cracks in soil provide preferential pathways for water flow and their morphological parameters significantly affect the hydraulic conductivity of the soil. To study the hydraulic properties of cracks, the dynamic development of cracks in the expansive soil during drying and wetting has been measured in the laboratory. The test results enable the development of the relationships between the cracks morphological parameters and the water content. In this study, the fractal model has been used to predict the soil-water characteristic curve (SWCC of the cracked soil, including the developmental process of the cracks. The cracked expansive soil has been considered as a crack-pore medium. A dual media flow model has been developed to simulate the seepage characteristics of the cracked expansive soil. The variations in pore water pressure at different part of the model are quite different due to the impact of the cracks. This study proves that seepage characteristics can be better predicted if the impact of cracks is taken into account.

  3. Standard test method for measurement of fatigue crack growth rates

    CERN Document Server

    American Society for Testing and Materials. Philadelphia

    2015-01-01

    1.1 This test method covers the determination of fatigue crack growth rates from near-threshold to Kmax controlled instability. Results are expressed in terms of the crack-tip stress-intensity factor range (ΔK), defined by the theory of linear elasticity. 1.2 Several different test procedures are provided, the optimum test procedure being primarily dependent on the magnitude of the fatigue crack growth rate to be measured. 1.3 Materials that can be tested by this test method are not limited by thickness or by strength so long as specimens are of sufficient thickness to preclude buckling and of sufficient planar size to remain predominantly elastic during testing. 1.4 A range of specimen sizes with proportional planar dimensions is provided, but size is variable to be adjusted for yield strength and applied force. Specimen thickness may be varied independent of planar size. 1.5 The details of the various specimens and test configurations are shown in Annex A1-Annex A3. Specimen configurations other than t...

  4. Experimental Study on GFRP Surface Cracks Detection Using Truncated-Correlation Photothermal Coherence Tomography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Fei; Liu, Junyan; Mohummad, Oliullah; Wang, Yang

    2018-04-01

    In this paper, truncated-correlation photothermal coherence tomography (TC-PCT) was used as a nondestructive inspection technique to evaluate glass-fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) composite surface cracks. Chirped-pulsed signal that combines linear frequency modulation and pulse excitation was proposed as an excitation signal to detect GFRP composite surface cracks. The basic principle of TC-PCT and extraction algorithm of the thermal wave signal feature was described. The comparison experiments between lock-in thermography, thermal wave radar imaging and chirped-pulsed photothermal radar for detecting GFRP artificial surface cracks were carried out. Experimental results illustrated that chirped-pulsed photothermal radar has the merits of high signal-to-noise ratio in detecting GFRP composite surface cracks. TC-PCT as a depth-resolved photothermal imaging modality was employed to enable three-dimensional visualization of GFRP composite surface cracks. The results showed that TC-PCT can effectively evaluate the cracks depth of GFRP composite.

  5. Seed drill instrumentation for spatial coulter depth measurements

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kirkegaard Nielsen, Søren; Munkholm, Lars Juhl; Lamandé, Mathieu

    2017-01-01

    coulter depth varied up to ±5 mm between the blocks. In addition, significant depth variations between the individual coulters were found. The mean depths varied between −14.2 and −25.9 mm for the eleven coulters. The mean shallowest coulter depth (−14.2 mm) was measured for the coulter running...... in the wheel track of the tractor. The power spectral densities (distribution) of the coulter depth oscillation frequencies showed that the majority of oscillations occurred below 0.5 Hz without any natural vibration frequency. The study concluded that the instrumentation concept was functional for on...

  6. Ductile fracture of circumferentially cracked type-304 stainless steel pipes in tension

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zahoor, A.; Norris, D.M.

    1984-11-01

    Circumferentially cracked pipes subjected to tensile load were analyzed for finite length and constant depth part-through cracks located at the inside of the pipe wall. The analysis postulated loads sufficient to cause net-section yielding of the flawed section. It was demonstrated that a propensity for predominantly radial growth exists for part-through cracks loaded in tension. This result is similar to the result for bend loading, except that bend loading causes more favorable conditions for wall breakthrough than tension loading. Numerical results were developed for 4-in. and 24-in-dia pipes. Safety margins for displacement controlled loads were described by a safety assessment diagram. This diagram defines a curve delineating leak from fracture in a space of nondimensional crack length and crack depth. 4-india schedule 80 Type-304 stainless steel pipes with length to radius ratio (L/R) of up to 100 exhibited leak-before-break behavior.

  7. Ductile fracture of circumferentially cracked type-304 stainless steel pipes in tension

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zahoor, A.; Norris, D.M.

    1984-01-01

    Circumferentially cracked pipes subjected to tensile load were analyzed for finite length and constant depth part-through cracks located at the inside of the pipe wall. The analysis postulated loads sufficient to cause net-section yielding of the flawed section. It was demonstrated that a propensity for predominantly radial growth exists for part-through cracks loaded in tension. This result is similar to the result for bend loading, except that bend loading causes more favorable conditions for wall breakthrough than tension loading. Numerical results were developed for 4-in. and 24-in-dia pipes. Safety margins for displacement controlled loads were described by a safety assessment diagram. This diagram defines a curve delineating leak from fracture in a space of nondimensional crack length and crack depth. 4-india schedule 80 Type-304 stainless steel pipes with length to radius ratio (L/R) of up to 100 exhibited leak-before-break behavior

  8. Measurement and accompanying numerical simulation of fast crack propagation in modified DCB specimens made of Araldit B

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stoeckl, H.

    1991-06-01

    Numerical simulations of fracture-mechanical experiments with the aim of determining the stress intensity factor and its relation to the fracture velocity from the measured data of the crack length are problematic with the conventional DCB specimen loaded through wedge and bolt namely because of the not clearly definable limiting conditions. Experiments were therefore carried out with modified DCB specimens made of ARALDIT B, with the loading wedge pressed directly into the crack mouth. In the case of suitable specimen dimensions, K I already in the initial phase of crack propagation before arrival of the first reflected waves covers a great part of the relevant range. Numerical simulations agree well with the shadow-optical measurements in this phase. A specimen variant with T-shaped extension at the counterbearing is suitable especially for crack arrest investigations, since high fracture velocities and brief crack jump lengths can be combined in tests with this specimen. The constant member in the series development of the stress distribution at the crack tip according to Williams determines the directional stability of the crack. The theories established by Cotterell, Schindler, Streit and Finnie are discussed by means of the kinking cracks observed during some experiments. (orig.) [de

  9. Microstructural features of environmentally assisted cracking in pipeline steel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Williams, B.W.; Lambert, S.B.; Zhang, X.; Plumtree, A.; Sutherby, R.

    2003-01-01

    A number of small-scale pipeline specimens containing edge or surface cracks were tested in simulated groundwater (NS4 solution) in an anaerobic environment under cyclic loading conditions. Micrographs of the crack surface showed corrosion fatigue at high frequencies and low R-ratios. Following large amounts of growth (∼200 μm) for those specimens tested at low frequencies, evidence of transgranular quasi-cleavage was detected. Green rust was found to be present at the crack tips and along their flanks. Iron sulfide, resulting from anaerobic sulfate-reducing bacteria and iron carbonate were also present in the NS4 solution during testing. These corrosion products retarded crack growth in the depth direction of surface cracks. Under variable amplitude loadings conditions, the accompanying increased surface crack growth rate can be accounted for by rupture of the green rust film at the crack tip. (author)

  10. Crack tip field in circumferentially-cracked round bar (CCRB in tension affected by loss of axial symmetry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Toribio

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, the stress intensity factor (SIF is computed in a circumferentially-cracked round bar (CCRB subjected to tensile loading, considering that the resistant ligament is circular and exhibits certain eccentricity in relation to the cylinder axis. The computation was performed by means of the finite element method (FEM using a three dimensional (3D model and the J-integral, the analyzed variable being the eccentricity of the circular ligament. Results show that the SIF is higher at the deepest point of the crack and that an increase of eccentricity (in relation to the bar axis raises the difference between the SIF values along the crack front. From a certain value of the misalignment a bending effect appears, so that the crack remains closed in the area near the point of lower depth.

  11. Depth profile measurement with lenslet images of the plenoptic camera

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Peng; Wang, Zhaomin; Zhang, Wei; Zhao, Hongying; Qu, Weijuan; Zhao, Haimeng; Asundi, Anand; Yan, Lei

    2018-03-01

    An approach for carrying out depth profile measurement of an object with the plenoptic camera is proposed. A single plenoptic image consists of multiple lenslet images. To begin with, these images are processed directly with a refocusing technique to obtain the depth map, which does not need to align and decode the plenoptic image. Then, a linear depth calibration is applied based on the optical structure of the plenoptic camera for depth profile reconstruction. One significant improvement of the proposed method concerns the resolution of the depth map. Unlike the traditional method, our resolution is not limited by the number of microlenses inside the camera, and the depth map can be globally optimized. We validated the method with experiments on depth map reconstruction, depth calibration, and depth profile measurement, with the results indicating that the proposed approach is both efficient and accurate.

  12. Effects of Crack Measurement Methods on The Determination of Fracture Toughness of IG-110 Isotropic Graphite

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chi, Se Hwan; Kim, Dae Jong; Jang, Chang Heui

    2010-02-01

    This report represents experimental data on the differences in the fracture toughness values due to different crack length measurement methods, i.e. direct current potential drop method (DCPD), traveling microscope method (TM), and dye penetration method (DP). SENB specimens made of IG-11 fine grained isotropic graphite (specimen size: 200(L) x 20(W) x 15(B) mm 3 ) were used. Results on crack length estimation showed that the TM and the DP methods resulted in similar crack length changing behaviors, and the crack length estimated by DCPD was the shortest. Comparisons of crack growth resistance curves (K R curves) showed that the DCPD showed the lowest and a decreasing K R curve with a crack extension. Both the curves from TM and DP showed increasing K R curves with a crack extension, but the curve from DP was unstable. The K R curve estimated from TM appeared to be the most stable one

  13. Estimation of subsurface-fracture orientation with the three-component crack-wave measurement; Kiretsuha sanjiku keisoku ni yoru chika kiretsumen no hoko suitei

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nagano, K; Sato, K [Muroran Institute of Technology, Hokkaido (Japan); Niitsuma, H [Tohoku University, Sendai (Japan)

    1996-05-01

    This paper reports experiments carried out to estimate subsurface-fracture orientation with the three-component crack-wave measurement. The experiments were performed by using existing subsurface cracks and two wells in the experimental field. An air gun as a sound source was installed directly above a subsurface crack intersection in one of the wells, and a three-component elastic wave detector was fixed in the vicinity of a subsurface crack intersection in the other well. Crack waves from the sound source were measured in a frequency bandwidth from 150 to 300 Hz. A coherence matrix was constituted relative to triaxial components of vibration in the crack waves; a coherent vector was sought that corresponds to a maximum coherent value of the matrix; and the direction of the longer axis in an ellipse (the direction being perpendicular to the crack face) was approximated in particle motions of the crack waves by using the vector. The normal line direction of the crack face estimated by using the above method was found to agree nearly well with the direction of the minimum crust compression stress measured in the normal line direction of the crack face existed in core samples collected from the wells, and measured at nearly the same position as the subsurface crack. 5 refs., 4 figs.

  14. The effect of transverse crack upon parametric instability of a rotor-bearing system with an asymmetric disk

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Qinkai; Chu, Fulei

    2012-12-01

    It is well known that either the asymmetric disk or transverse crack brings parametric inertia (or stiffness) excitation to the rotor-bearing system. When both of them appear in a rotor system, the parametric instability behaviors have not gained sufficient attentions. Thus, the effect of transverse crack upon parametric instability of a rotor-bearing system with an asymmetric disk is studied. First, the finite element equations of motion are established for the asymmetric rotor system. Both the open and breathing transverse cracks are taken into account in the model. Then, the discrete state transition matrix (DSTM) method is introduced for numerically acquiring the instability regions. Based upon these, some computations for a practical asymmetric rotor system with open or breathing transverse crack are conducted, respectively. Variations of the primary and combination instability regions induced by the asymmetric disk with the crack depth are observed, and the effect of the orientation angle between the crack and asymmetric disk on various instability regions are discussed in detail. It is shown that for the asymmetric angle around 0, the existence of transverse (either open or breathing) crack has attenuation effect upon the instability regions. Under certain crack depth, the instability regions could be vanished by the transverse crack. When the asymmetric angle is around π/2, increasing the crack depth would enhance the instability regions.

  15. Junction depth measurement using carrier illumination

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Borden, Peter

    2001-01-01

    Carrier Illumination [trade mark] (CI) is a new method recently developed to meet the need for a non-destructive, high throughput junction depth measurement on patterned wafers. A laser beam creates a quasi-static excess carrier profile in the semiconductor underlying the activated junction. The excess carrier profile is fairly constant below the junction, and drops rapidly in the junction, creating a steep index of refraction gradient at the junction edge. Interference with light reflected from this index gradient provides a signal that is analyzed to determine the junction depth. The paper summarizes evaluation of performance in full NMOS and PMOS process flows, on both bare and patterned wafers. The aims have been to validate (1) performance in the presence of underlying layers typically found at the source/drain (S/D) process steps and (2) measurement on patterned wafers. Correlation of CI measurements to SIMS and transistor drive current are shown. The data were obtained from NMOS structures using As S/D and LDD implants. Correlations to SRP, SIMS and sheet resistance are shown for PMOS structures using B 11 LDD implants. Gage capability measurements are also presented

  16. Crack-tip chemistry modeling of stage I stress corrosion cracking

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jones, R.H.; Simonen, E.P.

    1991-10-01

    Stage I stress corrosion cracking usually exhibits a very strong K dependence with Paris law exponents of up to 30. 2 Model calculations indicate that the crack velocity in this regime is controlled by transport through a salt film and that the K dependence results from crack opening controlled salt film dissolution. An ionic transport model that accounts for both electromigration through the resistive salt film and Fickian diffusion through the aqueous solution was used for these predictions. Predicted crack growth rates are in excellent agreement with measured values for Ni with P segregated to the grain boundaries and tested in IN H 2 SO 4 at +900 mV. This salt film dissolution may be applicable to stage I cracking of other materials

  17. An experimental study of crack development in flexural reinforced concrete members

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rasmussen, Annette Beedholm; Hagsten, Lars German; Würst Sørensen, Bjarke

    2017-01-01

    This paper presents the results of an experimental program of eight reinforced concrete beams carried out in order to investigate the development of cracks related to flexure. To be able to investigate possible size effects with respect to cracking, beams of two different depths were tested...

  18. Mode Shape Analysis of Multiple Cracked Functionally Graded Timoshenko Beams

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tran Van Lien

    Full Text Available Abstract The present paper addresses free vibration of multiple cracked Timoshenko beams made of Functionally Graded Material (FGM. Cracks are modeled by rotational spring of stiffness calculated from the crack depth and material properties vary according to the power law throughout the beam thickness. Governing equations for free vibration of the beam are formulated with taking into account actual position of the neutral plane. The obtained frequency equation and mode shapes are used for analysis of the beam mode shapes in dependence on the material and crack parameters. Numerical results validate usefulness of the proposed herein theory and show that mode shapes are good indication for detecting multiple cracks in Timoshenko FGM beams.

  19. The relationship between X-ray residual stress near the crack and crack opening/closing behavior controlling fatigue crack propagation in Ti-6Al-4V alloy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Torii, Tashiyuki; Toi, Norihiko; Nakano, Kohji; Honda, Kazuo

    1998-01-01

    Using the X-ray method of stress measurement for Ti-6Al-4V alloys, the residual stress near the crack was measured for annealed (AN) and solution treated and aged (STA) titanium alloys, under the condition that the measured X-ray stress was in satisfactory agreement with the applied stress under tension. The residual stress measured in the wake of the propagating fatigue crack, σ r , was compressive, resulting in a smaller crack opening displacement, COD, than theorized. The measured σ r and COD-values let us understand the fatigue crack propagation rate da/dN in terms of the effective stress intensity factor K eff . As a result, the da/dN under the same K eff -value was smaller in the AN specimen with zigzag crack growth than in the STA specimen with straight crack growth, although the da/dN-K eff relationship under various stress amplitudes was represented by a straight line in a log-log scale separately for the AN and STA specimens. (author)

  20. Modelling of excavation depth and fractures in rock caused by tool indentation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kou Shaoquan; Tan Xiangchun; Lindqvist, P.A.

    1997-10-01

    The hydraulic regime after excavation in the near-field rock around deposition holes and deposition tunnels in a spent nuclear fuel repository is of concern for prediction of the saturation process of bentonite buffer and tunnel backfill. The hydraulic condition of main interest in this context is a result of the fracture network that is caused by the excavation. Modelling of the excavation disturbed zone in hard rocks caused by mechanical excavation has been carried out in the Division of Mining Engineering since 1993. This report contains an overview of the work conducted. The mechanical excavation is reasonably simplified as an indentation process of the interaction between rigid indenters and rocks. A large number of experiments have been carried out in the laboratory, and the results used for identifying crushed zones and fracture systems in rock under indentation are presented based on these experiments. The indentation causes crushing and damage of the rock and results in a crushed zone and a cracked zone. The indenter penetrates the rock with a certain depth when the force is over a threshold value relevant to the rock and tool. Outside the cracked zone there are basically three systems of cracks: median cracks, radial cracks, and side cracks. Fully developed radial cracks on each side of the indented area can connect with each other and join with median crack. This forms the so-called radial/median crack system. The influence of the mechanical properties of the rock is discussed based on our conceptual model, and the main factors governing the indentation event are summarised. The cracked zone is dealt with by an analytical fracture model. The side crack is simulated by applying the boundary element method coupled with fracture mechanics. Functional relationships are established relating either the indentation depth or the length of radial/median cracks to the various quantities characterising the physical event, namely the shape and the size of the

  1. Modelling of excavation depth and fractures in rock caused by tool indentation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kou Shaoquan; Tan Xiangchun; Lindqvist, P.A. [Luleaa Univ. of Technology (Sweden)

    1997-10-01

    The hydraulic regime after excavation in the near-field rock around deposition holes and deposition tunnels in a spent nuclear fuel repository is of concern for prediction of the saturation process of bentonite buffer and tunnel backfill. The hydraulic condition of main interest in this context is a result of the fracture network that is caused by the excavation. Modelling of the excavation disturbed zone in hard rocks caused by mechanical excavation has been carried out in the Division of Mining Engineering since 1993. This report contains an overview of the work conducted. The mechanical excavation is reasonably simplified as an indentation process of the interaction between rigid indenters and rocks. A large number of experiments have been carried out in the laboratory, and the results used for identifying crushed zones and fracture systems in rock under indentation are presented based on these experiments. The indentation causes crushing and damage of the rock and results in a crushed zone and a cracked zone. The indenter penetrates the rock with a certain depth when the force is over a threshold value relevant to the rock and tool. Outside the cracked zone there are basically three systems of cracks: median cracks, radial cracks, and side cracks. Fully developed radial cracks on each side of the indented area can connect with each other and join with median crack. This forms the so-called radial/median crack system. The influence of the mechanical properties of the rock is discussed based on our conceptual model, and the main factors governing the indentation event are summarised. The cracked zone is dealt with by an analytical fracture model. The side crack is simulated by applying the boundary element method coupled with fracture mechanics. Functional relationships are established relating either the indentation depth or the length of radial/median cracks to the various quantities characterising the physical event, namely the shape and the size of the

  2. Desiccation-crack-induced salinization in deep clay sediment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Baram

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available A study on water infiltration and solute transport in a clayey vadose zone underlying a dairy farm waste source was conducted to assess the impact of desiccation cracks on subsurface evaporation and salinization. The study is based on five years of continuous measurements of the temporal variation in the vadose zone water content and on the chemical and isotopic composition of the sediment and pore water in it. The isotopic composition of water stable isotopes (δ18O and δ2H in water and sediment samples, from the area where desiccation crack networks prevail, indicated subsurface evaporation down to ~ 3.5 m below land surface, and vertical and lateral preferential transport of water, following erratic preferential infiltration events. Chloride (Cl− concentrations in the vadose zone pore water substantially increased with depth, evidence of deep subsurface evaporation and down flushing of concentrated solutions from the evaporation zones during preferential infiltration events. These observations led to development of a desiccation-crack-induced salinization (DCIS conceptual model. DCIS suggests that thermally driven convective air flow in the desiccation cracks induces evaporation and salinization in relatively deep sections of the subsurface. This conceptual model supports previous conceptual models on vadose zone and groundwater salinization in fractured rock in arid environments and extends its validity to clayey soils in semi-arid environments.

  3. Development of Validated Crack Measurement System for Vibrating Structures

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Ratwani, Mohan

    2002-01-01

    ...) solutions in AFGROW or other crack growth codes could not be used for accurate prediction of crack growth because of absence of methodology accounting for dynamic stresses and frequency effects...

  4. IAEA co-ordinated research program. 'Round Robin' on measuring the velocity of delayed hydride cracking (DHC)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grigoriev, V.; Jakobsson, R.

    1999-09-01

    The International Atomic Agency (IAEA) has initiated a new Co-ordinated Research Programme (CRP) on Hydrogen and hydride induced degradation of the mechanical and physical properties of Zirconium-based alloys. In the first phase of this CRP the methodology for measuring the velocity of Delayed Hydride Cracking (DHC) should be established and participating laboratories from about nine countries around the world carry out identical tests in 'round robin'. The objective of the present work is to establish at Studsvik laboratory the method of a constant load cracking test on unirradiated Zr-2.5Nb and attain a comparison of results between laboratories. Constant load tests are performed on specimens cut from unirradiated CANDU Zr-2.5Nb pressure tube and the rate of crack propagation is determined in each test. Pre-hydrided specimens for testing are supplied from the host laboratory. Six specimens have been tested for delayed hydride cracking (DHC) at 250 deg C. The axial crack growth velocities measured in the tests are within the interval of 8.62x10 -8 - 1.06x10 -7 m/s. The results obtained agree well with the earlier published data for similar materials and test conditions

  5. Concrete Crack Measurement and Analysis Based on Terrestrial Laser Scanning Technology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiangyang Xu

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Terrestrial laser scanning (TLS has become one of the potential technologies for an object three-dimensional (3D information acquisition. The using vibration analysis for early detection of cracks has gained popularity over the years and in the last decade substantial progress has been made in that direction. However, the crack detection using TLS is also a good method. In the experimental part of this study, the effect of crack width and location on modal properties of the beam was investigated. The recent paper provides a method for automatic concrete cracks detection from the data that was obtained by TLS. The method of cracks detection is achieved by six steps. The objective of this study is to analyze the crack of concrete beams both experimentally and using MATLAB analysis. Besides this, information about the width, location and percentage of cracks in cracked concrete beams can be obtained using this technique.

  6. A characteristics of the small crack evaluation technique by triangle method with phased array UT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cho, Yong Sang

    2005-01-01

    Ultrasonic testing is a kind of nondestructive test to detect a crack or discontinuity in material or material surface by sending ultrasound to it. This conventional ultrasonic test has some difficulties to detect crack or inspect material specially in the case of complex-shaped power plant components such as Turbine blade root. Phased array UT system and its application methods for complex shaped power plant components will be a good alternative method which overcome present UT weakness. This study was aimed at developing a new method for finding the crack on material or material structures, and especially for determining the crack length without moving transducer. Especially ultrasonic phased array with electronic scan technique was used in carrying out both sizing and detect ability of crack as its depth and length changes. The response of ultrasonic phased array was analyzed to obtain the special method of determining crack length without moving the transducer and detect-ability of crack minimal length and depth from the material. The result showed a newly developed method for crack length determining is very real method which has its accuracy and verify the effectiveness of method compared to a conventional crack length determining method

  7. Measuring impact crater depth throughout the solar system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robbins, Stuart J.; Watters, Wesley A.; Chappelow, John E.; Bray, Veronica J.; Daubar, Ingrid J.; Craddock, Robert A.; Beyer, Ross A.; Landis, Margaret E.; Ostrach, Lillian; Tornabene, Livio L.; Riggs, Jamie D.; Weaver, Brian P.

    2018-01-01

    One important, almost ubiquitous, tool for understanding the surfaces of solid bodies throughout the solar system is the study of impact craters. While measuring a distribution of crater diameters and locations is an important tool for a wide variety of studies, so too is measuring a crater's “depth.” Depth can inform numerous studies including the strength of a surface and modification rates in the local environment. There is, however, no standard data set, definition, or technique to perform this data‐gathering task, and the abundance of different definitions of “depth” and methods for estimating that quantity can lead to misunderstandings in and of the literature. In this review, we describe a wide variety of data sets and methods to analyze those data sets that have been, are currently, or could be used to derive different types of crater depth measurements. We also recommend certain nomenclature in doing so to help standardize practice in the field. We present a review section of all crater depths that have been published on different solar system bodies which shows how the field has evolved through time and how some common assumptions might not be wholly accurate. We conclude with several recommendations for researchers which could help different data sets to be more easily understood and compared.

  8. Affection mechanism research of initiation crack pressure of perforation parameters of horizontal well

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hua Tong

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Horizontal wells show better affect and higher success rate in low water ratio cement, complex fracture zone, crevice and heavy oil blocks, it is the main measures to expand control area of a single well. Hydraulic fracturing technology is the most financial way to improve the penetration of the reservoir to increase the production. However, compare with the vertical wells, the fracture of Horizontal wells are more complex, and lead to the initiation crack pressure is much higher than vertical wells. In this paper, defined the crack judging basis, and established the finite element model which could compute the initial crack pressure, to research the affection mechanism of perforation azimuth angle, density, diameter and depth, to provide references of perforation project's design and optimize. The research of this paper has significances on further understanding the affection mechanism of perforation parameters.

  9. Cracking and corrosion recovery boiler

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Suik, H [Tallinn Technical University, Horizon Pulp and Paper, Tallinn (Estonia)

    1999-12-31

    The corrosion of heat surfaces and the cracking the drums are the main problems of the recovery boiler. These phenomena have been appeared during long-term operation of boiler `Mitsubishi - 315` erected at 1964. Depth of the crack is depending on the number of shutdowns and on operation time. Corrosion intensity of different heat surfaces is varying depend on the metal temperature and the conditions at place of positioning of tube. The lowest intensity of corrosion is on the bank tubes and the greatest is on the tubes of the second stage superheater and on the tubes at the openings of air ports. (orig.) 5 refs.

  10. Cracking and corrosion recovery boiler

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Suik, H. [Tallinn Technical University, Horizon Pulp and Paper, Tallinn (Estonia)

    1998-12-31

    The corrosion of heat surfaces and the cracking the drums are the main problems of the recovery boiler. These phenomena have been appeared during long-term operation of boiler `Mitsubishi - 315` erected at 1964. Depth of the crack is depending on the number of shutdowns and on operation time. Corrosion intensity of different heat surfaces is varying depend on the metal temperature and the conditions at place of positioning of tube. The lowest intensity of corrosion is on the bank tubes and the greatest is on the tubes of the second stage superheater and on the tubes at the openings of air ports. (orig.) 5 refs.

  11. Natural Vibration of a Beam with a Breathing Oblique Crack

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yijiang Ma

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available An analytical method is proposed to calculate the natural frequency of a cantilever beam with a breathing oblique crack. A double-linear-springs-model is developed in the modal analysis process to describe the breathing oblique crack, and the breathing behaviour of the oblique crack is objectively simulated. The finite element method (FEM analysis software ABAQUS is used to calculate the geometric correction factors when the cracked plate is subjected to a pure bending moment at different oblique crack angles and relative depths. The Galerkin method is applied to simplify the cracked beam to a single degree of freedom system, allowing the natural frequency of the beam with the breathing oblique crack to be calculated. Compared with the natural frequencies of the breathing oblique cracked beam obtained using the ABAQUS FEM method, the proposed analytical method exhibits a high computational accuracy, with a maximum error of only 4.65%.

  12. Polymerization stresses in low-shrinkage dental resin composites measured by crack analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamamoto, Takatsugu; Kubota, Yu; Momoi, Yasuko; Ferracane, Jack L

    2012-09-01

    The objective of this study was to compare several dental restoratives currently advertised as low-shrinkage composites (Clearfil Majesty Posterior, Kalore, Reflexions XLS Dentin and Venus Diamond) with a microfill composite (Heliomolar) in terms of polymerization stress, polymerization shrinkage and elastic modulus. Cracks were made at several distances from the edge of a precision cavity in a soda-lime glass disk. The composites were placed into the cavity and lengths of the cracks were measured before and after light curing. Polymerization stresses generated in the glass at 2 and 10 min after the irradiation were calculated from the crack lengths and K(c) of the glass. Polymerization shrinkage and elastic modulus of the composites also were measured at 2 and 10 min after irradiation using a video-imaging device and a nanoindenter, respectively. The data were statistically analyzed by ANOVAs and Tukey's test (pelastic moduli of Clearfil Majesty Posterior and Reflexions XLS Dentin were greatest at 2 and 10 min, respectively. Among the four low-shrinkage composites, two demonstrated significantly reduced polymerization stress compared to Heliomolar, which has previously been shown in in vitro tests to generate low curing stress. Copyright © 2012 Academy of Dental Materials. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Fusing complementary images for pavement cracking measurements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yao, Ming; Zhao, Zuyun; Xu, Bugao; Yao, Xun

    2015-01-01

    Cracking is a major pavement distress that jeopardizes road serviceability and traffic safety. Automated pavement distress survey (APDS) systems have been developed using digital imaging technology to replace human surveys for more timely and accurate inspections. Most APDS systems require special lighting devices to illuminate pavements and prevent shadows of roadside objects that distort cracks in the image. Most artificial lighting devices are laser based, and are either hazardous to unprotected people or require dedicated power supplies on the vehicle. This study was aimed to develop a new imaging system that can scan pavement surface at highway speed and determine the level of severity of pavement cracking without using any artificial lighting. The new system consists of dual line-scan cameras that are installed side by side to scan the same pavement area as the vehicle moves. Cameras are controlled with different exposure settings so that both sunlit and shadowed areas can be visible in two separate images. The paired images contain complementary details useful for reconstructing an image in which the shadows are eliminated. This paper intends to present (1) the design of the dual line-scan camera system, (2) a new calibration method for line-scan cameras to rectify and register paired images, (3) a customized image-fusion algorithm that merges the multi-exposure images into one shadow-free image for crack detection, and (4) the results of the field tests on a selected road over a long period. (paper)

  14. Critical experiments, measurements and analyses to establish a crack arrest methodology for nuclear pressure vessel steels. First annual progress report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hahn, G.T.; Gehlen, P.C.; Hoagland, R.G.; Kanninen, M.F.; Popelar, C.; Rosenfield, A.R.; deCampos, V.S.

    1975-08-01

    The one-dimensional, Timoshenko beam-on-a-generalized elastic foundation treatment has been extended to contoured-DCB specimens and to the conditions attending tensile loading in an ordinary testing machine. Preliminary calculations show that the crack propagation and arrest events in contoured DCB specimens are very similar to those calculated for regular DCB-specimens for comparable initiation conditions. In both cases the calculated K/sub Ia/-values are between 44 and 100 percent of K/sub ID,min/ and show a systematic variation with the initiation K/sub Q/-level. In contrast with stiff wedge loading, which favors a continuous event, the calculations for rectangular and contoured DCB specimens in series with an idealized testing machine load train display one or more halts and restarts before the final arrest. A series of experiments designed to distinguish between the K/sub D/ and K/sub a/ approaches to predicting crack arrest are described. Studies of the effect of side grooves in rectangular DCB specimens confirm that grooves with depths representing up to 60 percent of the cross section have no significant effect on either K/sub ID/ or K/sub Ia/ measurements. (auth)

  15. Analyses on interaction of internal and external surface cracks in a pressurized cylinder by hybrid boundary element method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chai Guozhong; Fang Zhimin; Jiang Xianfeng; Li Gan

    2004-01-01

    This paper presents a comprehensive range of analyses on the interaction of two identical semi-elliptical surface cracks at the internal and external surfaces of a pressurized cylinder. The considered ratios of the crack depth to crack length are b/a=0.25, 0.5, 0.75 and 1.0; the ratios of the crack depth to wall thickness of the cylinder are 2b/t=0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.7 and 0.8. Forty crack configurations are analyzed and the stress intensity factors along the crack front are presented. The numerical results show that for 2b/t<0.7, the interaction leads to a decrease in the stress intensity factors for both internal and external surface cracks, compared with a single internal or external surface crack. Thus for fracture analysis of a practical pressurized cylinder with two identical semi-elliptical surface cracks at its internal and external surfaces, a conservative result is obtained by ignoring the interaction

  16. Stress intensity magnification factors for fully circumferential cracks in valve bodies (thick cylinders)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Toor, P.M.

    1998-01-01

    The stress intensity solutions presented herein were obtained using an energy method in conjunction with a two-dimensional finite element program in order to explicitly account for curvature effect for fully circumferential cracks. The magnification factors for a specific crack depth were calculated by successively loading the crack surface by a uniform, linear, quadratic, and a cubic loading distribution. The magnification factors can be used to calculate the stress intensity factors by superposition method. The functions for each load condition in terms of radius to thickness ratio (R/t) and a fractional distance in terms of crack depth to thickness ratio (a/t) were developed. The validity of these functions is R/t = 1.5 to 10.0 and for 0.0125 ≤ a/t ≤ 0.8125. The functions agree to within 1% of the finite elements solutions for most magnification factors

  17. Microwave based method of monitoring crack formation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aman, Sergej; Aman, Alexander; Majcherek, Soeren; Hirsch, Soeren; Schmidt, Bertram

    2014-01-01

    The formation of cracks in glass particles was monitored by application of linearly polarized microwaves. The breakage behavior of glass spheres coated with a thin gold layer of about 50 nm, i.e. a thickness that is lower than the microwave penetration depth, was tested. In this way the investigation of fracture behavior of electronic circuits was simulated. A shielding current was induced in the gold layer by the application of microwaves. During the crack formation the distribution of this current changed abruptly and a scattered microwave signal appeared at the frequency of the incident microwaves. The time behavior of the scattered signal reflects the microscopic processes occurring during the fracture of the specimen. The duration of the increasing signal corresponds to the crack formation time in the tested specimen. This time was estimated as particle size divided by crack development speed in glass. An intense emission of electrons occurs during the formation of cracks. Due to this, coherent Thomson scattering of microwaves by emitted electrons becomes significant with a delay of a few microseconds after the initial phase of crack formation. In this time the intensity of the microwave signal increases. (paper)

  18. Analysis of short and long crack behavior and single overload effect by crack opening stress

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Song, Sam Hong; Lee, Kyeong Ro

    1999-01-01

    The study analyzed the behaviors of short and long crack as well as the effect of single tensile overload on the crack behaviors by using fatigue crack opening behavior. Crack opening stress is measured by an elastic compliance method which may precisely and continuously provide many data using strain gages during experiment. The unusual growth behaviors of short crack and crack after the single tensile overload applied, was explained by the variations of crack opening stress. In addition, fatigue crack growth rate was expressed as a linear form for short crack as for long crack by using effective stress intensity factor range as fracture mechanical parameter, which is based on crack closure concept. And investigation is performed with respect to the relation between plastic zone size formed at the crack tip and crack retardation, crack length and the number of cycles promoted or retarded, and the overload effect on the fatigue life

  19. Prototype development or multi-cavity ion chamber for depth dose measurement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nayak, M.K.; Sahu, T.K.; Haridas, G.; Bandyopadhyay, Tapas; Tripathi, R.M.; Nandedkar, R.V.

    2016-01-01

    In high energy electron accelerators, when the electrons interact with vacuum chamber or surrounding structural material, Bremsstrahlung x-rays are produced. It is having a broad spectrum extending up to the electron energies. Dose measured as a function of depth due to electromagnetic cascade will give rise to depth dose curve. To measure the online depth dose profile in an absorber medium, when high energy electron or Bremsstrahlung is incident, a prototype Multi-Cavity Ion Chamber (MCIC) detector is developed. The paper describes the design and development of the MCIC for measurement of depth dose profile

  20. Analytical modeling of the effect of crack depth, specimen size, and biaxial stress on the fracture toughness of reactor vessel steels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chao, Yuh-Jin

    1995-01-01

    Fracture, toughness values for A533-B reactor pressure vessel (RPV) steel obtained from test programs at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and University of Kansas (KU) are interpreted using the J-A 2 analytical model. The analytical model is based on the critical stress concept and takes into consideration the constraint effect using the second parameter A 2 in addition to the generally accepted first parameter J which represents the loading level. It is demonstrated that with the constraint level included in the model effects of crack depth (shallow vs deep), specimen size (small vs. large), and loading type (uniaxial vs biaxial) on the fracture toughness from the test programs can be interpreted and predicted

  1. Fatigue Crack Growth Rate and Stress-Intensity Factor Corrections for Out-of-Plane Crack Growth

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forth, Scott C.; Herman, Dave J.; James, Mark A.

    2003-01-01

    Fatigue crack growth rate testing is performed by automated data collection systems that assume straight crack growth in the plane of symmetry and use standard polynomial solutions to compute crack length and stress-intensity factors from compliance or potential drop measurements. Visual measurements used to correct the collected data typically include only the horizontal crack length, which for cracks that propagate out-of-plane, under-estimates the crack growth rates and over-estimates the stress-intensity factors. The authors have devised an approach for correcting both the crack growth rates and stress-intensity factors based on two-dimensional mixed mode-I/II finite element analysis (FEA). The approach is used to correct out-of-plane data for 7050-T7451 and 2025-T6 aluminum alloys. Results indicate the correction process works well for high DeltaK levels but fails to capture the mixed-mode effects at DeltaK levels approaching threshold (da/dN approximately 10(exp -10) meter/cycle).

  2. Theoretical and experimental studies on the electric impedance of active piezoelectric sensors bonded on cracked beams

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kuang, Y D; Chen, C Y; Shi, S Q; Chan, P K L; He, X Q

    2010-01-01

    The electric impedance of symmetrically surface-bonded piezoelectric sensors on a cracked beam is studied. To investigate the effect of the crack on the electric impedance in a convenient fashion, an analytical expression is derived that is correlated to the physical parameters of the crack and the host beam. The beam segment covered with piezoelectric patches and the cracked region are regarded as a bimorph segment and an equivalent spring, respectively, and the entire beam system is then represented by three elastic beam segments and a bimorph segment together with the spring. Electric impedance experiments are also conducted for uncracked beams and for cracked beams with single-edge or double-edge cracks. The experimental results agree with those generated by the analytical expression. The crack depth has little effect on the corresponding mode frequency for cracks located at the mode node of a beam. For cracks located away from the mode node, the corresponding mode frequency decreases as the crack depth increases. Moreover, the closer the crack to the anti-node of the mode, the greater the decrease in the corresponding mode frequency. The mechanism of these changes is discussed. The findings should prove helpful for structural health monitoring using active piezoelectric sensors

  3. Measurements of cutter forces and cutter temperature of boring machine in Aespoe Hard Rock Laboratory

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, Z.X.; Kou, S.Q.; Lindqvist, P.-A. [Luleaa Univ. of Technology (Sweden)

    2001-04-01

    This report presents both the testing methods used and the testing results obtained for cutter forces and cutter temperature during field boring in Aespoe Hard Rock Laboratory. In order to estimate the strains induced by cutter forces in the cutter shaft and choose proper transducers, first a numerical simulation was performed. The simulation results indicated that the cutter forces should be measurable by ordinary strain gauges. Furthermore, an independent three-direction loading system for laboratory calibration was set up to solve force-coupling problems appearing in field measurements. By means of the established measuring system, which was proved successfully in the laboratory, the normal forces, tangential forces, and side forces of two button cutters in the boring machine were measured in the field. In addition, the temperature in the shaft of the front cutter was measured. After the measurements of the cutter forces and cutter temperature, rock core samples were taken from the bottom and the wall of the testing borehole. Then the samples were cut, polished, and examined by means of the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). After that, the lengths of major cracks induced by the cutters in the rock samples were measured, and an approximate relationship between the length of the medium cracks and the relevant cutter forces was obtained. This relationship was compared with the theoretical relationship established before. Finally, according to the measured results, the cracked zones around the borehole were described. The results show that: (1) there are two kinds of cracked zones: one in the borehole wall and the other in the bottom of the borehole. The depth of the cracked zone in the borehole bottom is much larger than that in the borehole wall because the maximum normal force of the front cutter is always much larger than that of the gauge cutter. (2) Each cracked zone includes a densely cracked zone and all the longest medium cracks caused by mechanical

  4. Convenient measurement of the residual stress using X-ray penetration depth

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ukai, Takayoshi; Shibano, Junichi

    1994-01-01

    The residual stress measured with a characteristic X-ray is usually evaluated as a surface stress. However, it is a weighted mean value over all penetration depth of X-ray. Thus, the classical sin 2 Ψ method with the characteristic X-ray is difficult to use for measuring the steep gradient of residual stress that occurs along the depth direction in a subsurface layer of the material after cold rolling and grinding. This paper presents a convenient method of the residual stress measurement along the depth direction in a subsurface layer using the penetration depth depending on a characteristic X-ray. The residual stress distribution of JIS SKS51 steel plate was measured as an example of applying this method. As a result, it could be confirmed that a residual stress distribution along the depth direction in a subsurface layer could be evaluated nondestructively by this convenient method. (author)

  5. Low-cycle fatigue-cracking mechanisms in fcc crystalline materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, P.; Qu, S.; Duan, Q. Q.; Wu, S. D.; Li, S. X.; Wang, Z. G.; Zhang, Z. F.

    2011-01-01

    The low-cycle fatigue (LCF) cracking behavior in various face-centered-cubic (fcc) crystalline materials, including Cu single crystals, bicrystals and polycrystals, Cu-Al and Cu-Zn alloys, ultrafine-grained (UFG) Al-Cu and Cu-Zn alloys, was systematically investigated and reviewed. In Cu single crystals, fatigue cracking always nucleates along slip bands and deformation bands. The large-angle grain boundary (GB) becomes the preferential site in bicrystals and polycrystals. In addition, fatigue cracking can also nucleate along slip bands and twin boundaries (TBs) in polycrystalline materials. However, shear bands and coarse deformation bands are observed to the preferential sites for fatigue cracking in UFG materials with a large number of GBs. Based on numerous observations on fatigue-cracking behavior, the fatigue-cracking mechanisms along slip bands, GBs, TBs, shear bands and deformation bands were systematically compared and classified into two types, i.e. shear crack and impingement crack. Finally, these fatigue-cracking behaviors are discussed in depth for a better understanding of their physical nature and the transition from intergranular to transgranular cracking in various fcc crystalline materials. These comprehensive results for fatigue damage mechanisms should significantly aid in obtaining the optimum design to further strengthen and toughen metallic materials in practice.

  6. Crack initiation behaviors of metallic walls subjected to high heat flux expected at plasma disruption

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yamazaki, Seiichiro; Uno, Masayoshi; Seki, Masahiro.

    1989-01-01

    Experimental and numerical studies were performed to investigate crack initiation behavior near a surface of stainless steel and tungsten when subjected to extremely high heat flux. The improved electron beam test facility was used as the heat source. Two-dimensional thermal and elasto-plastic stress analyses were also performed. From the results for stainless steel, micro-cracks about 0.1 mm deep only initiated in the resolidified layer along dendrites. No cracks propagated into the non-melted zone, and repeated heating of up to 20 times did not affect the depth and population of the cracks. According to the elasto-plastic stress analyses, no fatigue cracks were expected. Cracks with a depth of more than a few millimeters were observed in a tungsten plate. The cracks initiated at a boundary between heated and unheated areas. They grew into the non-melted zone, and curved towards the center part of the heated area. The elasto-plastic stress analyses indicated that the cracks were initiated due to the residual tensile strain after heated at the surface of the test specimen. When the heat flux was repeated, the cracks propagated and penetrated to the rear side of the test specimen in several repetition. (author)

  7. 3-D analysis of fatigue crack behaviour in a shot peened steam turbine blade material

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    He, B.Y., E-mail: Binyan.he@soton.ac.uk [Engineering Materials, Faculty of Engineering and the Environment, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ (United Kingdom); Katsamenis, O.L. [muVIS X-ray Imaging Centre, Faculty of Engineering and the Environment, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ (United Kingdom); Mellor, B.G.; Reed, P.A.S. [Engineering Materials, Faculty of Engineering and the Environment, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ (United Kingdom)

    2015-08-26

    Serial mechanical sectioning and high resolution X-ray tomography have been used to study the three-dimensional morphology of small fatigue cracks growing in a 12 Cr tempered martensitic steam turbine blade material. A range of surface conditions has been studied, namely polished and shot peened (with varying levels of intensity). In the polished (unpeened) condition, inclusions (alumina and manganese sulphide) played an important role in initiating and controlling early fatigue crack behaviour. When fatigue cracks initiated from an alumina stringer, the crack morphology was normally dominated by single stringers, which were always in the centre of the fatigue crack, indicating its primary role in initiation. Manganese sulphide inclusion groups however seemed to dominate and affect the crack path along both the surface and depth crack growth directions. The more intensely shot peened condition did not however evidence inclusion or stringer affected fatigue crack initiation or growth behaviour; sub-surface crack coalescence being clearly observed by both serial sectioning and computed tomography (CT) imaging techniques at a depth of about 150–180 μm. These sub-surface crack coalescences can be linked to both the extent of the compressive residual stress as well as the depth of the plastic deformation arising from the intense shot peening process. Shot peening appears to provide a different defect population that initiates fatigue cracks and competes with the underlying metallurgical defect populations. The most beneficial shot peening process would in this case appear to “deactivate” the original metallurgical defect population and substitute a known defect distribution from the shot peening process from which fatigue cracks grow rather slowly in the strain hardened surface layer which also contains compressive residual stresses. A benefit to fatigue life in bending, even under Low Cycle Fatigue (LCF) conditions, has been observed in these tests if a

  8. Fabrication of imitative cracks by 3D printing for electromagnetic nondestructive testing and evaluations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Noritaka Yusa

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available This study demonstrates that 3D printing technology offers a simple, easy, and cost-effective method to fabricate artificial flaws simulating real cracks from the viewpoint of eddy current testing. The method does not attempt to produce a flaw whose morphology mirrors that of a real crack but instead produces a relatively simple artificial flaw. The parameters of this flaw that have dominant effects on eddy current signals can be quantitatively controlled. Three artificial flaws in type 316L austenitic stainless steel plates were fabricated using a powderbed-based laser metal additive manufacturing machine. The three artificial flaws were designed to have the same length, depth, and opening but different branching and electrical contacts between flaw surfaces. The flaws were measured by eddy current testing using an absolute type pancake probe. The signals due to the three flaws clearly differed from each other although the flaws had the same length and depth. These results were supported by subsequent destructive tests and finite element analyses.

  9. Crack propagation and the material removal mechanism of glass-ceramics by the scratch test.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qiu, Zhongjun; Liu, Congcong; Wang, Haorong; Yang, Xue; Fang, Fengzhou; Tang, Junjie

    2016-12-01

    To eliminate the negative effects of surface flaws and subsurface damage of glass-ceramics on clinical effectiveness, crack propagation and the material removal mechanism of glass-ceramics were studied by single and double scratch experiments conducted using an ultra-precision machine. A self-manufactured pyramid shaped single-grit tool with a small tip radius was used as the scratch tool. The surface and subsurface crack propagations and interactions, surface morphology and material removal mechanism were investigated. The experimental results showed that the propagation of lateral cracks to the surface and the interaction between the lateral cracks and radial cracks are the two main types of material peeling, and the increase of the scratch depth increases the propagation angle of the radial cracks and the interaction between the cracks. In the case of a double scratch, the propagation of lateral cracks and radial cracks between paired scratches results in material peeling. The interaction between adjacent scratches depends on the scratch depth and separation distance. There is a critical separation distance where the normalized material removal volume reaches its peak. These findings can help reduce surface flaws and subsurface damage induced by the grinding process and improve the clinical effectiveness of glass-ceramics used as biological substitute and repair materials. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. IGSCC crack propagation rate measurement in BWR environments. Executive summary of a Round Robin study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Andresen, Peter L.

    1998-01-01

    Five of the world's best laboratories at performing stress corrosion crack growth studies - ABB Atom AB, AEA Technology, GE Corporate Research and Development Center, Studsvik Material AB, and VTT Manufacturing Technology, were selected to participate in a round robin to evaluate the quality and reproducibility of testing conditions and resulting stress corrosion crack growth rates in sensitized type 304 stainless steel in 288 deg C water. Heat treated, machined and fatigue pre-cracked specimens were provided to all laboratories, and detailed test procedures prescribed the use of active loading, reversed dc potential drop crack monitoring, a common reference electrode supplied to all laboratories by GE CRD (to be used along side each laboratory's own reference electrode), and highly specified water chemistry conditions. The ability of each laboratory to achieve optimal testing conditions varied, although all laboratories achieved an impressive standard of testing control. The most significant laboratory-to-laboratory differences were associated with their ability to achieve high purity autoclave outlet water, reproduce accurate measurements of corrosion potential on the test specimen, and provide high resolution crack following using a reversed dc potential drop. However, the most notable outcome of the program is the consistent observation by all laboratories that initiating and sustaining stress corrosion crack growth at constant load in sensitized type 304 stainless steel is difficult, despite the use of a moderately high stress intensity, and high dissolved oxygen and corrosion potential conditions. Concerns for specimen machining and pre-cracking were identified, although these factors were not the sole cause of difficulty in initiating and sustaining stress corrosion cracking. It was shown that many phases of specimen preparation and testing can have a large influence on the measured SCC response. Even under the best test conditions it is critical to ensure

  11. IGSCC crack propagation rate measurement in BWR environments. Executive summary of a Round Robin study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Andresen, Peter L. [GE Corporate Research and Development, Schenectady, NY (United States)

    1998-12-31

    Five of the world`s best laboratories at performing stress corrosion crack growth studies - ABB Atom AB, AEA Technology, GE Corporate Research and Development Center, Studsvik Material AB, and VTT Manufacturing Technology, were selected to participate in a round robin to evaluate the quality and reproducibility of testing conditions and resulting stress corrosion crack growth rates in sensitized type 304 stainless steel in 288 deg C water. Heat treated, machined and fatigue pre-cracked specimens were provided to all laboratories, and detailed test procedures prescribed the use of active loading, reversed dc potential drop crack monitoring, a common reference electrode supplied to all laboratories by GE CRD (to be used along side each laboratory`s own reference electrode), and highly specified water chemistry conditions. The ability of each laboratory to achieve optimal testing conditions varied, although all laboratories achieved an impressive standard of testing control. The most significant laboratory-to-laboratory differences were associated with their ability to achieve high purity autoclave outlet water, reproduce accurate measurements of corrosion potential on the test specimen, and provide high resolution crack following using a reversed dc potential drop. However, the most notable outcome of the program is the consistent observation by all laboratories that initiating and sustaining stress corrosion crack growth at constant load in sensitized type 304 stainless steel is difficult, despite the use of a moderately high stress intensity, and high dissolved oxygen and corrosion potential conditions. Concerns for specimen machining and pre-cracking were identified, although these factors were not the sole cause of difficulty in initiating and sustaining stress corrosion cracking. It was shown that many phases of specimen preparation and testing can have a large influence on the measured SCC response. Even under the best test conditions it is critical to ensure

  12. Evaluation of initiation behavior of stress corrosion cracking for type 316L stainless steel in high temperature water. Behavior of crack initiation and effects of distribution of plastic strain on crack initiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miura, Yasufumi; Miyahara, Yuichi; Kako, Kenji; Sato, Masaru

    2011-01-01

    It is known that the initiation of stress corrosion cracking (SCC) in components such as the reactor core shroud and primary loop re-circulation piping made of L-grade stainless steel is affected by the properties of surface work hardened layer. Therefore, it is important to clarify the effect of the hardened layer on SCC initiation behavior. In this study, creviced bent beam (CBB) test using specimens made of Type 316L stainless steel with controlled distribution of surface work hardened layer was conducted in a simulated BWR environment in order to evaluate the effect of the controlled layer on SCC initiation behavior. The results obtained are as follows; (1) Micro intergranular SCC of low carbon stainless steel was initiated in 50 hours. (2) In this SCC test, it was found that only micro cracks whose depths were smaller than 50 μm were observed until 250 hours and cracks whose depths were larger than 50 μm were observed after 500 hours. (3) SCC was initiated preferentially on the region with high plastic strain gradient in the specimen with controlled distribution of work hardened layer. (author)

  13. Ultrasonic sizing of fatigue cracks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Burns, D.J.

    1983-12-01

    Surface and buried fatigue cracks in steel plates have been sized using immersion probes as transmitters-receivers, angled to produce shear waves in the steel. Sizes have been estimated by identifying the ultrasonic waves diffracted from the crack tip and by measuring the time taken for a signal to travel to and from the crack tip. The effects of compression normal to a fatigue crack and of crack front curvature are discussed. Another diffraction technique, developed by UKAEA, Harwell, is reviewed

  14. A method to measure depth distributions of implanted ions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arnesen, A.; Noreland, T.

    1977-04-01

    A new variant of the radiotracer method for depth distribution determinations has been tested. Depth distributions of radioactive implanted ions are determined by dissolving thin, uniform layers of evaporated material from the surface of a backing and by measuring the activity before and after the layer removal. The method has been used to determine depth distributions for 25 keV and 50 keV 57 Co ions in aluminium and gold. (Auth.)

  15. Thermal fatigue crack growth on a thick wall tube containing a semi elliptical circumferential crack

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Deschanels, H.; Wakai, T.; Lacire, M.H.; Michel, B.

    2001-01-01

    In order to check the ability of the simplified assessment procedure (A16 guide) to predict fatigue crack growth, a benchmark problem was conducted. This work is carried out under the project ''agreement on the Exchange of Information and Collaboration in the field of Research and Development of Fast Breeder Reactor (FBR) between Europe (EU) and Japan''. Experimental work is conducted by PNC using Air cooled Thermal transient Test Facility (ATTF). Specimen is a thick wall tube containing a semi elliptical (3-D) circumferential crack and subjected to cyclic thermal transients. The constitutive material is the 304 austenitic stainless steel type SUS304. Due to thermal shock (650 C-300 C) the stress distribution through the wall is non-linear and well approximated using a 3 rd order polynomial. When comparing computations and tests data we observe a good agreement for the crack propagation in length. In crack depth, accurate results are obtained in the first part of the test, but on the later stage of the experiment the computations slightly underestimate the propagation (deep crack). In addition, we notice the importance of good evaluation of fracture mechanics parameters for non-linear stress distribution through the wall. At present A16 guide handbook gives stress intensity factor solutions for non-linear stress distribution through the wall. (author)

  16. Restrained Shrinkage Cracking of Fiber-Reinforced High-Strength Concrete

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ashkan Saradar

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Concrete shrinkage and volume reduction happens due to the loss of moisture, which eventually results in cracks and more concrete deformation. In this study, the effect of polypropylene (PP, steel, glass, basalt, and polyolefin fibers on compressive and flexural strength, drying shrinkage, and cracking potential, using the ring test at early ages of high-strength concrete mixtures, was investigated. The restrained shrinkage test was performed on concrete ring specimens according to the ASTM C1581 standard. The crack width and age of restrained shrinkage cracking were the main parameters studied in this research. The results indicated that the addition of fiber increases the compressive strength by 16%, 20%, and 3% at the age of 3, 7, and 28 days, respectively, and increases the flexural toughness index up to 7.7 times. Steel and glass fibers had a better performance in flexural strength, but relatively poor action in the velocity reduction and cracking time of the restrained shrinkage. Additionally, cracks in all concrete ring specimens except for the polypropylene-containing mixture, was developed to a full depth crack. The mixture with polypropylene fiber indicated a reduction in crack width up to 62% and an increasing age cracking up to 84%.

  17. Computation of the Distribution of the Fiber-Matrix Interface Cracks in the Edge Trimming of CFRP

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Fu-ji; Zhang, Bo-yu; Ma, Jian-wei; Bi, Guang-jian; Hu, Hai-bo

    2018-04-01

    Edge trimming is commonly used to bring the CFRP components to right dimension and shape in aerospace industries. However, various forms of undesirable machining damage occur frequently which will significantly decrease the material performance of CFRP. The damage is difficult to predict and control due to the complicated changing laws, causing unsatisfactory machining quality of CFRP components. Since the most of damage has the same essence: the fiber-matrix interface cracks, this study aims to calculate the distribution of them in edge trimming of CFRP, thereby to obtain the effects of the machining parameters, which could be helpful to guide the optimal selection of the machining parameters in engineering. Through the orthogonal cutting experiments, the quantitative relation between the fiber-matrix interface crack depth and the fiber cutting angle, cutting depth as well as cutting speed is established. According to the analysis on material removal process on any location of the workpiece in edge trimming, the instantaneous cutting parameters are calculated, and the formation process of the fiber-matrix interface crack is revealed. Finally, the computational method for the fiber-matrix interface cracks in edge trimming of CFRP is proposed. Upon the computational results, it is found that the fiber orientations of CFRP workpieces is the most significant factor on the fiber-matrix interface cracks, which can not only change the depth of them from micrometers to millimeters, but control the distribution image of them. Other machining parameters, only influence the fiber-matrix interface cracks depth but have little effect on the distribution image.

  18. Effects of location, thermal stress and residual stress on corner cracks in nozzles with cladding

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McLean, J.L.; Cohen, L.M.; Besuner, P.M.

    1979-01-01

    The stress intensity factors (K 1 ) for corner cracks in a boiling water reactor feedwater nozzle with stainless steel cladding are obtained for loading by internal pressure and a fluid quench in the nozzle. Conditions both with and without residual stress in the component are considered. The residual stress is simulated by means of a reference temperature change. The stress distribution for the uncracked structure is obtained from a three-dimensional finite element model. A three-dimensional influence function (IF) method, in conjunction with the boundary-integral equation method for structural analysis, is employed to compute K 1 values from the uncracked stress distribution. For each type of loading K 1 values are given for cracks at 15 nozzle locations and for 6 crack depths. Reasonable agreement is noted between calculated and previously published pressure-induced K 1 values. Comparisons are made to determine the effect on K 1 of crack location, thermal stress and residual stress, as compared with pressure stress. For the thermal transient it is shown that K 1 for small crack depths is maximised early in the transient, while K 1 for large cracks is maximised later under steady state conditions. Computation should, therefore, be made for several transient time points and the maximum K 1 for a given crack depth should be used for design analysis. It is concluded that the effects on K 1 of location, thermal stresses and residual stresses are significant and generally too complex to evaluate without advanced numerical procedures. The utilised combination of finite element analysis of the uncracked structure and three-dimensional influence function analysis of the cracked structure is demonstrated and endorsed. (author)

  19. Real-time depth measurement for micro-holes drilled by lasers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Cheng-Hsiang; Powell, Rock A.; Jiang, Lan; Xiao, Hai; Chen, Shean-Jen; Tsai, Hai-Lung

    2010-02-01

    An optical system based on the confocal principle has been developed for real-time precision measurements of the depth of micro-holes during the laser drilling process. The capability of the measuring system is theoretically predicted by the Gaussian lens formula and experimentally validated to achieve a sensitivity of 0.5 µm. A nanosecond laser system was used to drill holes, and the hole depths were measured by the proposed measuring system and by the cut-and-polish method. The differences between these two measurements are found to be 5.0% for hole depths on the order of tens of microns and 11.2% for hundreds of microns. The discrepancies are caused mainly by the roughness of the bottom surface of the hole and by the existence of debris in the hole. This system can be easily implemented in a laser workstation for the fabrication of 3D microstructures.

  20. Crack-closing of cement mortar beams using NiTi cold-drawn SMA short fibers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Eunsoo; Kim, Dong Joo; Chung, Young-Soo; Kim, Hee Sun; Jung, Chungsung

    2015-01-01

    In this study, crack-closing tests of mortar beams reinforced by shape memory alloy (SMA) short fibers were performed. For this purpose, NiTi SMA fibers with a diameter of 0.965 mm and a length of 30 mm were made from SMA wires of 1.0 mm diameter by cold drawing. Four types of SMA fibers were prepared, namely, straight and dog-bone-shaped fiber and the two types of fibers with paper wrapping in the middle of the fibers. The paper provides an unbonded length of 15 mm. For bending tests, six types of mortar beams with the dimensions of 40 mm × 40 mm × 160 mm (B×H×L) were prepared. The SMA fibers were placed at the bottom center of the beams along with an artificial crack of 10 mm depth and 1 mm thickness. This study investigated the influence of SMA fibers on the flexural strength of the beams from the measured force- deflection curves. After cracking, the beams were heated at the bottom by fire to activate the SMA fibers. Then, the beams recovered the deflection, and the cracks were closed. This study evaluated crack-closing capacity using the degree of crack recovery and deflection-recovery factor. The first factor is estimated from the crack-width before and after crack-closing, and the second one is obtained from the downward deflection due to loading and the upward deflection due to the closing force of the SMA fibers.

  1. Stress-intensity factors for a thick-walled cylinder containing an annular imbedded or external or internal surface crack

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erdol, R.; Erdogan, F.

    1976-01-01

    The elastostatic axisymmetric problem for a long thick-walled cylinder containing a ring-shaped internal or edge crack is considered. Using the standard transform technique the problem is formulated in terms of an integral equation which has a simple Cauchy kernel for the internal crack and a generalized Cauchy kernel for the edge crack as the dominant part. As examples the uniform axial load and the steady-state thermal stress problems have been solved and the related stress intensity factors have been calculated. Among other findings the results show that in the cylinder under uniform axial stress containing an internal crack the stress intensity factor at the inner tip is always greater than that at the outer tip for equal net ligament thicknesses and in the cylinder with an edge crack which is under a state of thermal stress the stress intensity factor is a decreasing function of the crack depth, tending to zero as the crack depth approaches the wall thickness.

  2. Standard test method for measurement of creep crack growth times in metals

    CERN Document Server

    American Society for Testing and Materials. Philadelphia

    2007-01-01

    1.1 This test method covers the determination of creep crack growth (CCG) in metals at elevated temperatures using pre-cracked specimens subjected to static or quasi-static loading conditions. The time (CCI), t0.2 to an initial crack extension δai = 0.2 mm from the onset of first applied force and creep crack growth rate, ˙a or da/dt is expressed in terms of the magnitude of creep crack growth relating parameters, C* or K. With C* defined as the steady state determination of the crack tip stresses derived in principal from C*(t) and Ct (1-14). The crack growth derived in this manner is identified as a material property which can be used in modeling and life assessment methods (15-25). 1.1.1 The choice of the crack growth correlating parameter C*, C*(t), Ct, or K depends on the material creep properties, geometry and size of the specimen. Two types of material behavior are generally observed during creep crack growth tests; creep-ductile (1-14) and creep-brittle (26-37). In creep ductile materials, where cr...

  3. On the relationships between higher and lower bit-depth system measurements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burks, Stephen D.; Haefner, David P.; Doe, Joshua M.

    2018-04-01

    The quality of an imaging system can be assessed through controlled laboratory objective measurements. Currently, all imaging measurements require some form of digitization in order to evaluate a metric. Depending on the device, the amount of bits available, relative to a fixed dynamic range, will exhibit quantization artifacts. From a measurement standpoint, measurements are desired to be performed at the highest possible bit-depth available. In this correspondence, we described the relationship between higher and lower bit-depth measurements. The limits to which quantization alters the observed measurements will be presented. Specifically, we address dynamic range, MTF, SiTF, and noise. Our results provide guidelines to how systems of lower bit-depth should be characterized and the corresponding experimental methods.

  4. Determining clinical photon beam spectra from measured depth dose with the Cimmino algorithm

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bloch, P.; Altschuler, M.D.; Bjaerngard, B.E.; Kassaee, A.; McDonough, J.

    2000-01-01

    A method to determine the spectrum of a clinical photon beam from measured depth-dose data is described. At shallow depths, where the range of Compton-generated electrons increases rapidly with photon energy, the depth dose provides the information to discriminate the spectral contributions. To minimize the influence of contaminating electrons, small (6x6cm2 ) fields were used. The measured depth dose is represented as a linear combination of basis functions, namely the depth doses of monoenergetic photon beams derived by Monte Carlo simulations. The weights of the basis functions were obtained with the Cimmino feasibility algorithm, which examines in each iteration the discrepancy between predicted and measured depth dose. For 6 and 15 MV photon beams of a clinical accelerator, the depth dose obtained from the derived spectral weights was within about 1% of the measured depth dose at all depths. Because the problem is ill conditioned, solutions for the spectrum can fluctuate with energy. Physically realistic smooth spectra for these photon beams appeared when a small margin (about ±1%) was attributed to the measured depth dose. The maximum energy of both derived spectra agreed with the measured energy of the electrons striking the target to within 1 MeV. The use of a feasibility method on minimally relaxed constraints provides realistic spectra quickly and interactively. (author)

  5. Study of initiation and growth of stress corrosion cracks. Quantitative characterization and modeling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peyrat, Christine

    1997-01-01

    A phenomenological study of Stress Corrosion Cracking (SCC) cracks initiation and growth was carried out on a Z 2 CN 18.10 stainless steel in a boiling aqueous magnesium chloride solution at 153 deg. C. The characterization method exploits the morphological information (cracks shape and size distribution) available on a specimen after SCC test. This method, independent of any mechanistic hypothesis, led to the analytical representation of the growth rate of a given crack as a function of its depth and of the density of deeper cracks. The presence of this last parameter could be the expression of a 'shielding effect' of mechanical origin, exerted by the cracks of large size. A 'true initiation' rate was calculated by an extrapolation based on the analytical expression of the growth rate. This analytical representation of cracks initiation and growth accounts for the saturation observed in the experimental determination of the 'apparent initiation'. As time goes, the number of cracks deeper than a given threshold depth tends towards a limit which depends very strongly on the chosen threshold. This saturation effect can be interpreted as exclusively due to the way the small cracks propagate, as the 'true initiation' rate can be expressed versus time by a simple power law. In the case of slow strain rate tests, it is shown that the kinetic parameters characteristic of initiation and growth depend on the applied elongation rate. In particular, the initial crack growth rate increases with elongation rate. The validity domains of the proposed expressions have been specified by means of SCC tests carried out under different types of mechanical loading. (author) [fr

  6. Pulsed magnetic flux leakage method for hairline crack detection and characterization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okolo, Chukwunonso K.; Meydan, Turgut

    2018-04-01

    The Magnetic Flux leakage (MFL) method is a well-established branch of electromagnetic Non-Destructive Testing (NDT), extensively used for evaluating defects both on the surface and far-surface of pipeline structures. However the conventional techniques are not capable of estimating their approximate size, location and orientation, hence an additional transducer is required to provide the extra information needed. This research is aimed at solving the inevitable problem of granular bond separation which occurs during manufacturing, leaving pipeline structures with miniature cracks. It reports on a quantitative approach based on the Pulsed Magnetic Flux Leakage (PMFL) method, for the detection and characterization of the signals produced by tangentially oriented rectangular surface and far-surface hairline cracks. This was achieved through visualization and 3D imaging of the leakage field. The investigation compared finite element numerical simulation with experimental data. Experiments were carried out using a 10mm thick low carbon steel plate containing artificial hairline cracks with various depth sizes, and different features were extracted from the transient signal. The influence of sensor lift-off and pulse width variation on the magnetic field distribution which affects the detection capability of various hairline cracks located at different depths in the specimen is explored. The findings show that the proposed technique can be used to classify both surface and far-surface hairline cracks and can form the basis for an enhanced hairline crack detection and characterization for pipeline health monitoring.

  7. Further studies on stress intensity factors of semi-elliptical cracks in pressurized cylinders

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kobayashi, A.S.; Emery, A.F.; Love, W.J.; Jain, A.

    1979-01-01

    The authors have used, in the past, the three-dimensional stress intensity magnification factor, Msub(KS), for a semi-elliptical surface crack in a flat plate with a curvature correction factor, Msub(C), to estimate the stress intensity magnification factor, Msub(K) = Msub(C) x Msub(KS), for unpressurized and pressurized inner semi-elliptical cracks and unpressurized outer semi-elliptical cracks in pressurized and thermally shocked cylinders. Recent papers by Atluri/Kathiresan, Welliot/Labbens/Pellissier-Tanon and McGowan/Raymund, however, showed that while this plate analogy with curvature correction provided reasonable estimates of the stress intensity factors at the deepest crack penetration, it underestimated the stress intensity factors at the cylindrical surface. The source of this discrepancy was traced to the curvature correction factor Msub(C), which was re-evaluated for various crack configurations and cylindrical geometries studied. Using the updated Msub(C) together with the previously derived Msub(KS), stress intensity factor magnification factor, Msub(K), was rederived for: (1) Pressurized and unpressurized inner semi-elliptical cracks of two crack aspects ratios of b/a = 0.2 and 0.98 at crack depth of b/(Rsub(o)-Rsub(i)) = 0.4, 0.6, and 0.8 in pressurized cylinders with outside-to-inside radius ratios of Rsub(o)/Rsub(i) = 3/2, 5/4, 7/6, and 10/9. (2) Unpressurized outer semi-elliptical cracks of two crack aspect ratios of b/a = 0.2 and 0.98 at crack depths of b/(Rsub(o)-Rsub(i)) = 0.4, 0.6, and 0.8 in pressurized cylinders with outside-to-inside radius ratio of Rsub(o)/Rsub(i) = 3/2, 5/4, 7/6, and 10/9. (orig.)

  8. Detection of cracks in shafts with the Approximated Entropy algorithm

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sampaio, Diego Luchesi; Nicoletti, Rodrigo

    2016-05-01

    The Approximate Entropy is a statistical calculus used primarily in the fields of Medicine, Biology, and Telecommunication for classifying and identifying complex signal data. In this work, an Approximate Entropy algorithm is used to detect cracks in a rotating shaft. The signals of the cracked shaft are obtained from numerical simulations of a de Laval rotor with breathing cracks modelled by the Fracture Mechanics. In this case, one analysed the vertical displacements of the rotor during run-up transients. The results show the feasibility of detecting cracks from 5% depth, irrespective of the unbalance of the rotating system and crack orientation in the shaft. The results also show that the algorithm can differentiate the occurrence of crack only, misalignment only, and crack + misalignment in the system. However, the algorithm is sensitive to intrinsic parameters p (number of data points in a sample vector) and f (fraction of the standard deviation that defines the minimum distance between two sample vectors), and good results are only obtained by appropriately choosing their values according to the sampling rate of the signal.

  9. Dynamic Crack Branching - A Photoelastic Evaluation,

    Science.gov (United States)

    1982-05-01

    0.41 mPai and a 0.18 MPa, and predicted a theoretical kinking angle of 84°whichagreed well with experimentally measured angle. After crack kinking...Consistent crack branching’at KIb = 2.04 MPaI -i- and r = 1.3 mm verified this crack branching criterion. The crack branching angle predicted by--.’ DD

  10. Sweep excitation with order tracking: A new tactic for beam crack analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wei, Dongdong; Wang, KeSheng; Zhang, Mian; Zuo, Ming J.

    2018-04-01

    Crack detection in beams and beam-like structures is an important issue in industry and has attracted numerous investigations. A local crack leads to global system dynamics changes and produce non-linear vibration responses. Many researchers have studied these non-linearities for beam crack diagnosis. However, most reported methods are based on impact excitation and constant frequency excitation. Few studies have focused on crack detection through external sweep excitation which unleashes abundant dynamic characteristics of the system. Together with a signal resampling technique inspired by Computed Order Tracking, this paper utilize vibration responses under sweep excitations to diagnose crack status of beams. A data driven method for crack depth evaluation is proposed and window based harmonics extracting approaches are studied. The effectiveness of sweep excitation and the proposed method is experimentally validated.

  11. Surface and subsurface cracks characteristics of single crystal SiC wafer in surface machining

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Qiusheng, Y., E-mail: qsyan@gdut.edu.cn; Senkai, C., E-mail: senkite@sina.com; Jisheng, P., E-mail: panjisheng@gdut.edu.cn [School of Electromechanical Engineering, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006 (China)

    2015-03-30

    Different machining processes were used in the single crystal SiC wafer machining. SEM was used to observe the surface morphology and a cross-sectional cleavages microscopy method was used for subsurface cracks detection. Surface and subsurface cracks characteristics of single crystal SiC wafer in abrasive machining were analysed. The results show that the surface and subsurface cracks system of single crystal SiC wafer in abrasive machining including radial crack, lateral crack and the median crack. In lapping process, material removal is dominated by brittle removal. Lots of chipping pits were found on the lapping surface. With the particle size becomes smaller, the surface roughness and subsurface crack depth decreases. When the particle size was changed to 1.5µm, the surface roughness Ra was reduced to 24.0nm and the maximum subsurface crack was 1.2µm. The efficiency of grinding is higher than lapping. Plastic removal can be achieved by changing the process parameters. Material removal was mostly in brittle fracture when grinding with 325# diamond wheel. Plow scratches and chipping pits were found on the ground surface. The surface roughness Ra was 17.7nm and maximum subsurface crack depth was 5.8 µm. When grinding with 8000# diamond wheel, the material removal was in plastic flow. Plastic scratches were found on the surface. A smooth surface of roughness Ra 2.5nm without any subsurface cracks was obtained. Atomic scale removal was possible in cluster magnetorheological finishing with diamond abrasive size of 0.5 µm. A super smooth surface eventually obtained with a roughness of Ra 0.4nm without any subsurface crack.

  12. Dynamic Stability of Pipe Conveying Fluid with Crack and Attached Masses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ahn, Tae Soo; Yoon, Han Ik; Son, In Soo; Ahn, Sung Jin

    2007-01-01

    In this paper, the dynamic stability of a cracked simply supported pipe conveying fluid with an attached mass is investigated. Also, the effect of attached masses on the dynamic stability of a simply supported pipe conveying fluid is presented for the different positions and depth of the crack. Based on the Euler-Bernoulli beam theory, the equation of motion can be constructed by the energy expressions using extended Hamilton's principle. The crack section is represented by a local flexibility matrix connecting two undamaged pipe segments. The crack is assumed to be in the first mode of a fracture and to be always opened during the vibrations. Finally, the critical flow velocities and stability maps of the pipe conveying fluid are obtained by changing the attached masses and crack severity

  13. An overview of the HSST Full-Thickness Shallow-Crack Clad Beam Testing Program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Keeney, J.A.; Theiss, T.J.; McAfee, W.J.; Bass, B.R.

    1994-01-01

    A testing program is described that will utilize full-thickness clad beam specimens to quantify fracture toughness for shallow flaws in material for which metallurgical conditions are prototypic of those found in reactor pressure vessels (RPVs). The beam specimens are fabricated from a section of an RPV wall that includes weld, plate and clad material. Metallurgical factors potentially influencing fracture toughness for shallow flaws in the beam specimen include material gradients due to welding and cladding applications, as well as material inhomogeneities in welded regions due to reheating in multiple weld passes. Fracture toughness tests focusing on shallow flaws in plate and weld material will also provide data for evaluating the relative influence of absolute and normalized crack depth on constraint conditions. Pretest finite-element analyses are described that provide near-tip stress and strain fields for characterization of constraint in the shallow-crack specimens in terms of the Q-stress. Analysis results predict a constraint loss in the shallow-crack clad beam specimen similar to that determined for a previously tested shallow-crack single-edge notch homogeneous bend specimen with the same normalized crack depth

  14. Detection and sizing of cracks using potential drop techniques based on electromagnetic induction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sato, Yasumoto; Kim, Hoon

    2011-01-01

    The potential drop techniques based on electromagnetic induction are classified into induced current focused potential drop (ICFPD) technique and remotely induced current potential drop (RICPD) technique. The possibility of numerical simulation of the techniques is investigated and the applicability of these techniques to the measurement of defects in conductive materials is presented. Finite element analysis (FEA) for the RICPD measurements on the plate specimen containing back wall slits is performed and calculated results by FEA show good agreement with experimental results. Detection limit of the RICPD technique in depth of back wall slits can also be estimated by FEA. Detection and sizing of artificial defects in parent and welded materials are successfully performed by the ICFPD technique. Applicability of these techniques to detection of cracks in field components is investigated, and most of the cracks in the components investigated are successfully detected by the ICFPD and RICPD techniques. (author)

  15. The effects of location, thermal stress, and residual stress on corner cracks in nozzles with cladding

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Besuner, P.M.; Cohen, L.M.; McLean, J.L.

    1977-01-01

    The stress intensity factors (Ksub(I)) for corner cracks in a boiling water reactor feedwater nozzle with stainless steel cladding are obtained for loading by internal pressure, and a fluid quench in the nozzle. Conditions with and without residual stress in the component are considered. The residual stress is simulated by means of a reference temperature change. The stress distribution for the uncracked structure is obtained from a three-dimensional finite element model. A three-dimensional influence function (IF) method, in conjunction with the boundary-integral equation method for structural analysis, is employed to compute Ksub(I) values from the uncracked structure's stress distribution. For each type of loading Ksub(I) values are given for cracks at 15 nozzle locations and for six crack depths. Reasonable agreement is noted between calculated and previously published pressure-induced Ksub(I) values. Comparisons are made to determine the effect on Ksub(I) of crack location, thermal stress, and residual stress as compared to pressure stress. For the thermal transient it is shown that Ksub(I) for small crack depths is maximized early in the transient while Ksub(I) for large cracks is maximized later, under steady state conditions. Ksub(I) computations should, therefore, be made for several transient time points and the maximum Ksub(I) for a given crack depth should be used for design analysis. It is concluded that the effects on Ksub(I) of location, thermal stresses, and residual stresses are significant and generally too complex to evalute without advanced numerical procedures. The utilized combination of finite element analysis of the uncracked structure and three-dimensional influence function analysis of the cracked structure is demonstrated

  16. Stress intensity factor at the tip of cladding incipient crack in RIA-simulating experiments for high-burnup PWR fuels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Udagawa, Yutaka; Suzuki, Motoe; Sugiyama, Tomoyuki; Fuketa, Toyoshi

    2009-01-01

    RIA-simulating experiments for high-burnup PWR fuels have been performed in the NSRR, and the stress intensity factor K 1 at the tip of cladding incipient crack has been evaluated in order to investigate its validity as a PCMI failure threshold under RIA conditions. An incipient crack depth was determined by observation of metallographs. The maximum hydride-rim thickness in the cladding of the test fuel rod was regarded as the incipient crack depth in each test case. Hoop stress in the cladding periphery during the pulse power transient was calculated by the RANNS code. K 1 was calculated based on crack depth and hoop stress. According to the RANNS calculation, PCMI failure cases can be divided into two groups: failure in the elastic phase and failure in the plastic phase. In the former case, elastic deformation was predominant around the incipient crack at failure time. K 1 is available only in this case. In the latter, plastic deformation was predominant around the incipient crack at failure time. Failure in the elastic phase never occurred when K 1 was less than 17 MPa m 1/2 . For failure in the plastic phase, the plastic hoop strain of the cladding periphery at failure time clearly showed a tendency to decrease with incipient crack depth. The combination of K 1 , for failure in the elastic phase, and plastic hoop strain at failure, for failure in the plastic phase, can be an effective index of PCMI failure under RIA conditions. (author)

  17. How Tough is Human Cortical Bone? In-Situ Measurements on Realistically Short Cracks

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ritchie, Robert O; Koester, K. J.; Ager III, J. W.; Ritchie, R.O.

    2008-05-10

    Bone is more difficult to break than to split. Although this is well known, and many studies exist on the behavior of long cracks in bone, there is a need for data on the orientation-dependent crack-growth resistance behavior of human cortical bone which accurately assesses its toughness at appropriate size-scales. Here we use in-situ mechanical testing in the scanning electron microscope and x-ray computed tomography to examine how physiologically-pertinent short (<600 mu m) cracks propagate in both the transverse and longitudinal orientations in cortical bone, using both crack-deflection/twist mechanics and nonlinear-elastic fracture mechanics to determine crack-resistance curves. We find that after only 500 mu m of cracking, the driving force for crack propagation was more than five times higher in the transverse (breaking) direction than in the longitudinal (splitting) direction due to major crack deflections/twists principally at cement sheathes. Indeed, our results show that the true transverse toughness of cortical bone is far higher than previously reported. However, the toughness in the longitudinal orientation, where cracks tend to follow the cement lines, is quite low at these small crack sizes; it is only when cracks become several millimeters in length that bridging mechanisms can develop leading to the (larger-crack) toughnesses generally quoted for bone.

  18. An experimental investigation on bending stiffness and neutral axis depth variation of over-reinforced high strength concrete beams

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mohammadhassani, Mohammad; Bin Jumaat, Mohd Zamin; Chemrouk, Mohamed; Akbar Maghsoudi, Ali; Jameel, Mohammed; Akib, Shatirah

    2011-01-01

    Highlights: → Improvement of the assessment of correspond stress for calculation of modules of elasticity → better evaluation of cracked moment of inertia. → Low distinction of neutral axis depth → low bending stiffness variation. → Rate of slope in the line connecting the origin of first crack to yield point of N.A.D-LOAD graph → rate of ductility of beam section. - Abstract: The present work is an attempt to study the neutral axis variation and the evolution of the moment inertia with the loading of over reinforced high strength concrete sections in conjunction with ACI 318-05. In this sense, four high strength concrete beams, having different tension reinforcement quantities expressed as proportions of the balanced steel ratio (0.75ρ b , 0.85ρ b , ρ b , 1.2ρ b ) were tested. Measurements of the deflection and the reinforcement and concrete strains of all specimens were made during the loading process. The load-neutral axis depth variation and the load-section stiffness curves were drawn. The slope of the line connecting the origin of the first crack to the initial yielding of the failure point in the neutral axis depth-load graphs shows the rate of ductility; ductile behaviour in the beam increases as the slope becomes steeper. Based on the results of this study, it is recommended that the modulus of elasticity of concrete E c be reviewed and evaluated at a stress higher than 0.5f ' c for the determination of the cracked moment of inertia.

  19. Crack embryo formation before crack initiation and growth in high temperature water

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arioka, Koji; Yamada, Takuyo; Terachi, Takumi; Miyamoto, Tomoki

    2008-01-01

    Crack growth measurements were performed in high temperature water and in air to examine the role of creep on IGSCC growth using cold rolled non-sensitized Type316(UNS S31600), TT690 alloy, MA600 alloy, and Carbon steel (STPT42). In addition, crack initiation tests were performed also in high temperature water and in air using specially designed CT specimen. The obtained major results are as follows: (1) TT690 did crack in intergranularly in hydrogenated high temperature water if material is cold worked in heavily. (2) Cold worked carbon steel also cracked in intergranularly in dearated high temperature water. (3) Intergranular crack growth was recognized on cold worked 316, TT690, MA600, and carbon steel even in air which might be crack embryo of IGSCC. (4) Simple Arrhenius type temperature dependence was observed on IGSCC in high temperature water and creep crack growth in air. This suggested that intergranular crack growth rate was determined by some thermal activated reaction. (5) Vacancy condensation was recognized at just ahead of the crack tips of IGSCC and creep crack of cold worked steel. This showed that IGSCC and creep crack growth was controlled by same mechanism. (6) Clear evidence of vacancies condensation was recognized at just beneath the surface before crack initiation. This proved that crack did initiate as the result of diffusion of vacancies in the solid. And the incubation time seems to be controlled by the required time for the condensation of vacancies to the stress concentrated zone. (7) Diffusion of subsituational atoms was also driven by stress gradient. This is the important knowledge to evaluate the SCC initiation after long term operation in LWR's. Based on the observed results, IGSCC initiation and growth mechanism were proposed considering the diffusion process of cold worked induced vacancies. (author)

  20. Continuous monitoring of back-wall stress corrosion cracking propagation by means of potential drop techniques

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sato, Yasumoto; Atsumi, Takeo; Shoji, Tetsuo

    2006-01-01

    In order to investigate the applicability of the potential drop techniques to the continuous monitoring of stress corrosion cracking (SCC) propagation, SCC tests were performed in a sodium thiosulfate solution at room temperature using plate specimens with weldments. The SCC propagation was monitored using the techniques of direct current potential drop (DCPD), alternating current potential drop (ACPD) and modified induced current potential drop (MICPD) on the reverse side that on which the SCC existed and effectiveness of each technique for the continuous monitoring from the reverse side of SCC was compared from the viewpoints of sensitivity to the crack propagation and measurement stability. The MICPD and DCPD techniques permit continuous monitoring of the back-wall SCC propagation, which initiates from a fatigue pre-crack at a depth of about 4 mm, from which it propagates through more than 80% of the specimen thickness. The MICPD technique can decrease the effect of the current flowing in the direction of the crack length by focusing the induced current into the local area of measurement using induction coils, so that the sensitivity of the continuous monitoring of the back wall SCC propagation is higher than that of the DCPD and ACPD techniques. (author)

  1. Transient thermal stress problem for a circumferentially cracked hollow cylinder

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nied, H. F.; Erdogan, F.

    1982-01-01

    The transient thermal stress problem for a hollow elasticity cylinder containing an internal circumferential edge crack is considered. It is assumed that the problem is axisymmetric with regard to the crack geometry and the loading, and that the inertia effects are negligible. The problem is solved for a cylinder which is suddenly cooled from inside. First the transient temperature and stress distributions in an uncracked cylinder are calculated. By using the equal and opposite of this thermal stress as the crack surface traction in the isothermal cylinder the crack problem is then solved and the stress intensity factor is calculated. The numerical results are obtained as a function of the Fourier number tD/b(2) representing the time for various inner-to-outer radius ratios and relative crack depths, where D and b are respectively the coefficient of diffusivity and the outer radius of the cylinder.

  2. On the detectability of transverse cracks in laminated composites through measurements of electrical potential change

    KAUST Repository

    Selvakumaran, Lakshmi

    2015-01-07

    For structures made of laminated composites, real-time structural health monitoring is necessary as significant damage may occur without any visible signs on the surface. Inspection by electrical tomography seems a viable approach as the technique relies on voltage measurements from a network of electrodes over the boundary of the inspected domain to infer the change in conductivity within the bulk material. The change in conductivity, if significant, can be correlated to the degradation state of the material, allowing damage detection. We focus here on the detection of the transverse cracking mechanism which modifies the in-plane transverse conductivity of ply. The quality of detection is directly related to the sensitivity of the voltage measurements with respect to the presence of cracks. We demonstrate here from numerical experiments that the sensitivity depends on several parameters, such as the anisotropy in the electrical conductivity of the baseline composite ply or the geometricalparameters of the structure. Based on these results, applicability of electrical tomography to detect transverse cracks in a laminate is discussed.

  3. Modified Dugdale cracks and Fictitious cracks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Lauge Fuglsang

    1998-01-01

    A number of theories are presented in the literature on crack mechanics by which the strength of damaged materials can be predicted. Among these are theories based on the well-known Dugdale model of a crack prevented from spreading by self-created constant cohesive flow stressed acting in local...... areas, so-called fictitious cracks, in front of the crack.The Modified Dugdale theory presented in this paper is also based on the concept of Dugdale cracks. Any cohesive stress distribution, however, can be considered in front of the crack. Formally the strength of a material weakened by a modified...... Dugdale crack is the same as if it has been weakened by the well-known Griffith crack, namely sigma_CR = (EG_CR/phi)^1/2 where E and 1 are Young's modulus and crack half-length respectively, and G_CR is the so-called critical energy release rate. The physical significance of G_CR, however, is different...

  4. Possibilities of crack mouth opening displacement (CMOD) measurement under boiling and pressurized water reactor conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ehling, W.

    1984-01-01

    Fracture mechanics investigations carried out so far in laboratory conditions cover only part of the material stresses, as effects which occur in nuclear powerstations, in particular, such as corrosion and radioactive radiation are largely left out of account. Therefore experiments including these effects were recently carried out in autoclaves, test rigs simulating reactors (HRD experimental plant) and in experimental reactors. An important parameter of experimental fracture mechanics is the measurement of crack opening displacement (COD). The crack opening is measured with socalled clip gauges (transmitters based on strain gauges, which convert mechanical deformation of springs into electrical signals) on standard samples in the laboratory. It was therefore sensible to use these high temperature strain gauges (HTD) for the development of a measuring system for travel for pressurized water and boiling water reactor conditions. (orig.) [de

  5. Effect of defect length on rolling contact fatigue crack propagation in high strength steel

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. Makino

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available The objective of the present paper is to clarify the effect of defect length in depth direction on rolling contact fatigue (RCF crack propagation in high strength steel. RCF test and synchrotron radiation micro computed tomography (SR micro CT imaging were conducted. In the case of the defect with the 15 m diameter, flaking life decreased with increasing defect length. In a comparison of the CT image and the SEM view, the shapes of defects and the locations of the horizontal cracks were almost the same respectively. The mechanism of RCF crack propagation was discussed by finite element (FE analysis. Defects led to higher tensile residual stress than that without defects in the region where the defect exists. The shear stress range at 0.1 mm in depth on the middle line of the defect and the range of mode II stress intensity factor at the bottom of a vertical crack increased with increasing defect length.

  6. Crack Growth Properties of Sealing Glasses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salem, Jonathan A.; Tandon, R.

    2008-01-01

    The crack growth properties of several sealing glasses were measured using constant stress rate testing in 2% and 95% RH (relative humidity). Crack growth parameters measured in high humidity are systematically smaller (n and B) than those measured in low humidity, and velocities for dry environments are approx. 100x lower than for wet environments. The crack velocity is very sensitivity to small changes in RH at low RH. Confidence intervals on parameters that were estimated from propagation of errors were comparable to those from Monte Carlo simulation.

  7. Soil gas measurements at high permeabilities and below foundation depth

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Johner, H.U; Surbeck, H.

    2000-01-01

    We started a project of soil gas measurements beneath houses. Since the foundations of houses often lie deeper than 0.5 to 1 m - the depth where soil gas measurements are often made - the first approach was to apply the method developed previously to deeper soil layers. The radon availability index (RAI), which was defined empirically, proved to be a reliable indicator for radon problems in nearby houses. The extreme values of permeability, non-Darcy flow and scale dependence of permeability stimulated the development of a multi-probe method. A hydrological model was applied to model the soil gas transport. The soil gas measurements below foundation depth provided a wealth of new information. A good classification of soil properties could be achieved. If soil gas measurements are to be made, the low permeability layer has to be traversed. A minimum depth of 1 .5 m is suggested, profiles to below the foundation depth are preferable. There are also implications for mitigation works. A sub-slab suction system should reach the permeable layer to function well. This also holds for radon wells. If a house is located on a slope, it is most convenient to install the sub-slab suction system on the hillside, as the foundation reaches the deepest levels there

  8. Crack Growth Monitoring in Harsh Environments by Electric Potential Measurements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lloyd, Wilson Randolph; Reuter, Walter Graham; Weinberg, David Michael

    1999-01-01

    Electric potential measurement (EPM) technology offers an attractive alternative to conventional nondestructive evaluation (NDE) for monitoring crack growth in harsh environments. Where conventional NDE methods typically require localized human interaction, the EPM technique developed at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) can be operated remotely and automatically. Once a crack-like defect is discovered via conventional means, EPM can be applied to monitor local crack size changes. This is of particular interest in situations where an identified structural defect is not immediately rejectable from a fitness-for-service viewpoint, but due to operational and environmental conditions may grow to an unsafe size with continuing operation. If the location is in a harsh environment where periodic monitoring by normal means is either too costly or not possible, a very expensive repair may be immediately mandated. However, the proposed EPM methodology may offer a unique monitoring capability that would allow for continuing service. INEEL has developed this methodology, supporting equipment, and calibration information to apply EPM in a field environment for just this purpose. Laboratory and pilot scale tests on full-size engineering structures (pressure vessels and piping) have been successfully performed. The technique applicable is many severe environments because the sensitive equipment (electronics, operators) can be situated in a remote location, with only current and voltage probe electrical leads entering into the harsh environment. Experimental results showing the utility of the methodology are presented, and unique application concepts that have been examined by multiple experiments are discussed

  9. Application of acoustic emission to hydride cracking

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sagat, S.; Ambler, J.F.R.; Coleman, C.E.

    1986-07-01

    Acoustic emission has been used for over a decade to study delayed hydride cracking (DHC) in zirconium alloys. At first acoustic emission was used primarily to detect the onset of DHC. This was possible because DHC was accompanied by very little plastic deformation of the material and furthermore the amplitudes of the acoustic pulses produced during cracking of the brittle hydride phase were much larger than those from dislocation motion and twinning. Acoustic emission was also used for measuring crack growth when it was found that for a suitable amplitude threshold, the total number of acoustic emission counts was linearly related to the cracked area. Once the proportionality constant was established, the acoustic counts could be converted to the crack length. Now the proportionality between the count rate and the crack growth rate is used to provide feedback between the crack length and the applied load, using computer technology. In such a system, the stress at the crack tip can be maintained constant during the test by adjusting the applied load as the crack progresses, or it can be changed in a predetermined manner, for example, to measure the threshold stress for cracking

  10. Uncertainty quantification methodologies development for stress corrosion cracking of canister welds

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dingreville, Remi Philippe Michel [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Bryan, Charles R. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

    2016-09-30

    This letter report presents a probabilistic performance assessment model to evaluate the probability of canister failure (through-wall penetration) by SCC. The model first assesses whether environmental conditions for SCC – the presence of an aqueous film – are present at canister weld locations (where tensile stresses are likely to occur) on the canister surface. Geometry-specific storage system thermal models and weather data sets representative of U.S. spent nuclear fuel (SNF) storage sites are implemented to evaluate location-specific canister surface temperature and relative humidity (RH). As the canister cools and aqueous conditions become possible, the occurrence of corrosion is evaluated. Corrosion is modeled as a two-step process: first, pitting is initiated, and the extent and depth of pitting is a function of the chloride surface load and the environmental conditions (temperature and RH). Second, as corrosion penetration increases, the pit eventually transitions to a SCC crack, with crack initiation becoming more likely with increasing pit depth. Once pits convert to cracks, a crack growth model is implemented. The SCC growth model includes rate dependencies on both temperature and crack tip stress intensity factor, and crack growth only occurs in time steps when aqueous conditions are predicted. The model suggests that SCC is likely to occur over potential SNF interim storage intervals; however, this result is based on many modeling assumptions. Sensitivity analyses provide information on the model assumptions and parameter values that have the greatest impact on predicted storage canister performance, and provide guidance for further research to reduce uncertainties.

  11. Stress intensity factors for deep cracks emanating from the corner formed by a hole intersecting a plate surface

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mcgowan, J. J.; Smith, C. W.

    1976-01-01

    The stress intensity factors (SIFs) at the end points of flaws emanating from the corner formed by the intersection of a plate with a hole were determined using stress freezing photoelasticity and a numerical technique known as the Taylor series correction method to extract the SIF values from the photoelastic data. The geometries studied were crack depth to thickness ratios of about 0.2, 0.5, and 0.75; crack depth to crack length ratios of about 1.0 to 2.0; and crack length to hole radius ratios of about 0.5 to 2.0. The SIFs were determined at the intersection of the flaw border with the plate surface (KS) and with the edge of the hole (KH). It is shown that extension of a crack emanating from a corner of intersection of a hole with a plate under monotonically increasing load is not self-similar and that as the flaw depth increases, KH decreases and KS increases. Existing theories and design criteria significantly overestimate the SIF at both the hole and the surface except for shallow flaws at the hole and deep flaws at the surface.

  12. Daily snow depth measurements from 195 stations in the United States

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Allison, L.J. [ed.] [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States). Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center; Easterling, D.R.; Jamason, P.; Bowman, D.P.; Hughes, P.Y.; Mason, E.H. [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Asheville, NC (United States). National Climatic Data Center

    1997-02-01

    This document describes a database containing daily measurements of snow depth at 195 National Weather Service (NWS) first-order climatological stations in the United States. The data have been assembled and made available by the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) in Asheville, North Carolina. The 195 stations encompass 388 unique sampling locations in 48 of the 50 states; no observations from Delaware or Hawaii are included in the database. Station selection criteria emphasized the quality and length of station records while seeking to provide a network with good geographic coverage. Snow depth at the 388 locations was measured once per day on ground open to the sky. The daily snow depth is the total depth of the snow on the ground at measurement time. The time period covered by the database is 1893--1992; however, not all station records encompass the complete period. While a station record ideally should contain daily data for at least the seven winter months (January through April and October through December), not all stations have complete records. Each logical record in the snow depth database contains one station`s daily data values for a period of one month, including data source, measurement, and quality flags.

  13. The crack growth mechanism in asphaltic mixes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jacobs, M.M.J.; Hopman, P.C.; Molenaar, A.A.A.

    1995-01-01

    The crack growth mechanism in asphalt concrete (Ac) mixes is studied. In cyclic tests on several asphaltic mixes crack growth is measured, both with crack foils and with cOD-gauges. It is found that crack growth in asphaltic mixes is described by three processes which are parallel in time: cohesive

  14. Transport and Corrosion Behavior of Cracked Reinforced Concrete

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pease, Bradley Justin

    Reinforced concrete, due to its inherent versatility and durability as a building material, has been implemented for use in a multitude of structural applications which are exposed to widely varying environmental conditions. Often times these structures are designed for lengthy service lives....... The exposure conditions may vary from industrial products, chemicals, and gases, to annual variations in temperature, to chloride-rich environments such as marine structures and structures exposed to deicing salts. These chloride-rich environments are of central concern in Denmark and throughout the world....... In addition, cracks develop in concrete through various physical and chemical processes, which occur at varying periods of the lifetime of a structure, resulting in varying crack parameters (i.e. width, depth, and tortuosity). These cracks provide easy access of aggressive substances from the environment...

  15. Clay with Desiccation Cracks is an Advection Dominated Environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baram, S.; Kurtzman, D.; Sher, Y.; Ronen, Z.; Dahan, O.

    2012-04-01

    Heavy clay sediments are regarded "safe" from the hydrological point of view due to their low hydraulic conductivities. However, the formation of desiccation cracks in dispersive clays may dramatically change their bulk hydraulic properties. The impact of desiccation cracks on water percolation, dissolved salts and contaminants transport and redox related reactions (microbial ammonium oxidation and denitrification) were investigated in 6 -12 m clay layer near a diary farm waste lagoon. The study implemented unique vadose-zone monitoring systems that enable in-situ measurements of the temporal variation of the sediment's water content along with frequent sampling of the sediment's pore water along the entire vadose zone (> 30 m). Results from four years of continuous measurements showed quick rises in sediment water content following rain events and temporal wastewater overflows. The percolation pattern indicated dominance of preferential flow through a desiccation-cracks network crossing the entire clay sediment layer. High water-propagation velocities (0.4 - 23.6 m h-1) were observed, indicating that the desiccation-crack network remains open and serves as a preferential flow pathway year-round, even at high sediment water content (~0.50 m3 m-3). The rapid percolation bypassed the most bio-geo-active parts of the soil, transporting even highly sorptive contaminants (testosterone and estrogen) in to the deep sections of the vadose zone, accelerating the underlying groundwater contamination. The ammonium and nitrate concentrations in the vadose zone and the high number of nitrifying and denitrifying bacteria (~108 gene copies gdry-sediemt-1, each) found in the sediment indicated that the entire vadose zone is aerated even at high water content conditions (~0.55 m3 m-3). The dissolved salts concentration in the pore-water and the δ2H-H2O and δ18O-H2O values of the pore-water substantially increased with depth (becoming less depleted) in the clay sediment

  16. Ductile fracture of circumferentially cracked pipes subjected to bending loads

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zahoor, A.; Kanninen, M.F.

    1981-01-01

    A plastic fracture mechanics methodology is presented for part-through cracks in pipes under bending. A previous analysis result on the behavior of part-through cracks in pipes is reviewed. Example quantitative results for the initiation and instability of radial growth of part-through cracks are presented and compared with the experimental data to demonstrate the applicability of the method. The analyses in our previous work are further developed to include the instability of circumferential growth of part-through cracks. Numerical results are then presented for a compliant piping system, under displacement controlled bending, which focus on (1) instability of radial growth (unstable wall breakthrough) and (2) instability of circumferential growth of the resulting throughthe-thickness crack. The combined results of the above two types of analyses are presented on a safety assessment diagram. This diagram defines a curve of critical combination of length and depth of part-through cracks which delineates leak from fracture. The effect of piping compliance on the leak-before-break assessment is discussed

  17. Ductile fracture of circumferentially cracked pipes subjected to bending loads

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zahoor, A.; Kanninen, M.F.

    1981-10-01

    A plastic fracture mechanics methodology is presented for part-through cracks in pipes under bending. A previous analysis result on the behavior of part-through cracks in pipes is reviewed. Example quantitative results for the initiation and instability of radial growth of part-through cracks are presented and compared with the experimental data to demonstrate the applicability of the method. The analyses in our previous work are further developed to include the instability of circumferential growth of part-through cracks. Numerical results are then presented for a compliant piping system, under displacement controlled bending, which focus on (1) instability of radial growth (unstable wall breakthrough) and (2) instability of circumferential growth of the resulting throughthe-thickness crack. The combined results of the above two types of analyses are presented on a safety assessment diagram. This diagram defines a curve of critical combination of length and depth of part-through cracks which delineates leak from fracture. The effect of piping compliance on the leak-before-break assessment is discussed.

  18. Mud peeling and horizontal crack formation in drying clays

    KAUST Repository

    Style, Robert W.

    2011-03-01

    Mud peeling is a common phenomenon whereby horizontal cracks propagate parallel to the surface of a drying clay. Differential stresses then cause the layer of clay above the crack to curl up to form a mud peel. By treating the clay as a poroelastic solid, we analyze the peeling phenomenon and show that it is caused by the gradient in tensile stress at the surface of the clay, analogously to the spalling of thermoelastic materials. For a constant water evaporation rate at the clay surface we derive equations for the depth of peeling and the time of peeling as functions of the evaporation rate. Our model predicts a simple relationship between the radius of curvature of a mud peel and the depth of peeling. The model predictions are in agreement with the available experimental data. Copyright 2011 by the American Geophysical Union.

  19. IAEA co-ordinated research program. 'Round Robin' on measuring the velocity of delayed hydride cracking (DHC)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Grigoriev, V.; Jakobsson, R. [Studsvik Material AB, Nykoeping (Sweden)

    1999-09-01

    The International Atomic Agency (IAEA) has initiated a new Co-ordinated Research Programme (CRP) on Hydrogen and hydride induced degradation of the mechanical and physical properties of Zirconium-based alloys. In the first phase of this CRP the methodology for measuring the velocity of Delayed Hydride Cracking (DHC) should be established and participating laboratories from about nine countries around the world carry out identical tests in 'round robin'. The objective of the present work is to establish at Studsvik laboratory the method of a constant load cracking test on unirradiated Zr-2.5Nb and attain a comparison of results between laboratories. Constant load tests are performed on specimens cut from unirradiated CANDU Zr-2.5Nb pressure tube and the rate of crack propagation is determined in each test. Pre-hydrided specimens for testing are supplied from the host laboratory. Six specimens have been tested for delayed hydride cracking (DHC) at 250 deg C. The axial crack growth velocities measured in the tests are within the interval of 8.62x10{sup -8} - 1.06x10{sup -7} m/s. The results obtained agree well with the earlier published data for similar materials and test conditions.

  20. A technique using a stellar spectrographic plate to measure terrestrial ozone column depth

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wong, Alec Y. [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)

    1995-08-01

    This thesis examines the feasibility of a technique to extract ozone column depths from photographic stellar spectra in the 5000--7000 Angstrom spectral region. A stellar spectrographic plate is measured to yield the relative intensity distribution of a star`s radiation after transmission through the earth`s atmosphere. The amount of stellar radiation absorbed by the ozone Chappuis band is proportional to the ozone column depth. The measured column depth is within 10% the mean monthly value for latitude 36{degree}N, however the uncertainty is too large to make the measurement useful. This thesis shows that a 10% improvement to the photographic sensitivity uncertainty can decrease the column depth uncertainty to a level acceptable for climatic study use. This technique offers the possibility of measuring past ozone column depths.

  1. Sizing of intergranular stress corrosion cracking using low frequency ultrasound

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fuller, M.D.; Avioli, M.J.; Rose, J.L.

    1985-01-01

    Based upon the work thus far accomplished on low frequency sizing, the following conclusions can be drawn: the potential of low frequency ultrasound for the sizing of IGSCC seams encouraging as demonstrated in this work. If minimal walking is expected, larger values of crack height/wavelength ratios should not affect the reliability of estimates; notch data points out the validity of signal amplitude for sizing. With care in frequency consideration, the technique can be extended to cracks; when wavelength is greater than flaw size, importance of orientation and reflector shape diminishes although less so for deeper cracks; when beam profile is larger than the defect size, echo amplitude is proportional to defect area when using shear wave probes and corner reflectors; other factors, in addition to crack size, affect signal amplitude. Reference data to compensate for depth and material (HAZ) is a must; additional crack samples should be studied in order to further develop and characterize the use of low frequency ultrasonics

  2. Standard practice for fracture testing with surface-crack tension specimens

    CERN Document Server

    American Society for Testing and Materials. Philadelphia

    2003-01-01

    1.1 This practice covers the design, preparation, and testing of surface-crack tension (SCT) specimens. It relates specifically to testing under continuously increasing force and excludes cyclic and sustained loadings. The quantity determined is the residual strength of a specimen having a semielliptical or circular-segment fatigue crack in one surface. This value depends on the crack dimensions and the specimen thickness as well as the characteristics of the material. 1.2 Metallic materials that can be tested are not limited by strength, thickness, or toughness. However, tests of thick specimens of tough materials may require a tension test machine of extremely high capacity. The applicability of this practice to nonmetallic materials has not been determined. 1.3 This practice is limited to specimens having a uniform rectangular cross section in the test section. The test section width and length must be large with respect to the crack length. Crack depth and length should be chosen to suit the ultimate pu...

  3. Small fatigue cracks; Proceedings of the Second International Conference/Workshop, Santa Barbara, CA, Jan. 5-10, 1986

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ritchie, R.O.; Lankford, J.

    1986-01-01

    Topics discussed in this volume include crack initiation and stage I growth, microstructure effects, crack closure, environment effects, the role of notches, analytical modeling, fracture mechanics characterization, experimental techniques, and engineering applications. Papers are presented on fatigue crack initiation along slip bands, the effect of microplastic surface deformation on the growth of small cracks, short fatigue crack behavior in relation to three-dimensional aspects and the crack closure effect, the influence of crack depth on crack electrochemistry and fatigue crack growth, and nondamaging notches in fatigue. Consideration is also given to models of small fatigue cracks, short crack theory, assessment of the growth of small flaws from residual strength data, the relevance of short crack behavior to the integrity of major rotating aero engine components, and the relevance of short fatigue crack growth data to the durability and damage tolerance analyses of aircraft.

  4. Prediction of pure water stress corrosion cracking (PWSCC) in nickel base alloys using crack growth rate models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thompson, C.D.; Krasodomski, H.T.; Lewis, N.; Makar, G.L.

    1995-01-01

    The Ford/Andresen slip dissolution SCC model, originally developed for stainless steel components in BWR environments, has been applied to Alloy 600 and Alloy X-750 tested in deaerated pure water chemistry. A method is described whereby the crack growth rates measured in compact tension specimens can be used to estimate crack growth in a component. Good agreement was found between model prediction and measured SCC in X-750 threaded fasteners over a wide range of temperatures, stresses, and material condition. Most data support the basic assumption of this model that cracks initiate early in life. The evidence supporting a particular SCC mechanism is mixed. Electrochemical repassivation data and estimates of oxide fracture strain indicate that the slip dissolution model can account for the observed crack growth rates, provided primary rather than secondary creep rates are used. However, approximately 100 cross-sectional TEM foils of SCC cracks including crack tips reveal no evidence of enhanced plasticity or unique dislocation patterns at the crack tip or along the crack to support a classic slip dissolution mechanism. No voids, hydrides, or microcracks are found in the vicinity of the crack tips creating doubt about classic hydrogen related mechanisms. The bulk oxide films exhibit a surface oxide which is often different than the oxides found within a crack. Although bulk chromium concentration affects the rate of SCC, analytical data indicates the mechanism does not result from chromium depletion at the grain boundaries. The overall findings support a corrosion/dissolution mechanism but not one necessarily related to slip at the crack tip

  5. Critical experiments, measurements and analyses to establish a crack arrest methodology for nuclear pressure vessel steels. Sixth quarterly progress report, January--March 1976

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hahn, G.T.; Gehlen, P.C.; Hoagland, R.G.; Kanninen, M.F.; Popelar, C.; Rosenfield, A.R.

    1976-07-01

    Governing equations for a complete two-dimensional analysis of fast fracture and crack arrest (including inertia and thermal gradients) are derived. Strain energy and compliance values calculated for an SEN specimen agree with experiment. In the case of a nonstationary crack, the strain energy release rate is computed from the nodal displacements in the immediate vicinity of the crack tip. This value of G is sensitive to the spacings between nodes in the x and y direction. Results of two-dimensional analyses of propagation and arrest in the SEN test piece are also described; they are in general accord with one propagation event measured in an SEN A533B steel test piece. Compliance measurements were carried out on the rectangular DCB specimen to test the accuracy of the compliance values calculated with the one-dimensional beam-on-elastic-foundation model. These compliance values and the derivatives of compliance with crack length are used to relate the loads or displacements at fracture onset and at arrest to K/sub Q/, K/sub D/, and K/sub a/. Efforts were also made to test the assumption that energy losses arising from damping remote from the crack tip can be neglected. Measurements of damped oscillations in an A533B DCB specimen with a stationary crack indicate that total damping rates are relatively low, and that oscillations of the load pins in the pinhole account for the bulk of the damping. Finally, a new procedure for measuring K/sub D/ and K/sub m/ values is described; it is based on a dynamic analysis of the crack length at arrest and dynamically stiff wedge loading (the tie-down device) and eliminates the need for crack velocity measurements. It can also be applied to both small and large crack jumps and to ordinary and duplex-DCB specimens. Results for A533B steel agree with K/sub D/-values obtained from velocity measurements. The new procedure is also used to analyze results for a series of ship steels

  6. The detectability of cracks using sonic IR

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morbidini, Marco; Cawley, Peter

    2009-05-01

    This paper proposes a methodology to study the detectability of fatigue cracks in metals using sonic IR (also known as thermosonics). The method relies on the validation of simple finite-element thermal models of the cracks and specimens in which the thermal loads have been defined by means of a priori measurement of the additional damping introduced in the specimens by each crack. This estimate of crack damping is used in conjunction with a local measurement of the vibration strain during ultrasonic excitation to retrieve the power released at the crack; these functions are then input to the thermal model of the specimens to find the resulting temperature rises (sonic IR signals). The method was validated on mild steel beams with two-dimensional cracks obtained in the low-cycle fatigue regime as well as nickel-based superalloy beams with three-dimensional "thumbnail" cracks generated in the high-cycle fatigue regime. The equivalent 40kHz strain necessary to obtain a desired temperature rise was calculated for cracks in the nickel superalloy set, and the detectability of cracks as a function of length in the range of 1-5mm was discussed.

  7. Crack resistance of austenitic pipes with circumferential through-wall cracks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Foerster, K.; Grueter, L.; Setz, W.; Bhandari, S.; Debaene, J.P.; Faidy, C.; Schwalbe, K.H.

    1993-01-01

    For monotonously increasing load the correct evaluation of the crack resistance properties of a structure is essential for safety analyses. Considerable attention has been given to the through-wall case, since this is generally believed to be the controlling case with regard to complete pipe failure. The maximum load conditions for circumferential crack growth in pipes under displacement-controlled loadings has been determined. The need for crack resistance curves, measured on circumferentially through-wall cracked straight pipes of austenitic stainless steel 316L under bending, is emphasized by the limitation in the data range on small specimens and by the differences in the procedures. To answer open questions and to improve calculational methods a joint fracture mechanics program is being performed by Electricite de France, Novatome and Siemens-Interatom. The working program contains experimental and theoretical investigations on the applicability of small-specimen data to real structures. 10 refs., 10 figs., 4 tabs

  8. Characterization of Cracking Mechanisms of Carbon Anodes Used in Aluminum Industry by Optical Microscopy and Tomography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amrani, Salah; Kocaefe, Duygu; Kocaefe, Yasar; Bhattacharyay, Dipankar; Bouazara, Mohamed; Morais, Brigitte

    2016-10-01

    The objective of this work is to understand the different mechanisms of crack formation in dense anodes used in the aluminum industry. The first approach used is based on the qualitative characterization of the surface cracks and the depth of these cracks. The second approach, which constitutes a quantitative characterization, is carried out by determining the distribution of the crack width along its length as well as the percentage of the surface containing cracks. A qualitative analysis of crack formation was also carried out using 3D tomography. It was observed that mixing and forming conditions have a significant effect on crack formation in green anodes. The devolatilization of pitch during baking causes the formation and propagation of cracks in baked anodes in which large particles control the direction of crack propagation.

  9. Delayed hydrogen cracking test design for pressure tubes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haddad, Roberto; Loberse, Antonio N.; Yawny, Alejandro A.; Riquelme, Pablo

    1999-01-01

    CANDU nuclear power stations pressure tubes of alloy Zr-2,5 % Nb present a cracking phenomenon known as delayed hydrogen cracking (DHC). This is a brittle fracture of zirconium hydrides that are developed by hydrogen due to aqueous corrosion on the metal surface. This hydrogen diffuses to the crack tip where brittle zirconium hydrides develops and promotes the crack propagation. A direct current potential decay (DCPD) technique has been developed to measure crack propagation rates on compact test (CT) samples machined from a non irradiated pressure tube. Those test samples were hydrogen charged by cathodic polarization in an acid solution and then pre cracked in a fatigue machine. This technique proved to be useful to measure crack propagation rates with at least 1% accuracy for DHC in pressure tubes. (author)

  10. Proceedings: Primary water stress corrosion cracking: 1989 EPRI remedial measures workshop

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gorman, J.A.

    1990-04-01

    A meeting on ''PWSCC Remedial Measures'' was organized to give those working in this area an opportunity to share their results, ideas and plans with regard to development and application of remedial measures directed against the primary water stress corrosion cracking (PWSCC) phenomenon affecting alloy 600 steam generator tubes. Topics discussed included: utility experience and strategies; nondestructive examination (NDE) methods for PWSCC; technical topics ranging from predictive methods for occurrence of PWSCC to results of corrosion tests; and services provided by vendors that can help prevent the occurrence of PWSCC or can help address problems caused by PWSCC once it occurs

  11. Analysis of enamel microhardness at various hard tissue states and depth of the microfissures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. P. Yarova

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available In clinical practice are often diagnosed precervical lesions: wedge-shaped defects and cracks. Long phases of the confrontation of the body as a damaging influence in the formation of thicker tissue sections of higher salinity, density and sustainability occur prior to the integrity of the enamel. Micro-hardness is one of the important characteristics of the micro-mechanical strength of the tooth-related physical and chemical changes that occur in the enamel as a result of external and internal influences. The purpose of the study was to identify possible differences in the micro-hardness of enamel, depending on the depth of fissures and pathology of hard tissues of the teeth. We investigated the longitudinal sections of 27 teeth (18 - intact, 5 - with wedge-shaped defect, 4 - with cervical caries of both jaws removed for clinical indications in patients aged 25-54 years, who were diagnosed three types of fractures (SB Ivanov, 1984. Hardness was determined in the outer, middle, inner layers of enamel in three topographical locations: in the cusp tip (cutting edge of the tooth equator and neck as in previously described technique (S. Remizov, 1965. The obtained results showed decrease in strength with micro-cracks enamel, compared with apparently intact ones, on the average 10% more in the incisal areas (tuber, less - in the equatorial zone. In intact teeth with micro-cracks and having a wedge-shaped defect the indices differed significantly depending on the depth of the defects of the cutting edge (tuber and the equator: they were the smallest in the deep type III micro-cracks (p <0.05. The opposite picture was observed in samples with cervical caries. Thus, the statistically significant difference in terms of the micro-hardness of the enamel, depending on the depth of defects has been identified only in the area of cutting edge (tuber: in samples with deep micro-cracks of enamel type III they were the highest (P = 0.017. The greatest values of

  12. The vibrational behaviour of a cracked turbine rotor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grabowski, B.

    1978-01-01

    In order to detect an incipient crack on a turbine rotor with the aid of measurement of the shaft vibrations, these must be known in the first place the effects of a crack on the vibrational behavior of a rotor. For this purpose a method using the modal analysis is presented here. The rigidity depending on the angle of rotation at the position of the crack is accounted for by means of a model. Because of the composition of the computer code there may also be worked with measured values for the rigidity. The results of the calculations show that within the range of speeds, in which for many turbines the operating speed lies, a crack will cause distinct variations of the shaft vibrations. The crack stimulates vibrations with frequencies of rotation and frequencies of double-rotation. Both may be used for crack detection. Because of the strong dependence of the size of the amplitudes of vibration on the design of the rotor and the position of the crack each rotor should be subject to a detailed crack calculation for a better judgement of the measured values. (orig.) [de

  13. Description of the initiation and progress of cracks for hot cracks in temperature resistant 1% CrMoV castings under creep or fatigue stress

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bareiss, J.; Maile, K.; Berger, C.; Mayer, K.H.; Weiss, M.

    1994-01-01

    The results available so far have shown that under vibration stress at room temperature and at 530 C, the simplified equations of fracture mechanics are sufficient (in spite of the complicated fault geometries), in order to conservatively describe the behaviour of fault positions (open or partly-healed hot cracks) with regard to their crack initiation behaviour if combined with the findings US test technique. Here the sample castings which in the initial state showed fault indications of US type EET near the surface, tend to earlier initiation of a crack compared to lower fault positions of the samples. Internal fault positions (partially healed hot cracks) often only showed local cracks (trans-crystalline deformation cracks) within the fault area with an order of magnitude of about 10-50 μm, in spite of exceeding the threshold value Δ Ko. The comparison of the crack propagation behaviour of the sample castings, determined via the potential sensor method on medium lengths of fault with the results of crack growth of fracture mechanics samples in the da/dN- Δ K diagram showed for the evaluated sample castings with a relatively great initial depth or length of fault that the upper scatter band limit of the Paris Law determined for the material can be used to estimate the fault position behaviour. (orig./RHM) [de

  14. Tungsten recrystallization and cracking under ITER-relevant heat loads

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Budaev, V.P., E-mail: Budaev@mail.ru [NRC «Kurchatov Institute», Akademika Kurchatova pl., Moscow (Russian Federation); Martynenko, Yu.V. [NRC «Kurchatov Institute», Akademika Kurchatova pl., Moscow (Russian Federation); National Research Nuclear University MEPhI, Kashirskoe sh. 31, Moscow (Russian Federation); Karpov, A.V.; Belova, N.E. [NRC «Kurchatov Institute», Akademika Kurchatova pl., Moscow (Russian Federation); Zhitlukhin, A.M. [SRC RF TRINITI, Moscow Region (Russian Federation); Klimov, N.S., E-mail: klimov@triniti.ru [SRC RF TRINITI, Moscow Region (Russian Federation); National Research Nuclear University MEPhI, Kashirskoe sh. 31, Moscow (Russian Federation); Podkovyrov, V.L.; Barsuk, V.A.; Putrik, A.B.; Yaroshevskaya, A.D. [SRC RF TRINITI, Moscow Region (Russian Federation); Giniyatulin, R.N. [Efremov Institute, St. Petersburg (Russian Federation); Safronov, V.M. [Institution «Project Center ITER», Moscow (Russian Federation); SRC RF TRINITI, Moscow Region (Russian Federation); Khimchenko, L.N. [Institution «Project Center ITER», Moscow (Russian Federation)

    2015-08-15

    The tungsten surface structure was analyzed after the test in the QSPA-T under heat loads relevant to those expected in the ITER during disruptions. Repeated pulses lead to the melting and the resolidification of the tungsten surface layer of ∼50 μm thickness. There is ∼50 μm thickness intermediate layer between the original structure and the resolidified layer. The intermediate layer is recrystallized and has a random grains’ orientation whereas the resolidified layer and basic structure have texture with preferable orientation 〈1 0 0〉 normal to the surface. The cracks which were normal to the surface were observed in the resolidified layer as well as the cracks which were parallel to the surface at the depth up to 300 μm. Such cracks can result in the brittle destruction which is a hazard for the full tungsten divertor of the ITER. The theoretical analysis of the crack formation reasons and a possible consequence for the ITER are given.

  15. Analytical Model for Fictitious Crack Propagation in Concrete Beams

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ulfkjær, J. P.; Krenk, Steen; Brincker, Rune

    1995-01-01

    An analytical model for load-displacement curves of concrete beams is presented. The load-displacement curve is obtained by combining two simple models. The fracture is modeled by a fictitious crack in an elastic layer around the midsection of the beam. Outside the elastic layer the deformations...... are modeled by beam theory. The state of stress in the elastic layer is assumed to depend bilinearly on local elongation corresponding to a linear softening relation for the fictitious crack. Results from the analytical model are compared with results from a more detailed model based on numerical methods...... for different beam sizes. The analytical model is shown to be in agreement with the numerical results if the thickness of the elastic layer is taken as half the beam depth. It is shown that the point on the load-displacement curve where the fictitious crack starts to develop and the point where the real crack...

  16. Cracking in Drying Colloidal Films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, Karnail B.; Tirumkudulu, Mahesh S.

    2007-05-01

    It has long been known that thick films of colloidal dispersions such as wet clays, paints, and coatings crack under drying. Although capillary stresses generated during drying have been recently identified as the cause for cracking, the existence of a maximum crack-free film thickness that depends on particle size, rigidity, and packing has not been understood. Here, we identify two distinct regimes for crack-free films based on the magnitude of compressive strain at the maximum attainable capillary pressure and show remarkable agreement of measurements with our theory. We anticipate our results to not only form the basis for design of coating formulations for the paints, coatings, and ceramics industry but also assist in the production of crack-free photonic band gap crystals.

  17. The deconvolution of sputter-etching surface concentration measurements to determine impurity depth profiles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carter, G.; Katardjiev, I.V.; Nobes, M.J.

    1989-01-01

    The quasi-linear partial differential continuity equations that describe the evolution of the depth profiles and surface concentrations of marker atoms in kinematically equivalent systems undergoing sputtering, ion collection and atomic mixing are solved using the method of characteristics. It is shown how atomic mixing probabilities can be deduced from measurements of ion collection depth profiles with increasing ion fluence, and how this information can be used to predict surface concentration evolution. Even with this information, however, it is shown that it is not possible to deconvolute directly the surface concentration measurements to provide initial depth profiles, except when only ion collection and sputtering from the surface layer alone occur. It is demonstrated further that optimal recovery of initial concentration depth profiles could be ensured if the concentration-measuring analytical probe preferentially sampled depths near and at the maximum depth of bombardment-induced perturbations. (author)

  18. Thermal analysis of cracked bodies using finite element techniques

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hellen, T.K.; Price, R.H.; Harrison, R.P.

    1975-01-01

    The paper develops the potential energy equation in terms of finite element theory including thermal loads. Following this, the energy release rate and consequently the stress intensity factors are derived. Considerations of the classical near crack tip equations are made and deficiencies with the popular substitution methods are highlighted. A method of removing these deficiencies is described. Various energy methods are reconsidered in terms of the role of the thermal energy contribution to the potential energy. These methods include work of crack closure, energy compliance and virtual crack extensions with no other change in nodal geometry, and therefore only requires the recalculation of the stiffness matrices of the crack tip elements. An example of a quadratic temperature gradient parallel to the crack plane in an edge cracked plate is described. Comparisons of the various finite element methods are made and generally show good agreement. A second application compares the virtual crack extension method with an approximate analytical solution in determining stress intensity factors for a thick hollow cylinder with an axial crack for various depths through the wall thickness and for different times. Initially the cylinder is at a uniform high temperature and is then subjected to a sustained cooling shock. Analytical solutions are available for temperature and stress distributions in the uncracked pipe. The stress intensity for a shallow crack in the early stages of the transient has been determined using a superposition procedure. Comparison of the analytical and computed results shows good agreement between the methods

  19. A crack growth evaluation method for interacting multiple cracks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kamaya, Masayuki

    2003-01-01

    When stress corrosion cracking or corrosion fatigue occurs, multiple cracks are frequently initiated in the same area. According to section XI of the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, multiple cracks are considered as a single combined crack in crack growth analysis, if the specified conditions are satisfied. In crack growth processes, however, no prescription for the interference between multiple cracks is given in this code. The JSME Post-Construction Code, issued in May 2000, prescribes the conditions of crack coalescence in the crack growth process. This study aimed to extend this prescription to more general cases. A simulation model was applied, to simulate the crack growth process, taking into account the interference between two cracks. This model made it possible to analyze multiple crack growth behaviors for many cases (e.g. different relative position and length) that could not be studied by experiment only. Based on these analyses, a new crack growth analysis method was suggested for taking into account the interference between multiple cracks. (author)

  20. Measurement with total scatter calibrate factor at different depths in the calculation of prescription dose

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Lijun; Zhu Haijun; Zhang Xinzhong; Li Feizhou; Song Hongyu

    2004-01-01

    Objective: To evaluate the method of measurement of total scatter calibrate factor (Sc, p). Methods: To measure the Sc, p at different depths on central axis of 6MV, 15MV photon beams through different ways. Results: It was found that the measured data of Sc, p changed with the different depths to a range of 1% - 7%. Using the direct method, the Sc, p measured depth should be the same as the depth in dose normalization point of the prescription dose. If the Sc, p (fsz, d) was measured at the other depths, it could be obtained indirectly by the calculation formula. Conclusions: The Sc, p in the prescription dose can be obtained either by the direct measure method or the indirect calculation formula. But emphasis should be laid on the proper measure depth. (authors)

  1. Crack Monitoring of Operational Wind Turbine Foundations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perry, Marcus; McAlorum, Jack; Fusiek, Grzegorz; Niewczas, Pawel; McKeeman, Iain; Rubert, Tim

    2017-08-21

    The degradation of onshore, reinforced-concrete wind turbine foundations is usually assessed via above-ground inspections, or through lengthy excavation campaigns that suspend wind power generation. Foundation cracks can and do occur below ground level, and while sustained measurements of crack behaviour could be used to quantify the risk of water ingress and reinforcement corrosion, these cracks have not yet been monitored during turbine operation. Here, we outline the design, fabrication and field installation of subterranean fibre-optic sensors for monitoring the opening and lateral displacements of foundation cracks during wind turbine operation. We detail methods for in situ sensor characterisation, verify sensor responses against theoretical tower strains derived from wind speed data, and then show that measured crack displacements correlate with monitored tower strains. Our results show that foundation crack opening displacements respond linearly to tower strain and do not change by more than ±5 μ m. Lateral crack displacements were found to be negligible. We anticipate that the work outlined here will provide a starting point for real-time, long-term and dynamic analyses of crack displacements in future. Our findings could furthermore inform the development of cost-effective monitoring systems for ageing wind turbine foundations.

  2. Effect of the surface film electric resistance on eddy current detectability of surface cracks in Alloy 600 tubes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saario, T.; Paine, J.P.N.

    1995-01-01

    The most widely used technique for NDE of steam generator tubing is eddy current. This technique can reliably detect cracks grown in sodium hydroxide environment only at depths greater than 50% through wall. However, cracking caused by thiosulphate solutions have been detected and sized at shallower depths. The disparity has been proposed to be caused by the different electric resistance of the crack wall surface films and corrosion products in the cracks formed in different environments. This work was undertaken to clarify the role of surface film electric resistance on the disparity found in eddy current detectability of surface cracks in alloy 600 tubes. The proposed model explaining the above mentioned disparity is the following. The detectability of tightly closed cracks by the eddy current technique depends on the electric resistance of the surface films of the crack walls. The nature and resistance of the films which form on the crack walls during operation depends on the composition of the solution inside the crack and close to the crack location. During cooling down of the steam generator, because of contraction and loss of internal pressurization, the cracks are rather tightly closed so that exchange of electrolyte and thus changes in the film properties become difficult. As a result, the surface condition prevailing at high temperature is preserved. If the environment is such that the films formed on the crack walls under operating conditions have low electric resistance, eddy current technique will fail to indicate these cracks or will underestimate the size of these cracks. However, if the electric resistance of the films is high, a tightly closed crack will resemble an open crack and will be easily indicated and correctly sized by eddy current technique

  3. Effects of Chemistry Parameters of Primary Water affecting Leakage of Steam Generator Tube Cracks

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shin, D. M.; Cho, N. C.; Kang, Y. S.; Lee, K. H. [KHNP CRI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-10-15

    Degradation of steam generator (SG) tubes can affect pressure boundary tightness. As a defense-in-depth measure, primary to secondary leak monitoring program for steam generators is implemented, and operation is allowed under leakage limits in nuclear power plants. Chemistry parameters that affect steam generator tube leakage due to primary water stress corrosion cracking (PWSCC) are investigated in this study. Tube sleeves were installed to inhibit leakage and improve tube integrity as a part of maintenance methods. Steam generators occurred small leak during operation have been replaced with new steam generators according to plant maintenance strategies. The correlations between steam generator leakage and chemistry parameters are presented. Effects of primary water chemistry parameters on leakage from tube cracks were investigated for the steam generators experiencing small leak. Unit A experienced small leakage from steam generator tubes in the end of operation cycle. It was concluded that increased solubility of oxides due to high pHT could make leakage paths, and low boron concentration lead to less blockage in cracks. Increased dissolved hydrogen may retard crack propagations, but it did not reduce leak rate of the leaking steam generator. In order to inhibit and reduce leakage, pH{sub T} was controlled by servicing cation bed operation. The test results of decreasing pHT indicate low pHT can reduce leak rate of PWSCC cracks in the end of cycle.

  4. Effects of Chemistry Parameters of Primary Water affecting Leakage of Steam Generator Tube Cracks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shin, D. M.; Cho, N. C.; Kang, Y. S.; Lee, K. H.

    2016-01-01

    Degradation of steam generator (SG) tubes can affect pressure boundary tightness. As a defense-in-depth measure, primary to secondary leak monitoring program for steam generators is implemented, and operation is allowed under leakage limits in nuclear power plants. Chemistry parameters that affect steam generator tube leakage due to primary water stress corrosion cracking (PWSCC) are investigated in this study. Tube sleeves were installed to inhibit leakage and improve tube integrity as a part of maintenance methods. Steam generators occurred small leak during operation have been replaced with new steam generators according to plant maintenance strategies. The correlations between steam generator leakage and chemistry parameters are presented. Effects of primary water chemistry parameters on leakage from tube cracks were investigated for the steam generators experiencing small leak. Unit A experienced small leakage from steam generator tubes in the end of operation cycle. It was concluded that increased solubility of oxides due to high pHT could make leakage paths, and low boron concentration lead to less blockage in cracks. Increased dissolved hydrogen may retard crack propagations, but it did not reduce leak rate of the leaking steam generator. In order to inhibit and reduce leakage, pH_T was controlled by servicing cation bed operation. The test results of decreasing pHT indicate low pHT can reduce leak rate of PWSCC cracks in the end of cycle

  5. Structural control of polygonal cracks in La Pedriza del Manzanares (Madrid)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Garcia-Rodriguez, M.; Aroztegui, J.; Lopez Portillo, H.

    2015-01-01

    Polygonal cracks represent a common way of modeling granite whose origin and evolution continues under study not even existing a systematization of these diverse structures. Some authors explain their origin by internal geo dynamic processes relating to movements of fracture planes in later stages of magmatic consolidation. Other authors attribute their formation and development to external factors related to climate regime. The great variety of polygonal cracks requires the use of a greater number of variables to define their different origins, the possible interrelations between external and internal factors, to explain the evolution of these structures and advance the classification of specific patterns. This work aims to contribute to systematize the mechanisms involved in the development of polygonal cracks. For that only polygonal cracks formed on flat vertical or sub vertical fractures are studied. In particular relations are established between the presence of polygonal cracks with: the fracturing network, height of appearance, angle and tilt of the wall, plaque morphology and depth of incision of the perimeter cracks. Moreover it establishes relationships between internal geo dynamic processes and external weathering processes. (Author)

  6. Allowing for surface preparation in stress corrosion cracking modelling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berge, P.; Buisine, D.; Gelpi, A.

    1997-01-01

    When a 600 alloy component is significantly deformed during installation, by welding, rolling, bending, its stress corrosion cracking in Pressurized Water Nuclear Reactor's primary coolant, is significantly changed by the initial surface treatment. Therefore, the crack initiated time may be reduced by several orders of magnitude for certain surfaces preparations. Allowing for cold working of the surface, for which modelling is proposed, depends less on the degree of cold work then on the depths of the hardened layers. Honing hardens the metal over depths of about one micron for vessel head penetrations, for example, and has little influence on subsequent behaviour after the part deforms. On the other hand, coarser turning treatment produces cold worked layers which can reach several tens of microns and can very significantly reduce the initiation time compared to fine honing. So evaluation after depths of hardening is vital on test pieces for interpreting laboratory results as well as on service components for estimating their service life. Suppression by mechanical or chemical treatment of these layers, after deformation, seems to be the most appropriate solution for reducing over-stressing connected with surface treatment carried out before deformation. (author)

  7. Development of the advanced phased array UT technique for accurate sizing of cracks in the nozzle welding

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nishida, Jun-ichiro; Kawanami, Seiichi; Ideo, Mitsushi; Matsuura, Takayuki; Chigusa, Naoki; Hirano, Shinro; Sera, Takehiko

    2010-01-01

    Recently, preventive maintenance tasks for welding of safe-end nozzles of reactor vessels and steam generators of PWRs in Japan had been carried out sequentially. Before the maintenance tasks, inspection services were carried out and several crack indications were found by eddy current testing (ECT). These indications were found in the welding which made by 600 series nickel base alloy and evaluated as stress corrosion cracks which were oriented to the axial direction of the nozzle. Then investigations to evaluate the depth of cracks were carried out by ultrasonic testing (UT) from inner surface of the nozzles. However they were difficult to evaluate the depth of cracks due to the high attenuation of the ultrasonic propagation caused by large grain structure of welding. And also it was required high resolution near surface region for accurate sizing. Therefore development of advanced phased array UT techniques specialized for the sizing at this portion was carried out. This paper reports the development status and verification test results. Firstly simulations of the ultrasonic propagation in the welding were carried out to optimize beam profiles of phased array probes. Next prototype probes were manufactured and verification tests were conducted to evaluate the accuracy of depth sizing. It is shown that the developed techniques have high sizing accuracy for artificial stress corrosion cracks in the welding. (author)

  8. Delayed hydride cracking: theoretical model testing to predict cracking velocity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mieza, Juan I.; Vigna, Gustavo L.; Domizzi, Gladys

    2009-01-01

    Pressure tubes from Candu nuclear reactors as any other component manufactured with Zr alloys are prone to delayed hydride cracking. That is why it is important to be able to predict the cracking velocity during the component lifetime from parameters easy to be measured, such as: hydrogen concentration, mechanical and microstructural properties. Two of the theoretical models reported in literature to calculate the DHC velocity were chosen and combined, and using the appropriate variables allowed a comparison with experimental results of samples from Zr-2.5 Nb tubes with different mechanical and structural properties. In addition, velocities measured by other authors in irradiated materials could be reproduced using the model described above. (author)

  9. Stress intensity factors of eccentric cracks in bi-materials plate under mode I loading

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ismail, A. E. [Faculty of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, 86400 Batu Pahat, Johor (Malaysia)

    2015-05-15

    Bi-material plates were generally used to joint electronic devices or mechanical components requiring dissimilar materials to be attached. During services, mechanical failure can be occurred due to the formation of cracks at the interfacial joint or away from the centre. Generally, linear elastic fracture mechanics approach is used to characterize these cracks based on stress intensity factors (SIF). Based on the literature survey, the SIFs for the central cracks were easily available. However, the SIFs for eccentric cracks were difficult to obtain. Therefore, this paper presented the SIFs for eccentric cracks subjected to mode I tension loading. Three important parameters were used such as relative crack depth, a/L, relative offset distance, b/L and elastic mismatch, E{sub 1}/E{sub 2} or α. It was found that such parameters significantly affected the characteristic of SIFs and it was depend on the location of cracks.

  10. A non-destructive test method to monitor corrosion products and corrosion-induced cracking in reinforced cement based materials

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Michel, Alexander; Pease, Bradley Justin; Peterova, Adela

    2011-01-01

    ) was conducted to describe the impact of water-to-cement ratio and corrosion current density (i.e., corrosion rate) on the reinforcement corrosion process. Focus was placed, in particular on the determination of the corrosion accommodating region (CAR) and time to corrosion-induced cracking. Experimental results...... showed that x-ray attenuation measurements allow determination of the actual concentrations of corrosion products averaged through the specimen thickness. The total mass loss of steel measured by x-ray attenuation was found to be in very good agreement with the calculated mass loss obtained by Faraday......’s law. Furthermore, experimental results demonstrated that the depth of penetration of corrosion products as well as time to corrosion-induced cracking is varying for the different water-to-cement ratios and applied corrosion current densities....

  11. Characterization of mixed mode crack opening in concrete

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jacobsen, Jonas Sejersbøl; Poulsen, Peter Noe; Olesen, John Forbes

    2012-01-01

    components of the mixed mode displacement are measured using a custom made orthogonal gauge, and the measurements are used directly as the closed loop control signals. A double notch, concrete specimen is used for the crack investigation. The tests are divided into two steps, a pure Mode I opening step......In real concrete structures cracks often open in mixed mode after their initiation. To capture the direct material behavior of a mixed mode crack opening a stiff biaxial testing machine, capable of imposing both normal and shear loads on a given crack area, has been applied. The opening and sliding......, where a macro crack is initiated in the specimen followed by the mixed mode opening step. The high stiffness of the set-up together with the closed control loop ensures a stable crack initiation followed by a controllable mixed mode opening. The deep notches result in a plane crack, only influenced...

  12. The development of crack measurement system using the direct current potential drop method for use in the hot cell

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Do-Sik; Ahn, Sang-Bok; Lee, Key-Soon; Kim, Yong-Suk; Kwon, Sang-Chul

    1999-01-01

    The crack length measurement system using the direct current potential drop (DCPD) method was developed for the detection of crack growth initiation and subsequent crack growth. The experimental precautions and data processing procedure required for its application were also described find discussed. The system presented herein was specially built for use in fracture toughness testing of unirradiated or irradiated pressure tube materials from nuclear reactor. The application of this system for fracture toughness determination was illustrated from the test of curved compact tension specimens removed from CANDU reactor pressure tubes. The crack extension was monitored using the DCPD method. It is found that the changes of the potential drop and the changes of the crack length have a linear relationship. The final crack front was marked by heat-tinting after the test and the specimen broken open for determination of the initial and final physical crack length. The physical crack lengths, obtained by the 9-point average method described in ASTM E1737-96 on heat-tinted fracture surface, were used to calibrate the DCPD method for each test on an individual basis by matching the change in voltage to the crack extension. It is found that this system can be recommended for determination of the J-integral resistance (J-R) curve of unirradiated or irradiation materials in the hot cell, especially when testing at elevated temperature and in the environment chamber or furnace. (author)

  13. Focal depth measurement of scanning helium ion microscope

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guo, Hongxuan; Itoh, Hiroshi; Wang, Chunmei; Zhang, Han; Fujita, Daisuke

    2014-01-01

    When facing the challenges of critical dimension measurement of complicated nanostructures, such as of the three dimension integrated circuit, characterization of the focal depth of microscopes is important. In this Letter, we developed a method for characterizing the focal depth of a scanning helium ion microscope (HIM) by using an atomic force microscope tip characterizer (ATC). The ATC was tilted in a sample chamber at an angle to the scanning plan. Secondary electron images (SEIs) were obtained at different positions of the ATC. The edge resolution of the SEIs shows the nominal diameters of the helium ion beam at different focal levels. With this method, the nominal shapes of the helium ion beams were obtained with different apertures. Our results show that a small aperture is necessary to get a high spatial resolution and high depth of field images with HIM. This work provides a method for characterizing and improving the performance of HIM.

  14. Automated sulcal depth measurement on cortical surface reflecting geometrical properties of sulci.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hyuk Jin Yun

    Full Text Available Sulcal depth that is one of the quantitative measures of cerebral cortex has been widely used as an important marker for brain morphological studies. Several studies have employed Euclidean (EUD or geodesic (GED algorithms to measure sulcal depth, which have limitations that ignore sulcal geometry in highly convoluted regions and result in under or overestimated depth. In this study, we proposed an automated measurement for sulcal depth on cortical surface reflecting geometrical properties of sulci, which named the adaptive distance transform (ADT. We first defined the volume region of cerebrospinal fluid between the 3D convex hull and the cortical surface, and constructed local coordinates for that restricted region. Dijkstra's algorithm was then used to compute the shortest paths from the convex hull to the vertices of the cortical surface based on the local coordinates, which may be the most proper approach for defining sulcal depth. We applied our algorithm to both a clinical dataset including patients with mild Alzheimer's disease (AD and 25 normal controls and a simulated dataset whose shape was similar to a single sulcus. The mean sulcal depth in the mild AD group was significantly lower than controls (p = 0.007, normal [mean±SD]: 7.29±0.23 mm, AD: 7.11±0.29 and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was relatively high, showing the value of 0.818. Results from clinical dataset that were consistent with former studies using EUD or GED demonstrated that ADT was sensitive to cortical atrophy. The robustness against inter-individual variability of ADT was highlighted through simulation dataset. ADT showed a low and constant normalized difference between the depth of the simulated data and the calculated depth, whereas EUD and GED had high and variable differences. We suggest that ADT is more robust than EUD or GED and might be a useful alternative algorithm for measuring sulcal depth.

  15. Outline and current status of crack growth evaluation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arai, Taku

    2017-01-01

    This paper explains the outline of crack growth evaluation against stress corrosion cracking (SCC), knowledge obtained from actual equipment failure cases, and the latest trends of technology development concerning crack growth evaluation. As for the reactor integrity evaluation system, the use of the maintenance standards for the nuclear power generation of the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers (hereinafter referred to as maintenance standards') is specified for its evaluation. Based on whether or not the result satisfies the evaluation criteria for the SCC soundness assessment, it is judged whether continuous operation within the evaluation period is allowed or repair/replacement is required. According to main findings obtained from the cases of actual equipment failure, the following have been recognized. (1) The SCC generated and developed in the nickel base alloy welded metal stayed at the boundary between low alloy steel and stainless steel. (2) The progress of SCC strongly depends on the growth direction of dendrite, which is the welded solidified structure, and preferentially develops in the direction parallel to the growth direction. The latest development of crack propagation evaluation includes (1) development of solution for stress intensity factor, and (2) crack propagation evaluation by means of FEM analysis. With regard to the SCC of stainless steel in recirculation system piping under BWR environment, if the defect depth and surface length are sized, the progress of cracks in the actual equipment can be reproduced to some extent by crack growth according to maintenance standards. The sizing results of the defect based on non-destructive test are the starting point. (A.O.)

  16. Effect of error in crack length measurement on maximum load fracture toughness of Zr-2.5Nb pressure tube material

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bind, A.K.; Sunil, Saurav; Singh, R.N.; Chakravartty, J.K.

    2016-03-01

    Recently it was found that maximum load toughness (J max ) for Zr-2.5Nb pressure tube material was practically unaffected by error in Δ a . To check the sensitivity of the J max to error in Δ a measurement, the J max was calculated assuming no crack growth up to the maximum load (P max ) for as received and hydrogen charged Zr-2.5Nb pressure tube material. For load up to the P max , the J values calculated assuming no crack growth (J NC ) were slightly higher than that calculated based on Δ a measured using DCPD technique (JDCPD). In general, error in the J calculation found to be increased exponentially with Δ a . The error in J max calculation was increased with an increase in Δ a and a decrease in J max . Based on deformation theory of J, an analytic criterion was developed to check the insensitivity of the J max to error in Δ a . There was very good linear relation was found between the J max calculated based on Δ a measured using DCPD technique and the J max calculated assuming no crack growth. This relation will be very useful to calculate J max without measuring the crack growth during fracture test especially for irradiated material. (author)

  17. Engineering Solution for the Uniform Strength of Partially Cracked Concrete

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Elin A.; Hansen, Will; Brincker, Rune

    2005-01-01

    Significant computational resources are required to predict the remaining strength from numerical fracture analysis of a jointed plain concrete pavement that contains a partial depth crack. It is, therefore, advantageous when the failure strength can be adequately predicted with an engineering...

  18. REPEATABILITY AND ACCURACY OF EXOPLANET ECLIPSE DEPTHS MEASURED WITH POST-CRYOGENIC SPITZER

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ingalls, James G.; Krick, J. E.; Carey, S. J.; Stauffer, John R.; Lowrance, Patrick J.; Grillmair, Carl J.; Capak, Peter; Glaccum, William; Laine, Seppo; Surace, Jason; Storrie-Lombardi, Lisa [Spitzer Science Center, California Institute of Technology, 1200 E California Boulevard, Mail Code 314-6, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Buzasi, Derek [Department of Chemistry and Physics, Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, FL 33965 (United States); Deming, Drake [Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742-2421 (United States); Diamond-Lowe, Hannah; Stevenson, Kevin B. [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Chicago, 5640 S Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637 (United States); Evans, Thomas M. [School of Physics, University of Exeter, EX4 4QL Exeter (United Kingdom); Morello, G. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, Gower Street, WC1 E6BT (United Kingdom); Wong, Ian, E-mail: ingalls@ipac.caltech.edu [Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States)

    2016-08-01

    We examine the repeatability, reliability, and accuracy of differential exoplanet eclipse depth measurements made using the InfraRed Array Camera (IRAC) on the Spitzer Space Telescope during the post-cryogenic mission. We have re-analyzed an existing 4.5 μ m data set, consisting of 10 observations of the XO-3b system during secondary eclipse, using seven different techniques for removing correlated noise. We find that, on average, for a given technique, the eclipse depth estimate is repeatable from epoch to epoch to within 156 parts per million (ppm). Most techniques derive eclipse depths that do not vary by more than a factor 3 of the photon noise limit. All methods but one accurately assess their own errors: for these methods, the individual measurement uncertainties are comparable to the scatter in eclipse depths over the 10 epoch sample. To assess the accuracy of the techniques as well as to clarify the difference between instrumental and other sources of measurement error, we have also analyzed a simulated data set of 10 visits to XO-3b, for which the eclipse depth is known. We find that three of the methods (BLISS mapping, Pixel Level Decorrelation, and Independent Component Analysis) obtain results that are within three times the photon limit of the true eclipse depth. When averaged over the 10 epoch ensemble,  5 out of 7 techniques come within 60 ppm of the true value. Spitzer exoplanet data, if obtained following current best practices and reduced using methods such as those described here, can measure repeatable and accurate single eclipse depths, with close to photon-limited results.

  19. Hydrogen induced crack growth in Grade-12 titanium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ahn, T.M.; Lee, K.S.

    1984-01-01

    Internal hydrogen induced crack growth rates were measured in Grade-12 titanium which is a candidate material for high-level nuclear waste containers. As-received and hydrogen charged samples (5 ppM to 330 ppM hydrogen) were used for slow crack growth measurements at constant loads using a Krak Gauge. The testing temperature ranged from room temperature to 148 0 C. The crack growth kinetics under low to moderate loads are linear, but this linear rate is interrupted by discrete fast crack jump segments with parabolic or cubic type kinetics. These fast jump segments are thought to be associated with the passage of the crack front through the alpha-beta interface phase or with the initial loading sequence. By measuring striation spacings on the fracture surface, most crack growth rates observed are found to be in stage II. The striations are considered to be associated with hydride fracture. The crack path is either transgranular in the alpha phase or interfacial in the alpha phase adjacent to the beta phase. For transgranular growth, crack growth rates are constant and slower than those for interfacial growth which is associated with fast crack growth through a high hydrogen concentration region. Most stage II crack growth rates depend slightly on the stress intensity suggesting the contribution of plastic tearing process to stage II kinetics. The activation energies for crack growth are much lower than the activation energy of hydrogen diffusion through the alpha phase, implying that hydrogen is transported along dislocations, grain boundaries or interfaces. When the temperature is increased, the crack velocity first reaches a maximum and then decreases at higher temperatures. These temperature effects come from lower hydrogen concentration trapped at dislocations or from slower hydride nucleation kinetics, both at higher temperatures

  20. Thermometric measurements in notches and crack tips in steels under cyclic stress

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mueller, K.

    1989-01-01

    The present study reports on temperature measurements with notched samples with and without incipient cracks of unalloyed steels (St 37-2 and Ck 45). Investigations were conducted on thermometric stress determination and on cyclic deformation behaviour. A thermometric concept is presented with which an effective threshold value of cyclic stress intensity can be successfully determined at a low cost with the help of a thermometric estimation method. Thermocouple measurements were performed in all of the experiments, measurements which permitted the registration of temperature range due to thermoelastic effect, besides the registration of the dissipation of deformation work due, particularly, to plastic deformations. (orig./MM) [de

  1. Factors controlling nitrate cracking of mild steel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Donovan, J.A.

    1977-01-01

    Nitrite and hydroxide ions inhibit the growth of nitrate stress corrosion cracks in mild steel. Crack growth measurements showed that sufficient concentrations of nitrite and hydroxide ions can prevent crack growth; however, insufficient concentrations of these ions did not influence the Stage II growth rate or the threshold stress intensity, but extended the initiation time. Stage III growth was discontinuous. Oxide formed in the grain boundaries ahead of the crack tip and oxide dissolution (Stage II) and fracture (Stage III) are the proposed mechanisms of nitrate stress corrosion crack growth

  2. Composite depth dose measurement for total skin electron (TSE) treatments using radiochromic film

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gamble, Lisa M; Farrell, Thomas J; Jones, Glenn W; Hayward, Joseph E

    2003-01-01

    Total skin electron (TSE) radiotherapy is routinely used to treat cutaneous T-cell lymphomas and can be implemented using a modified Stanford technique. In our centre, the composite depth dose for this technique is achieved by a combination of two patient positions per day over a three-day cycle, and two gantry angles per patient position. Due to patient morphology, underdosed regions typically occur and have historically been measured using multiple thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs). We show that radiochromic film can be used as a two-dimensional relative dosimeter to measure the percent depth dose in TSE radiotherapy. Composite depth dose curves were measured in a cylindrical, polystyrene phantom and compared with TLD data. Both multiple films (1 film per day) and a single film were used in order to reproduce a realistic clinical scenario. First, three individual films were used to measure the depth dose, one per treatment day, and then compared with TLD data; this comparison showed a reasonable agreement. Secondly, a single film was used to measure the dose delivered over three daily treatments and then compared with TLD data; this comparison showed good agreement throughout the depth dose, which includes doses well below 1 Gy. It will be shown that one piece of radiochromic film is sufficient to measure the composite percent depth dose for a TSE beam, hence making radiochromic film a suitable candidate for monitoring underdosed patient regions

  3. Wind profiler mixing depth and entrainment measurements with chemical applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Angevine, W.M.; Trainer, M.; Parrish, D.D.; Buhr, M.P.; Fehsenfeld, F.C. [NOAA Aeronomy Lab., Boulder, CO (United States); Kok, G.L. [NCAR Research Aviation Facility, Boulder, CO (United States)

    1994-12-31

    Wind profiling radars operating at 915 MHz have been present at a number of regional air quality studies. The profilers can provide a continuous, accurate record of the depth of the convective mixed layer with good time resolution. Profilers also provide information about entrainment at the boundary layer top. Mixing depth data from several days of the Rural Oxidants in the Southern Environment II (ROSE II) study in Alabama in June, 1992 are presented. For several cases, chemical measurements from aircraft and ground-based instruments are shown to correspond to mixing depth and entrainment zone behavior observed by the profiler.

  4. Evaluation of creep-fatigue crack growth for large-scale FBR reactor vessel and NDE assessment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Joo, Young Sang; Kim, Jong Bum; Kim, Seok Hun; Yoo, Bong

    2001-03-01

    Creep fatigue crack growth contributes to the failure of FRB reactor vessels in high temperature condition. In the design stage of reactor vessel, crack growth evaluation is very important to ensure the structural safety and setup the in-service inspection strategy. In this study, creep-fatigue crack growth evaluation has been performed for the semi-elliptical surface cracks subjected to thermal loading. The thermal stress analysis of a large-scale FBR reactor vessel has been carried out for the load conditions. The distributions of axial, radial, hoop, and Von Mises stresses were obtained for the loading conditions. At the maximum point of the axial and hoop stress, the longitudinal and circumferential surface cracks (i.e. PTS crack, NDE short crack and shallow long crack) were postulated. Using the maximum and minimum values of stresses, the creep-fatigue crack growth of the proposed cracks was simulated. The crack growth rate of circumferential cracks becomes greater than that of longitudinal cracks. The total crack growth of the largest PTS crack is very small after 427 cycles. The structural integrity of a large-scale reactor can be maintained for the plant life. The crack depth growth of the shallow long crack is faster than that of the NDE short crack. In the ISI of the large-scale FBR reactor vessel, the ultrasonic inspection is beneficial to detect the shallow circumferential cracks.

  5. Leak on a steam generator tube: in-depth analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berger, J.; Deotto, G.; Mathon, C.; Madurel, A.; Pitner, P.; Gay, N.; Guivarch, M.

    2015-01-01

    A circumferential through crack was observed on a steam generator tube of the unit 2 of the Fessenheim plant. Destructive tests showed that the crack was due to cycle fatigue combined with the presence of inter-granular corrosion zones. An in-depth analysis based on simulations shows that the combination of 5 elements caused the crack. First, a specific position of the anti-vibration bar near this tube, secondly, a local presence of fouling, these 2 first elements led to an increase of the tube vibratory level. Thirdly, the 600 MA alloy used is known to be susceptible to corrosion. Fourthly, the trapping of chemical species on the secondary circuit side due to the presence of interstices on the crosspiece and fifthly, the presence of spots where inter-granular corrosion developed. (A.C.)

  6. Measurement of residual stresses using fracture mechanics weight functions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fan, Y.

    2000-01-01

    A residual stress measurement method has been developed to quantify through-the-thickness residual stresses. Accurate measurement of residual stresses is crucial for many engineering structures. Fabrication processes such as welding and machining generate residual stresses that are difficult to predict. Residual stresses affect the integrity of structures through promoting failures due to brittle fracture, fatigue, stress corrosion cracking, and wear. In this work, the weight function theory of fracture mechanics is used to measure residual stresses. The weight function theory is an important development in computational fracture mechanics. Stress intensity factors for arbitrary stress distribution on the crack faces can be accurately and efficiently computed for predicting crack growth. This paper demonstrates that the weight functions are equally useful in measuring residual stresses. In this method, an artificial crack is created by a thin cut in a structure containing residual stresses. The cut relieves the residual stresses normal to the crack-face and allows the relieved residual stresses to deform the structure. Strain gages placed adjacent to the cut measure the relieved strains corresponding to incrementally increasing depths of the cut. The weight functions of the cracked body relate the measured strains to the residual stresses normal to the cut within the structure. The procedure details, such as numerical integration of the singular functions in applying the weight function method, will be discussed

  7. Measurement of residual stresses using fracture mechanics weight functions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fan, Y.

    2001-01-01

    A residual stress measurement method has been developed to quantify through-the-thickness residual stresses. Accurate measurement of residual stresses is crucial for many engineering structures. Fabrication processes such as welding and machining generate residual stresses that are difficult to predict. Residual stresses affect the integrity of structures through promoting failures due to brittle fracture, fatigue, stress corrosion cracking, and wear. In this work, the weight function theory of fracture mechanics is used to measure residual stresses. The weight function theory is an important development in computational fracture mechanics. Stress intensity factors for arbitrary stress distribution on the crack faces can be accurately and efficiently computed for predicting crack growth. This paper demonstrates that the weight functions are equally useful in measuring residual stresses. In this method, an artificial crack is created by a thin cut in a structure containing residual stresses. The cut relieves the residual stresses normal to the crack-face and allows the relieved residual stresses to deform the structure. Strain gages placed adjacent to the cut measure the relieved strains corresponding to incrementally increasing depths of the cut. The weight functions of the cracked body relate the measured strains to the residual stresses normal to the cut within the structure. The procedure details, such as numerical integration of the singular functions in applying the weight function method, will be discussed. (author)

  8. Initiation of stress corrosion cracking in pre-stained austenitic stainless steels exposed to primary water

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huguenin, P.

    2012-01-01

    Austenitic stainless steels are widely used in primary circuits of Pressurized Water Reactors (PWR) plants. However, a limited number of cases of Intergranular Stress Corrosion Cracking (IGSCC) has been detected in cold-worked (CW) areas of non-sensitized austenitic stainless steel components in French PWRs. A previous program launched in the early 2000's identified the required conditions for SCC of cold-worked stainless steels. It was found that a high strain hardening coupled with a cyclic loading favoured SCC. The present study aims at better understanding the role of pre-straining on crack initiation and at developing an engineering model for IGSCC initiation of 304L and 316L stainless steels in primary water. Such model will be based on SCC initiation tests on notched (not pre-cracked) specimens under 'trapezoidal' cyclic loading. The effects of pre-straining (tensile versus cold rolling), cold-work level and strain path on the SCC mechanisms are investigated. Experimental results demonstrate the dominating effect of strain path on SCC susceptibility for all pre-straining levels. Initiation can be understood as crack density and crack depth. A global criterion has been proposed to integrate both aspects of initiation. Maps of SCC initiation susceptibility have been proposed. A critical crack depth between 10 and 20 μm has been demonstrated to define transition between slow propagation and fast propagation for rolled materials. For tensile pre-straining, the critical crack depth is in the range 20 - 50 μm. Experimental evidences support the notion of a KISCC threshold, whose value depends on materials, pre-straining ant load applied. The initiation time has been found to depend on the applied loading as a function of (σ max max/YV) 11,5 . The effect of both strain path and surface hardening is indirectly taken into account via the yield stress. In this study, material differences rely on strain path effect on mechanical properties. As a result, a stress

  9. Ductile crack initiation in the Charpy V-notch test

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Server, W.L.; Norris, D.M. Jr.; Prado, M.E.

    1978-01-01

    Initiation and growth of a crack in the Charpy V-notch test was investigated by performing both static and impact controlled deflection tests. Test specimens were deformed to various deflections, heat-tinted to mark crack extension and broken apart at low temperature to allow extension measurements. Measurement of the crack extension provided an estimate of crack initiation as defined by different criteria. Crack initiation starts well before maximum load, and is dependent on the definition of ''initiation''. Using a definition of first micro-initiation away from the ductile blunting, computer model predictions agreed favorably with the experimental results

  10. Critical experiments, measurements and analyses to establish a crack arrest methodology for nuclear pressure vessel steels. Task 62. Second annual progress report, 1 July 1975 to 30 June 1976

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hahn, G.T.; Gehlen, P.C.; Hoagland, R.G.; Marschall, C.W.; Kanninen, M.F.; Popelar, C.; Rosenfield, A.R.

    1976-10-01

    Developments of the theory, the analyses and the materials characterization for assessments of crack arrest in heavy walled nuclear pressure vessels are described. A two-dimensional, dynamic, finite difference analysis of crack propagation and arrest, including inertia forces and thermal stresses is derived. The analysis is used to treat run-arrest events in DCB- and SEN-specimens. Calculations based on the one-dimensional analysis are compared with detailed measurements of run-arrest in two polymeric materials. The agreements between calculations and experiments support the dynamic, energy conservation theory of crack arrest. Implications of a K/sub ID/-crack velocity curve with a negative slope are examined. The quantity K/sub Im/, the minimum propagating crack toughness, is identified as the crack arrest material property for engineering applications. Considerations entering the design of a crack arrest property measuring procedure, including specimen shape, size, thickness and the crack jump are discussed. The influence of side grooves on the propensity for crack branching is examined. Compliance measurements for rectangular DCB-specimens are presented and analyzed. Energy losses arising from damping remote from the crack tip in an A533B steel DCB specimen are described, and classed as negligible. Interactions between test pieces and the loading system are examined. A simplified procedure for measuring K/sub D/-, K/sub m/-, and K/sub a/-values, based on the dynamic analysis of the crack length at arrest is demonstrated. Measurements of K/sub D/ at temperatures in the range (NDT-66)C to (NDT +34)C and for crack velocities in the range 200 ms -1 to 1000 ms -1 are presented. The connection between propagating crack toughness values and the rapidly loaded stationary crack toughness K/sub Id/ is examined

  11. Comparing the floquet stability of open and breathing fatigue cracks in an overhung rotordynamic system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Varney, Philip; Green, Itzhak

    2017-11-01

    Rotor cracks represent an uncommon but serious threat to rotating machines and must be detected early to avoid catastrophic machine failure. An important aspect of analyzing rotor cracks is understanding their influence on the rotor stability. It is well-known that the extent of rotor instability versus shaft speed is exacerbated by deeper cracks. Consequently, crack propagation can eventually result in an unstable response even if the shaft speed remains constant. Most previous investigations of crack-induced rotor instability concern simple Jeffcott rotors. This work advances the state-of-the-art by (a) providing a novel inertial-frame model of an overhung rotor, and (b) assessing the stability of the cracked overhung rotor using Floquet stability analysis. The rotor Floquet stability analysis is performed for both an open crack and a breathing crack, and conclusions are drawn regarding the importance of appropriately selecting the crack model. The rotor stability is analyzed versus crack depth, external viscous damping ratio, and rotor inertia. In general, this work concludes that the onset of instability occurs at lower shaft speeds for thick rotors, lower viscous damping ratios, and deeper cracks. In addition, when comparing commensurate cracks, the breathing crack is shown to induce more regions of instability than the open crack, though the open crack generally predicts an unstable response for shallower cracks than the breathing crack. Keywords: rotordynamics, stability, rotor cracks.

  12. Effects of laser peening treatment on high cycle fatigue and crack propagation behaviors in austenitic stainless steel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Masaki, Kiyotaka; Ochi, Yasuo; Matsumura, Takashi; Ikarashi, Takaaki; Sano, Yuji

    2010-01-01

    Laser peening without protective coating (LPwC) treatment is one of surface enhancement techniques using an impact wave of high pressure plasma induced by laser pulse irradiation. High compressive residual stress was induced by the LPwC treatment on the surface of low-carbon type austenitic stainless steel SUS316L. The affected depth reached about 1mm from the surface. High cycle fatigue tests with four-points rotating bending loading were carried out to confirm the effects of the LPwC treatment on fatigue strength and surface fatigue crack propagation behaviors. The fatigue strength was remarkably improved by the LPwC treatment over the whole regime of fatigue life up to 10 8 cycles. Specimens with a pre-crack from a small artificial hole due to fatigue loading were used for the quantitative study on the effect of the LPwC treatment. The fracture mechanics investigation on the pre-cracked specimens showed that the LPwC treatment restrained the further propagation of the pre-crack if the stress intensity factor range ΔK on the crack tip was less than 7.6 MPa√m. Surface cracks preferentially propagated into the depth direction as predicted through ΔK analysis on the crack by taking account of the compressive residual stresses due to the LPwC treatment. (author)

  13. K{sub I}-T estimation for embedded flaws in pipes - Part II: Circumferentially oriented cracks

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Qian Xudong, E-mail: cveqx@nus.edu.s [Department of Civil Engineering, National University of Singapore, 1 Engineering Drive 2, Singapore 117576 (Singapore)

    2010-04-15

    This paper, in parallel to the investigation on axially embedded cracks reported in the companion paper, presents a numerical study on the linear-elastic K{sub I} and T-stress values over the front of elliptical cracks circumferentially embedded in the wall of a pipe/cylindrical structure, under a uniform pressure applied on the inner surface of the pipe. The numerical procedure employs the interaction-integral approach to compute the linear-elastic stress-intensity factor (SIF) K{sub I} and T-stress values for embedded cracks with practical sizes at different locations in the wall of the pipe. The parametric study covers a wide range of geometric parameters for embedded cracks in the pipe, including: the wall thickness to the inner radius ratio (t/R{sub i}), the crack depth over the wall thickness ratio (a/t), the crack aspect ratio (a/c) and the ratio of the distance from the centerline of the crack to the outer surface of the pipe over the pipe wall thickness (e{sub M}/t). The parametric investigation identifies a significant effect of the remaining ligament length on both the T-stress and K{sub I} values at the crack-front location (denoted by point O) nearest to the outer surface of the pipe and at the crack-front location (denoted by point I) nearest to the inner surface of the pipe. The numerical investigation establishes the database to derive approximate functions from a nonlinear curve-fitting procedure to predict the T-stress and K{sub I} values at three critical front locations of the circumferentially embedded crack in a pipe: points O, I and M. The proposed T-stress and K{sub I} functions utilize a combined second-order polynomial and a power-law expression, which presents a close agreement with the T-stress and K{sub I} values computed from the very detailed finite element models. The comparison between the circumferentially embedded crack and the axially embedded crack indicates that both the T-stress and K{sub I} values at crack-front points O and

  14. BWR pipe crack remedies evaluation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shack, W.J.; Kassner, T.F.; Maiya, P.S.; Park, J.Y.; Ruther, W.; Kuzay, T.; Rybicki, E.F.; Stonesifer, R.B.

    1988-01-01

    Piping in light-water-reactor power systems has been affected by several types of environmental degradation. This paper presents results from studies of (1) stress corrosion crack growth in fracture mechanics specimens of modified Type 347 SS and Type 304/308L SS weld overlay material, (2) heat-to-heat variations in stress corrosion cracking (SCC) of Types 316NG and 347 SS, (3) SCC of sensitized Type 304 SS in water with cupric ion or organic acid impurities, (4) electrochemical potential (ECP) measurements under gamma irradiation, (5) SCC of ferritic steels, (6) strain-controlled fatigue of Type 316NG SS in air at ambient temperature, and (7) through-wall residual stress measurements and finite-element calculation of residual stresses in weldments treated by a mechanical stress improvement process (MSIP). Fracture-mechanics crack-growth-rate tests on Type 316NG SS have shown that transgranular cracking can occur even in high purity environments, whereas no crack growth was observed in Type 347 SS even in impurity environments. In tests on weld overlay specimens, no cracks penetrated into the overlay even in impurity environments. Instead, the cracks branched when they approached the overlay, and then grew parallel to interface. In SCC tests on sensitized Type 304 SS, cupric ions at concentrations greater than ∼1 ppm were found to be deleterious, whereas organic acids at this concentration were not detrimental. Tests on several ferritic steels indicate a strong correlation between the sulfur content of the steels and susceptibility to SCC. External gamma radiation fields produced a large positive shift in the ECP of Type 304 SS at low dissolved-oxygen concentrations (<5 ppb), whereas in the absence of an external gamma field there was no difference in the ECP values of irradiated and nonirradiated material. Fatigue data for Type 316NG SS are consistent with the ASME code mean curve at high strains, but fall below the curve at low strains. Calculations of the

  15. Vibration analysis of partially cracked plate submerged in fluid

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soni, Shashank; Jain, N. K.; Joshi, P. V.

    2018-01-01

    The present work proposes an analytical model for vibration analysis of partially cracked rectangular plates coupled with fluid medium. The governing equation of motion for the isotropic plate based on the classical plate theory is modified to accommodate a part through continuous line crack according to simplified line spring model. The influence of surrounding fluid medium is incorporated in the governing equation in the form of inertia effects based on velocity potential function and Bernoulli's equations. Both partially and totally submerged plate configurations are considered. The governing equation also considers the in-plane stretching due to lateral deflection in the form of in-plane forces which introduces geometric non-linearity into the system. The fundamental frequencies are evaluated by expressing the lateral deflection in terms of modal functions. The assessment of the present results is carried out for intact submerged plate as to the best of the author's knowledge the literature lacks in analytical results for submerged cracked plates. New results for fundamental frequencies are presented as affected by crack length, fluid level, fluid density and immersed depth of plate. By employing the method of multiple scales, the frequency response and peak amplitude of the cracked structure is analyzed. The non-linear frequency response curves show the phenomenon of bending hardening or softening and the effect of fluid dynamic pressure on the response of the cracked plate.

  16. Genetic Algorithm for Opto-thermal Skin Hydration Depth Profiling Measurements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cui, Y.; Xiao, Perry; Imhof, R. E.

    2013-09-01

    Stratum corneum is the outermost skin layer, and the water content in stratum corneum plays a key role in skin cosmetic properties as well as skin barrier functions. However, to measure the water content, especially the water concentration depth profile, within stratum corneum is very difficult. Opto-thermal emission radiometry, or OTTER, is a promising technique that can be used for such measurements. In this paper, a study on stratum corneum hydration depth profiling by using a genetic algorithm (GA) is presented. The pros and cons of a GA compared against other inverse algorithms such as neural networks, maximum entropy, conjugate gradient, and singular value decomposition will be discussed first. Then, it will be shown how to use existing knowledge to optimize a GA for analyzing the opto-thermal signals. Finally, these latest GA results on hydration depth profiling of stratum corneum under different conditions, as well as on the penetration profiles of externally applied solvents, will be shown.

  17. Development of nondestructive method for prediction of crack instability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schroeder, J.L.; Eylon, D.; Shell, E.B.; Matikas, T.E.

    2000-01-01

    A method to characterize the deformation zone at a crack tip and predict upcoming fracture under load using white light interference microscopy was developed and studied. Cracks were initiated in notched Ti-6Al-4V specimens through fatigue loading. Following crack initiation, specimens were subjected to static loading during in-situ observation of the deformation area ahead of the crack. Nondestructive in-situ observations were performed using white light interference microscopy. Profilometer measurements quantified the area, volume, and shape of the deformation ahead of the crack front. Results showed an exponential relationship between the area and volume of deformation and the stress intensity factor of the cracked alloy. These findings also indicate that it is possible to determine a critical rate of change in deformation versus the stress intensity factor that can predict oncoming catastrophic failure. In addition, crack front deformation zones were measured as a function of time under sustained load, and crack tip deformation zone enlargement over time was observed

  18. A seismic study on cracks in crystalline rock

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Israelsson, H.

    1981-07-01

    This report summarizes results from a field study with in-situ seismic measurements in crystalline rock. It was found that among a few potential seismic techniques the so called cross hole method would probably provide the most powerful capability for detecting cracks and fracture zones. By this method the area between two holes are systematically scanned by seismic raypaths. Seismic signals are generated in one hole by micro explosions and recorded in the other at various combinations of depths. A test sample of scanning data showed a rather dramatic variation of the seismic P-wave velocity (5-6 km/s). Analysis procedures like tomographic imaging was applied to this data set primarily to illustrate the kind of structural mapping such procedures can provide. (Author)

  19. Subcritical crack growth in a phosphate laser glass

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Crichton, S.N.; Tomozawa, M.; Hayden, J.S.; Suratwala, T.I.; Campbell, J.H.

    1999-11-01

    The rate of subcritical crack growth in a metaphosphate Nd-doped laser glass was measured using the double-cleavage-drilled compression (DCDC) method. The crack velocity is reported as a function of stress intensity at temperatures ranging from 296 to 573 K and in nitrogen with water vapor pressures ranging from 40 Pa (0.3 mmHg) to 4.7 x 10{sup 4} Pa (355 mmHg). The measured crack velocities follow region I, II, and III behavior similar to that reported for silicate glasses. A chemical and mass-transport-limited reaction rate model explains the behavior of the data except at high temperatures and high water vapor pressures where crack tip blunting is observed. Blunting is characterized to reinitiate slow crack growth at higher stresses. A dynamic crack tip blunting mechanism is proposed to explain the deviation from the reaction rate model.

  20. Elastic-Plastic J-Integral Solutions or Surface Cracks in Tension Using an Interpolation Methodology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allen, P. A.; Wells, D. N.

    2013-01-01

    No closed form solutions exist for the elastic-plastic J-integral for surface cracks due to the nonlinear, three-dimensional nature of the problem. Traditionally, each surface crack must be analyzed with a unique and time-consuming nonlinear finite element analysis. To overcome this shortcoming, the authors have developed and analyzed an array of 600 3D nonlinear finite element models for surface cracks in flat plates under tension loading. The solution space covers a wide range of crack shapes and depths (shape: 0.2 less than or equal to a/c less than or equal to 1, depth: 0.2 less than or equal to a/B less than or equal to 0.8) and material flow properties (elastic modulus-to-yield ratio: 100 less than or equal to E/ys less than or equal to 1,000, and hardening: 3 less than or equal to n less than or equal to 20). The authors have developed a methodology for interpolating between the goemetric and material property variables that allows the user to reliably evaluate the full elastic-plastic J-integral and force versus crack mouth opening displacement solution; thus, a solution can be obtained very rapidly by users without elastic-plastic fracture mechanics modeling experience. Complete solutions for the 600 models and 25 additional benchmark models are provided in tabular format.

  1. Metallurgical investigation of disc cracking in the LP-2 turbine at a nuclear power station. Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Burghard, H.C.

    1982-07-01

    An investigation of combined face cracking and rim cracking in discs of an LP steam turbine rotor was performed. The incident in question involved the development of major cracks in the hub/web transition on the outlet face of the disc as well as major cracking of the blade attachment steeples. Both types of cracking occurred in the No. 1 discs at both ends of a particular rotor. The program was based on a metallurgical evaluation of hub and rim samples of discs removed from the turbine rotor after approximately 31,000 hours of operation. In-depth metallographic and fractographic examinations of representative face cracks and rim cracks were conducted. In addition, the mechanical properties and chemical composition of each of the disc samples were determined. Analyses of crack surface deposits and bulk turbine deposits were also performed

  2. Crack identification for rotating machines based on a nonlinear approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cavalini, A. A., Jr.; Sanches, L.; Bachschmid, N.; Steffen, V., Jr.

    2016-10-01

    In a previous contribution, a crack identification methodology based on a nonlinear approach was proposed. The technique uses external applied diagnostic forces at certain frequencies attaining combinational resonances, together with a pseudo-random optimization code, known as Differential Evolution, in order to characterize the signatures of the crack in the spectral responses of the flexible rotor. The conditions under which combinational resonances appear were determined by using the method of multiple scales. In real conditions, the breathing phenomenon arises from the stress and strain distribution on the cross-sectional area of the crack. This mechanism behavior follows the static and dynamic loads acting on the rotor. Therefore, the breathing crack can be simulated according to the Mayes' model, in which the crack transition from fully opened to fully closed is described by a cosine function. However, many contributions try to represent the crack behavior by machining a small notch on the shaft instead of the fatigue process. In this paper, the open and breathing crack models are compared regarding their dynamic behavior and the efficiency of the proposed identification technique. The additional flexibility introduced by the crack is calculated by using the linear fracture mechanics theory (LFM). The open crack model is based on LFM and the breathing crack model corresponds to the Mayes' model, which combines LFM with a given breathing mechanism. For illustration purposes, a rotor composed by a horizontal flexible shaft, two rigid discs, and two self-aligning ball bearings is used to compose a finite element model of the system. Then, numerical simulation is performed to determine the dynamic behavior of the rotor. Finally, the results of the inverse problem conveyed show that the methodology is a reliable tool that is able to estimate satisfactorily the location and depth of the crack.

  3. Stress Corrosion Cracking of Ni-Fe-Cr Alloys Relevant to Nuclear Power Plants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Persaud, Suraj

    Stress corrosion cracking (SCC) of Ni-Fe-Cr alloys and weld metals was investigated in simulated environments representative of high temperature water used in the primary and secondary circuits of nuclear power plants. The mechanism of primary water SCC (PWSCC) was studied in Alloys 600, 690, 800 and Alloy 82 dissimilar metal welds using the internal oxidation model as a guide. Initial experiments were carried out in a 480°C hydrogenated steam environment considered to simulate high temperature reducing primary water. Ni alloys underwent classical internal oxidation intragranularly resulting in the expulsion of the solvent metal, Ni, to the surface. Selective intergranular oxidation of Cr in Alloy 600 resulted in embrittlement, while other alloys were resistant owing to their increased Cr contents. Atom probe tomography was used to determine the short-circuit diffusion path used for Ni expulsion at a sub-nanometer scale, which was concluded to be oxide-metal interfaces. Further exposures of Alloys 600 and 800 were done in 315°C simulated primary water and intergranular oxidation tendency was comparable to 480°C hydrogenated steam. Secondary side work involved SCC experiments and electrochemical measurements, which were done at 315°C in acid sulfate solutions. Alloy 800 C-rings were found to undergo acid sulfate SCC (AcSCC) to a depth of up to 300 microm in 0.55 M sulfate solution at pH 4.3. A focused-ion beam was used to extract a crack tip from a C-ring and high resolution analytical electron microscopy revealed a duplex oxide structure and the presence of sulfur. Electrochemical measurements were taken on Ni alloys to complement crack tip analysis; sulfate was concluded to be the aggressive anion in mixed sulfate and chloride systems. Results from electrochemical measurements and crack tip analysis suggested a slip dissolution-type mechanism to explain AcSCC in Ni alloys.

  4. Cracking and delamination of vapor-deposited tantalum films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fisher, R.M.; Duan, J.Z.; Liu, J.B.

    1990-01-01

    This paper reports on tantalum films which begin to crack and spall during vapor deposition on glass at a thickness of 180 nm. Islands and ribbons, 10 - 30 μm in size, delaminate by crack growth along the Ta/glass interface for several μm after which the crack penetrates into the glass to a depth of 0.5 - 1 μm and complete spalling occurs. X-ray diffraction showed that about 50% of the original bct, β-tantalum, phase had transformed to the bcc α-Ta phase. When Ta was deposited on glass that was first covered with 52 nm of copper, spalling was observed to begin at a thickness of 105 nm. In this case, the film first cracks and then peels along the Cu/glass interface and curls into scrolls indicating the presence of a small stress gradient. X-ray diffraction of the as-deposited film, and electron diffraction of ion-milled flakes, showed that the Ta films deposited on Cu-coated glass almost completely transform to bcc α-Ta. The critical thickness for delamination along the Cu/glass interface is about 1/2 that for cracking in the glass substrate when an intermediate layer of Cu is not present. All of the above findings are in good agreement with previous observations on Cr films

  5. Is Ayahuasca an Option for the Treatment of Crack Cocaine Dependence?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cruz, Joselaine Ida; Nappo, Solange Aparecida

    2018-04-02

    The low efficacy of crack cocaine addiction treatment available in Brazil has led Brazilian users to find alternatives to reduce drug consumption or even to reach abstinence. One of them is the use of entheogenic substances, like ayahuasca, an infusion obtained from two native plant species from the Amazon. The present report aimed to understand how crack cocaine users recover from drug addiction by consuming ayahuasca tea in a religious context. This is a qualitative study with a purposeful sample of 40 crack cocaine users, based on in-depth, semi-structured interviews. Participants reported that ayahuasca allowed them to access a consciousness dimension which enabled them to solve problems and traumas and reduce crack cocaine consumption. The religious ceremony increased the user's spirituality and the reception from the community gave them a sense of self-esteem, strengthening them in an emotional and social way. That positive experience has been incorporated into the daily routine of most participants. Findings indicate that ayahuasca, in a religious context, may have therapeutic value for crack cocaine dependence treatment.

  6. Study on dinamic behavior and least burying depth of underground protective pipe

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kataoka, Tetsuyuki; Kokusyo, Goji; Tanaka, Yukihisa; Kobayashi, Seiichi

    1988-03-30

    Effect of unit load per travel wheel on the protective pipe was studied when electricity cable distribution lines were buried in the depth less than the present standard for electric equipment, and logical burying depth was investigated. Test items were material test of the protective pipe, indoor load test, and field test at loamy ground. Impact resistance hard PVC pipe was used as the protective pipe, and its strength and elastic modulus were measured. Along with these tests, it was confirmed that there was no problem of cracking by repeated flattening or breakage by fatigue. By indoor test, it was observed that, in case of shallow burying, creap deformation was small, stress concentrate occured at the middle of axial direction, and that flattening ratio was seriously affected by the method of backfilling. Field test was conducted by applying the static load of a 20 ton dump truck, and the deformation, stress, and subsidence of the protective pipe, were measured. As the conclusion of those experiments, it was found that burying of protective pipe in the depth of not less than 30 cm is allowable, as long as sufficient bakfilling is made. (14 figs, 3 tabs, 3 refs)

  7. Initiation and growth of thermal fatigue crack networks in an AISI 304 L type austenitic stainless steel (X2 CrNi18-09)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maillot, V.

    2004-01-01

    We studied the behaviour of a 304 L type austenitic stainless steel submitted to thermal fatigue. Using the SPLASH equipment of CEA/SRMA we tested parallelepipedal specimens on two sides: the specimens are continuously heated by Joule effect, while two opposites faces are cyclically. cooled by a mixed spray of distilled water and compressed air. This device allows the reproduction and the study of crack networks similar to those observed in nuclear power plants, on the inner side of circuits fatigued by mixed pressurized water flows at different temperatures. The crack initiation and the network constitution at the surface were observed under different thermal conditions (Tmax = 320 deg C, ΔT between 125 and 200 deg C). The experiment produced a stress gradient in the specimen, and due to this gradient, the in-depth growth of the cracks finally stopped. The obtained crack networks were studied quantitatively by image analysis, and different parameters were studied: at the surface during the cycling, and post mortem by step-by-step layer removal by grinding. The maximal depth obtained experimentally, 2.5 mm, is relatively coherent with the finite element modelling of the SPLASH test, in which compressive stresses appear at a depth of 2 mm. Some of the crack networks obtained by thermal fatigue were also tested in isothermal fatigue crack growth under 4-point bending, at imposed load. The mechanisms of the crack selection, and the appearance of the dominating crack are described. Compared to the propagation of a single crack, the crack networks delay the propagation, depending on the severity of the crack competition for domination. The dominating crack can be at the network periphery, in that case it is not as shielded by its neighbours as a crack located in the center of the network. It can also be a straight crack surrounded by more sinuous neighbours. Indeed, on sinuous cracks, the loading is not the same all along the crack path, leading to some morphological

  8. Test Method Variability in Slow Crack Growth Properties of Sealing Glasses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salem, J. A.; Tandon, R.

    2010-01-01

    The crack growth properties of several sealing glasses were measured by using constant stress rate testing in 2 and 95 percent RH (relative humidity). Crack growth parameters measured in high humidity are systematically smaller (n and B) than those measured in low humidity, and crack velocities for dry environments are 100x lower than for wet environments. The crack velocity is very sensitive to small changes in RH at low RH. Biaxial and uniaxial stress states produced similar parameters. Confidence intervals on crack growth parameters that were estimated from propagation of errors solutions were comparable to those from Monte Carlo simulation. Use of scratch-like and indentation flaws produced similar crack growth parameters when residual stresses were considered.

  9. J-integral and limit load analysis of semi-elliptical surface cracks in plates under bending

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lei, Y.

    2004-01-01

    Systematic detailed linear and non-linear finite element (FE) analyses are performed for semi-elliptical surface cracks in plates under bending. Limit load (moment) solutions are obtained from the FE J results via the reference stress method. The FE results show that the Newman and Raju stress intensity factor equation is reasonably accurate and the Yagawa et al. J solution may significantly under estimate J for bending load. The relationship between J and the limit load is found to be dependent on the ratio a/t and a/c, where a and c are the depth and the half-length of the crack and t is the plate thickness. For a/t≤0.5 with a/c=0.2, J for any position along a crack front can be predicted by the reference stress method using a single limit load value except for the points very close to the plate surface. For all other cases, it can only be approximately estimated by the reference stress method because a limit load value that can satisfy all the FE J solutions along the crack front cannot be found. However, for all the cases examined, the maximum J along the crack front can be well predicted by the reference stress method when a proper global limit load is used. The Goodall and Webster global limit load equation is extended to any crack depth. The limit load data obtained in this paper can be well reproduced by the extended equation

  10. Measurement of the depth of narrow slotted sections in eddy current reference standards

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Young-Joo; Kim, Young-gil; Ahn, Bongyoung; Yoon, Dong-Jin

    2007-02-01

    The dimensions of the slots in eddy current (EC) reference standards are too narrow to be measured by general depth measurement methods such as the optical (laser) or stylus methods. However, measurement of the dimensions of the machined slots is a prerequisite to using the blocks as references. The present paper suggests a measurement method for the slotted section using an ultrasonic test. The width and depth of the slots measured in our study are roughly 0.1 mm and 0.5 mm, respectively. The time of flight (TOF) of the ultrasonic wave was measured precisely. The ultrasonic velocity in the material of the EC reference standard was calculated with the measured values of the TOF and its thickness. Reflected waves from the tip of the slot and the bottom surface of the EC standard were successfully classified. Using this method we have successfully determined the depth of the slotted section.

  11. Study on the change of aspect ratios of small surface cracks emanated from a toe of corner boxing; Mawashi yosetsudome tanbu kara hassei denpasuru bishi bisho hyomen kiretsu no aspect hi henka ni kansuru kenkyu

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Toyosada, M; Yamaguchi, K; Takeda, K; Watanabe, Y [Kyushu University, Fukuoka (Japan). Faculty of Engineering

    1997-10-01

    The fatigue test of specimens with a stiffener was carried out to examine the change in aspect ratio (crack depth/length) of fatigue cracks in a stress concentration field and residual stress field. The aspect ratio of surface cracks just after generation can be represented with the single virtual surface crack with the same value as K value at the deepest point considering an interference effect from near cracks. No discontinuous change in K value is found at the deepest point even during growth and combination of cracks on a surface. The change in K value at the deepest point is thus the criterion to represent growth and combination of surface cracks considering the interference effect. The change in aspect ratio of the typical single virtual surface crack linearly decreases with an increase in crack depth. The shape of surface cracks generating and growing in a residual stress field is more flat than that in no residual stress field. In addition, in a residual stress field, surface cracks are longer at the same crack depth, and fatigue lives are shorter. 7 refs., 12 figs.

  12. Environmentally assisted cracking of LWR materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chopra, O.K.; Chung, H.M.; Kassner, T.F.; Shack, W.J.

    1995-12-01

    Research on environmentally assisted cracking (EAC) of light water reactor materials has focused on (a) fatigue initiation in pressure vessel and piping steels, (b) crack growth in cast duplex and austenitic stainless steels (SSs), (c) irradiation-assisted stress corrosion cracking (IASCC) of austenitic SSs, and (d) EAC in high- nickel alloys. The effect of strain rate during different portions of the loading cycle on fatigue life of carbon and low-alloy steels in 289 degree C water was determined. Crack growth studies on wrought and cast SSs have been completed. The effect of dissolved-oxygen concentration in high-purity water on IASCC of irradiated Type 304 SS was investigated and trace elements in the steel that increase susceptibility to intergranular cracking were identified. Preliminary results were obtained on crack growth rates of high-nickel alloys in water that contains a wide range of dissolved oxygen and hydrogen concentrations at 289 and 320 degree C. The program on Environmentally Assisted Cracking of Light Water Reactor Materials is currently focused on four tasks: fatigue initiation in pressure vessel and piping steels, fatigue and environmentally assisted crack growth in cast duplex and austenitic SS, irradiation-assisted stress corrosion cracking of austenitic SSs, and environmentally assisted crack growth in high-nickel alloys. Measurements of corrosion-fatigue crack growth rates (CGRs) of wrought and cast stainless steels has been essentially completed. Recent progress in these areas is outlined in the following sections

  13. In-Plane Vibrations of Circular Curved Beams with a Transverse Open Crack

    OpenAIRE

    Öz, H. R.; Daş, M. T.

    2006-01-01

    In this study, the in plane vibrations of cracked circular curved beams is investigated. The beam is an Euler-Bernoulli beam. Only bending and extension effects are included. The curvature is in a single plane. In plane vibrations is analyzed using FEM. In the analysis, elongation, bending and rotary inertia effects are included. Four degrees of freedom for in-plane vibrations is assumed. Natural frequencies of the beam with a crack in different locations and depths are calculated using FEM. ...

  14. Agreement between anatomic and ultrasound measurements of femoral trochlear depth

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Miles, James Edward; Westrup, Ulrik; Eriksen, Thomas

    and ultrasonographic measurements of trochlear depth using the red fox hind limb as a canine surrogate, dividing the trochlea into five regions from the origin of the caudal cruciate ligament to the proximal aspect of the trochlea. We found reasonable agreement between anatomic and ultrasonographic measurements...

  15. On 'lower bound crack resistance curves' as material law for the safety assessment of components

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roos, E.; Silcher, H.; Eisele, U.

    1991-01-01

    Experimental fracture-mechanics investigations were carried out on large scale specimens. The specimen geometries and the crack depth ratio, a/W, in a parameter field were varied. Three materials of different toughness were chosen for the specimens. Their load-deformation behaviour, crack resistance curves, stretched zones Δa i and crack initiation values J i were determined and compared with the results from CT25 specimens. Numerical finite-element calculations were made to determine the state of stres in the specimens and the size of the plastic zones. (orig.)

  16. The influence of loading on the corrosion of steel in cracked ordinary Portland cement and high performance concretes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jaffer, Shahzma Jafferali

    Most studies that have examined chloride-induced corrosion of steel in concrete have focused on sound concrete. However, reinforced concrete is seldom uncracked and very few studies have investigated the influence of cracked concrete on rebar corrosion. Furthermore, the studies that have examined the relationship between cracks and corrosion have focused on unloaded or statically loaded cracks. However, in practice, reinforced concrete structures (e.g. bridges) are often dynamically loaded. Hence, the cracks in such structures open and close which could influence the corrosion of the reinforcing steel. Consequently, the objectives of this project were (i) to examine the effect of different types of loading on the corrosion of reinforcing steel, (ii) the influence of concrete mixture design on the corrosion behaviour and (iii) to provide data that can be used in service-life modelling of cracked reinforced concretes. In this project, cracked reinforced concrete beams made with ordinary Portland cement concrete (OPCC) and high performance concrete (HPC) were subjected to no load, static loading and dynamic loading. They were immersed in salt solution to just above the crack level at their mid-point for two weeks out of every four (wet cycle) and, for the remaining two weeks, were left in ambient laboratory conditions to dry (dry cycle). The wet cycle led to three conditions of exposure for each beam: (i) the non-submerged region, (ii) the sound, submerged region and (iii) the cracked mid-section, which was also immersed in the solution. Linear polarization resistance and galvanostatic pulse techniques were used to monitor the corrosion in the three regions. Potentiodynamic polarization, electrochemical current noise and concrete electrical resistance measurements were also performed. These measurements illustrated that (i) rebar corroded faster at cracks than in sound concrete, (ii) HPC was more protective towards the rebar than OPCC even at cracks and (iii) there

  17. Recent advances in modelling creep crack growth

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Riedel, H.

    1988-08-01

    At the time of the previous International Conference on Fracture, the C* integral had long been recognized as a promising load parameter for correlating crack growth rates in creep-ductile materials. The measured crack growth rates as a function of C* and of the temperature could be understood on the basis of micromechanical models. The distinction between C*-controlled and K I -controlled creep crack growth had been clarified and first attempts had been made to describe creep crack growth in the transient regime between elastic behavior and steady-state creep. This paper describes the progress in describing transient crack growth including the effect of primary creep. The effect of crack-tip geometry changes by blunting and by crack growth on the crack-tip fields and on the validity of C* is analyzed by idealizing the growing-crack geometry by a sharp notch and using recent solutions for the notch-tip fields. A few new three-dimensional calculations of C* are cited and important theoretical points are emphasized regarding the three-dimensional fields at crack tips. Finally, creep crack growth is described by continuum-damage models for which similarity solutions can be obtained. Crack growth under small-scale creep conditions turns out to be difficult to understand. Slightly different models yield very different crack growth rates. (orig.) With 4 figs

  18. Modified Dugdale crack models - some easy crack relations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Lauge Fuglsang

    1997-01-01

    the same strength as a plain Dugdale model. The critical energy release rates Gamma_CR, however, become different. Expressions (with easy computer algorithms) are presented in the paper which relate critical energy release rates and crack geometry to arbitrary cohesive stress distributions.For future...... lifetime analysis of viscoelastic materials strain energy release rates, crack geometries, and cohesive stress distributions are considered as related to sub-critical loads sigma stress-deformation tests......The Dugdale crack model is widely used in materials science to predict strength of defective (cracked) materials. A stable Dugdale crack in an elasto-plastic material is prevented from spreading by uniformly distributed cohesive stresses acting in narrow areas at the crack tips. These stresses...

  19. Mechanism of crack initiation and crack growth under thermal and mechanical fatigue loading

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Utz, S.; Soppa, E.; Silcher, H.; Kohler, C. [Stuttgart Univ. (Germany). Materials Testing Inst.

    2013-07-01

    The present contribution is focused on the experimental investigations and numerical simulations of the deformation behaviour and crack development in the austenitic stainless steel X6CrNiNb18-10 under thermal and mechanical cyclic loading in HCF and LCF regimes. The main objective of this research is the understanding of the basic mechanisms of fatigue damage and the development of simulation methods, which can be applied further in safety evaluations of nuclear power plant components. In this context the modelling of crack initiation and crack growth inside the material structure induced by varying thermal or mechanical loads are of particular interest. The mechanisms of crack initiation depend among other things on the type of loading, microstructure, material properties and temperature. The Nb-stabilized austenitic stainless steel in the solution-annealed condition was chosen for the investigations. Experiments with two kinds of cyclic loading - pure thermal and pure mechanical - were carried out and simulated. The fatigue behaviour of the steel X6CrNiNb18-10 under thermal loading was studied within the framework of the joint research project [4]. Interrupted thermal cyclic tests in the temperature range of 150 C to 300 C combined with non-destructive residual stress measurements (XRD) and various microscopic investigations, e.g. in SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope), were used to study the effects of thermal cyclic loading on the material. This thermal cyclic loading leads to thermal induced stresses and strains. As a result intrusions and extrusions appear inside the grains (at the surface), at which microcracks arise and evolve to a dominant crack. Finally, these microcracks cause a continuous and significant decrease of residual stresses. The fatigue behaviour of the steel X6CrNiNb18-10 under mechanical loading at room temperature was studied within the framework of the research project [5], [8]. With a combination of interrupted LCF tests and EBSD

  20. Mechanism of crack initiation and crack growth under thermal and mechanical fatigue loading

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Utz, S.; Soppa, E.; Silcher, H.; Kohler, C.

    2013-01-01

    The present contribution is focused on the experimental investigations and numerical simulations of the deformation behaviour and crack development in the austenitic stainless steel X6CrNiNb18-10 under thermal and mechanical cyclic loading in HCF and LCF regimes. The main objective of this research is the understanding of the basic mechanisms of fatigue damage and the development of simulation methods, which can be applied further in safety evaluations of nuclear power plant components. In this context the modelling of crack initiation and crack growth inside the material structure induced by varying thermal or mechanical loads are of particular interest. The mechanisms of crack initiation depend among other things on the type of loading, microstructure, material properties and temperature. The Nb-stabilized austenitic stainless steel in the solution-annealed condition was chosen for the investigations. Experiments with two kinds of cyclic loading - pure thermal and pure mechanical - were carried out and simulated. The fatigue behaviour of the steel X6CrNiNb18-10 under thermal loading was studied within the framework of the joint research project [4]. Interrupted thermal cyclic tests in the temperature range of 150 C to 300 C combined with non-destructive residual stress measurements (XRD) and various microscopic investigations, e.g. in SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope), were used to study the effects of thermal cyclic loading on the material. This thermal cyclic loading leads to thermal induced stresses and strains. As a result intrusions and extrusions appear inside the grains (at the surface), at which microcracks arise and evolve to a dominant crack. Finally, these microcracks cause a continuous and significant decrease of residual stresses. The fatigue behaviour of the steel X6CrNiNb18-10 under mechanical loading at room temperature was studied within the framework of the research project [5], [8]. With a combination of interrupted LCF tests and EBSD

  1. Study on Nonlinear Vibration and Crack Fault of Rotor-bearing-seal Coupling System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuegang LUO

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available The nonlinear dynamic model of rotor-bearing-seal system with crack in shaft is set up based on the coupling model of nonlinear oil-film force and Muszyska’s nonlinear seal fluid force. The dynamic vibration characteristics of the rotor-bearing-seal system and the effects of physical and structural parameters of labyrinth seal and crack fault on movement character of the rotor were analyzed. The increases of seal length, seal pressure differential, seal radius and axial velocity are in favor of the stability of the system, and it of seal gap and crack depth are not in favor of the stability of the system.

  2. Applied model of through-wall crack of coolant vessels of WWER-type reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Petrosyan, V.; Hovakimyan, T.; Vardanyan, M.; Khachatryan, A.; Minasyan, K.

    2010-01-01

    We propose an applied-model of Through-Wall Crack (TWC) for WWER-type units primary vessels. The model allows to simulate the main morphological parameters of real TWC, i.e. length, area of inlet and outlet openings, channel depth and small and large size unevenness of the crack surface. The model can be used for developing and improving the coolant-leak detectors for the primary circuit vessels of WWER-units. Also, it can be used for research of the coolant two-phase leakage phenomenon through narrow cracks/channels and thermo-physical processes in heat-insulation layer of the Main Coolant Piping (MCP) during the leak

  3. Depth profiling of extended defects in silicon by Rutherford backscattering measurements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gruska, B.; Goetz, G.

    1981-01-01

    Depth profiling of dislocations and stacking faults is carried out by analyzing axial and planar channeling data from As + -and P + -implanted silicon samples annealed at high temperatures. The analyzing procedure is based on the simple two-beam model. The results show that depth profiling of dislocations using planar channeling data is connected with a broadening of the real distributions. A degradation of the defect concentration and a deformation of the profile result for very high defect concentrations (> 5 x 10 5 cm/cm 2 ). All these effects can be neglected by analyzing axial channeling data. Depth profiling of stacking faults is restricted to the determination of the depth distribution of displaced atomic rows or planes. For both the procedures, axial as well as planar channeling measurements, the same depth profiles of displaced atomic rows are obtained. (author)

  4. Determination of representative renal depth for accurate attenuation corred in measurement of glomerular filtration rate in transplanted kidney

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oh, Soon Nam; Kim, Sung Hoon; Rha, Sung Eun; Chung, Yong An; Yoo, Ie Ryung; Sohn, Hyung Sun; Lee, Sung Young; Chung, Soo Kyo

    2002-01-01

    To measure reliable glomerular filtration rate by using the representative values of transplanted renal depths, which are measured with ultrasonography. We included 54 patients (26 men, 28 women), with having both renal scintigraphy and ultrasonography after renal transplantation. We measured DFR with Gates' method using the renal depth measured by ultrasonography, and median and mean ones in each patient. We compared GFR derived from ultrasonography-measured renal depth with GFR derived from median and mean renal depths. The correlation coefficients were obtained among GFR derived from ultrasonography-measured renal depths, median and mean renal depth under linear regression analysis. We determined whether GFR derived from median or mean renal depth could substitute GFR derived from ultrasonography-measured renal depth with Bland-Altman method. We analyze the expected errors of the GFR using representative renal depth in terms of age, sex, weight, height, creatinine value, and body surface. The transplanted renal depths range from 3.20 cm to 5.96 cm. The mean value and standard deviation of renal depths measured by ultrasonography are 4.09±0.65 cm in men, and 4.24±0.78 cm in women. The median value of renal depths measured by ultrasonography is 4.36 cm in men and 4.14 cm in women. The GFR derived from median renal depth is more consistent with GFR derived from ultrasonography-measured renal depth than GFR derived from mean renal depth. Differences of GFR derived from median and ultrasonography-measured renal depth are not significantly different in the groups classified with creatinine value, age, sex, height, weight and body surface. When median value is adapted as a representative renal depth, we could obtain reliable GFR in transplanted kidney simply

  5. Evaluation of stress corrosion crack growth in BWR piping systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kassir, M.; Sharma, S.; Reich, M.; Chang, M.T.

    1985-05-01

    This report presents the results of a study conducted to evaluate the effects of stress intensity factor and environment on the growth behavior of intergranular stress corrosion cracks in type 304 stainless steel piping systems. Most of the detected cracks are known to be circumferential in shape, and initially started at the inside surface in the heat affected zone near girth welds. These cracks grow both radially in-depth and circumferentially in length and, in extreme cases, may cause leakage in the installation. The propagation of the crack is essentially due to the influence of the following simultaneous factors: (1) the action of applied and residual stress; (2) sensitization of the base metal in the heat affected zone adjacent to girth weld; and (3) the continuous exposure of the material to an aggressive environment of high temperature water containing dissolved oxygen and some levels of impurities. Each of these factors and their effects on the piping systems is discussed in detail in the report. The report also evaluates the time required for hypothetical cracks in BWR pipes to propagate to their critical size. The pertinent times are computed and displayed graphically. Finally, parametric study is performed in order to assess the relative influence and sensitivity of the various input parameters (residual stress, crack growth law, diameter of pipe, initial size of defect, etc.) which have bearing on the growth behavior of the intergranular stress corrosion cracks in type 304 stainless steel. Cracks in large-diameter as well as in small-diameter pipes are considered and analyzed. 27 refs., 25 figs., 10 tabs

  6. Development of chloride-induced corrosion in pre-cracked RC beams under sustained loading: Effect of load-induced cracks, concrete cover, and exposure conditions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yu, Linwen [Université de Toulouse, UPS, INSA, LMDC, Toulouse (France); Université de Sherbrooke, Quebec (Canada); François, Raoul, E-mail: raoul.francois@insa-toulouse.fr [Université de Toulouse, UPS, INSA, LMDC, Toulouse (France); Dang, Vu Hiep [Hanoi Architectural University, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Hanoi (Viet Nam); L' Hostis, Valérie [CEA Saclay, CEA, DEN, DPC, SECR, Laboratoire d' Etude du Comportement des Bétons et des Argiles, Gif-sur-Yvette (France); Gagné, Richard [Université de Sherbrooke, Quebec (Canada)

    2015-01-15

    This paper deals with corrosion initiation and propagation in pre-cracked reinforced concrete beams under sustained loading during exposure to a chloride environment. Specimen beams that were cast in 2010 were compared to specimens cast in 1984. The only differences between the two sets of beams were the casting direction in relation to tensile reinforcement and the exposure conditions in the salt-fog chamber. The cracking maps, corrosion maps, chloride profiles, and cross-sectional loss of one group of two beams cast in 2010 were studied and their calculated corrosion rates were compared to that of beams cast in 1984 in order to investigate the factors influencing the natural corrosion process. Experimental results show that, after rapid initiation of corrosion at the crack tip, the corrosion process practically halted and the time elapsing before corrosion resumed depended on the exposure conditions and cover depth.

  7. Stress corrosion and corrosion fatigue crack growth monitoring in metals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Senadheera, T.; Shipilov, S.A.

    2003-01-01

    Environmentally assisted cracking (including stress corrosion cracking and corrosion fatigue) is one of the major causes for materials failure in a wide variety of industries. It is extremely important to understand the mechanism(s) of environmentally assisted crack propagation in structural materials so as to choose correctly from among the various possibilities-alloying elements, heat treatment of steels, parameters of cathodic protection, and inhibitors-to prevent in-service failures due to stress corrosion cracking and corrosion fatigue. An important step towards understanding the mechanism of environmentally assisted crack propagation is designing a testing machine for crack growth monitoring and that simultaneously provides measurement of electrochemical parameters. In the present paper, a direct current (DC) potential drop method for monitoring crack propagation in metals and a testing machine that uses this method and allows for measuring electrochemical parameters during stress corrosion and corrosion fatigue crack growth are described. (author)

  8. Crack Formation in Grouted Annular Composite

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Eigil V.

    The objective of the present analysis is to identify the reason for extensive crack formation which occurred during an annulus grouting performance test, to evaluate possible consequences of the cracking, and to recommend measures to be taken in order to avoid similar problems in the future....

  9. Multispecimen fatigue crack propagation testing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ermi, A.M.; Bauer, R.E.; Chin, B.A.; Straalsund, J.L.

    1981-01-01

    Chains of miniature center-cracked-tension specimens were tested on a conventional testing machine and on a prototypic in-reactor fatigue machine as part of the fusion reactor materials alloy development program. Annealed and 20 percent cold-worked 316 stainless steel specimens were cycled under various conditions of temperature, frequency, stress ratio and chain length. Crack growth rates determined from multispecimen visual measurements and from an electrical potential technique were consistent with those obtained by conventional test methods. Results demonstrate that multispecimen chain testing is a valid method of obtaining fatigue crack propagation information for alloy development. 8 refs

  10. Constraining the CMB optical depth through the dispersion measure of cosmological radio transients

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fialkov, A.; Loeb, A.

    2016-01-01

    The dispersion measure of extragalactic radio transients can be used to measure the column density of free electrons in the intergalactic medium. The same electrons also scatter the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) photons, affecting precision measurements of cosmological parameters. We explore the connection between the dispersion measure of radio transients existing during the Epoch of Reionization (EoR) and the total optical depth for the CMB showing that the existence of such transients would provide a new sensitive probe of the CMB optical depth. As an example, we consider the population of FRBs. Assuming they exist during the EoR, we show that: (i) such sources can probe the reionization history by measuring the optical depth to sub-percent accuracy, and (ii) they can be detected with high significance by an instrument such as the Square Kilometer Array.

  11. Constraining the CMB optical depth through the dispersion measure of cosmological radio transients

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fialkov, A.; Loeb, A., E-mail: anastasia.fialkov@cfa.harvard.edu, E-mail: aloeb@cfa.harvard.edu [Institute for Teory and Computation, Harvard University, 60 Garden Street, MS-51, Cambridge, MA, 02138 (United States)

    2016-05-01

    The dispersion measure of extragalactic radio transients can be used to measure the column density of free electrons in the intergalactic medium. The same electrons also scatter the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) photons, affecting precision measurements of cosmological parameters. We explore the connection between the dispersion measure of radio transients existing during the Epoch of Reionization (EoR) and the total optical depth for the CMB showing that the existence of such transients would provide a new sensitive probe of the CMB optical depth. As an example, we consider the population of FRBs. Assuming they exist during the EoR, we show that: (i) such sources can probe the reionization history by measuring the optical depth to sub-percent accuracy, and (ii) they can be detected with high significance by an instrument such as the Square Kilometer Array.

  12. Numerical Study of Corrosion Crack Opening

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thoft-Christensen, Palle; Frandsen, Henrik Lund; Svensson, Staffan

    2008-01-01

    is proportional. More recently, the constant of proportionality, the so-called crack-corrosion index, has been studied further with respect to its dependence on the diameter of the reinforcement and the concrete cover. In the present paper the above-mentioned work is presented and extended with more realistic 3D......-models of the cracked concrete beam. The crack-corrosion index is evaluated for a variation of different parameters, i.e. bar diameter, concrete cover, crack length and type of corrosion product. This paper is an extended version of a paper by Thoft-Christensen et al. (2005) presented at the IFIP WG 7.5 Conference...... for the corrosion crack opening. Experiments and theoretical analysis by a numerical method, FEM, support that the relation between the reduction of the reinforcement bar diameter due to corrosion and the corresponding increase in crack width for a given time interval, measured on the surface of a concrete specimen...

  13. Formation of thermal fatigue cracks in periodic rapid quenching of metal

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ots, A [Tallinn Technical University, Thermal Engineering Department, Tallinn (Estonia)

    1999-12-31

    Water lancing is an effective technique for cleaning boiler heating surfaces from ash deposits by burning low-grade fuels with complicated composition of mineral matter. In water cleaning cycles of boiler`s heat transfer surfaces due to rapid quenching destruction of corrosion protective oxide film and formation of thermal fatigue cracks on the outer surface of the tube`s metal occur. The criterion of the thermal fatigue cracks` formation and their growth intensity depend on the character of temperature field in the tube`s metal outer layer. The solution of non-stationary heat conductivity equation for metal rapid quenching conditions is given. The convective heat transfer coefficients from hot metal surface to water jet were established experimentally. Thermal fatigue crack growth intensity was investigated in real boilers` heat transfer surfaces` tubes as well as in laboratory conditions. The formula for predicting thermal fatigue cracks` depth depending on the number of cleaning cycles. (orig.) 5 refs.

  14. Formation of thermal fatigue cracks in periodic rapid quenching of metal

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ots, A. [Tallinn Technical University, Thermal Engineering Department, Tallinn (Estonia)

    1998-12-31

    Water lancing is an effective technique for cleaning boiler heating surfaces from ash deposits by burning low-grade fuels with complicated composition of mineral matter. In water cleaning cycles of boiler`s heat transfer surfaces due to rapid quenching destruction of corrosion protective oxide film and formation of thermal fatigue cracks on the outer surface of the tube`s metal occur. The criterion of the thermal fatigue cracks` formation and their growth intensity depend on the character of temperature field in the tube`s metal outer layer. The solution of non-stationary heat conductivity equation for metal rapid quenching conditions is given. The convective heat transfer coefficients from hot metal surface to water jet were established experimentally. Thermal fatigue crack growth intensity was investigated in real boilers` heat transfer surfaces` tubes as well as in laboratory conditions. The formula for predicting thermal fatigue cracks` depth depending on the number of cleaning cycles. (orig.) 5 refs.

  15. The Growth of Small Corrosion Fatigue Cracks in Alloy 7075

    Science.gov (United States)

    Piascik, Robert S.

    2015-01-01

    The corrosion fatigue crack growth characteristics of small (greater than 35 micrometers) surface and corner cracks in aluminum alloy 7075 is established. The early stage of crack growth is studied by performing in situ long focal length microscope (500×) crack length measurements in laboratory air and 1% sodium chloride (NaCl) environments. To quantify the "small crack effect" in the corrosive environment, the corrosion fatigue crack propagation behavior of small cracks is compared to long through-the-thickness cracks grown under identical experimental conditions. In salt water, long crack constant K(sub max) growth rates are similar to small crack da/dN.

  16. On governing equations for crack layer propagation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chudnovsky, A.; Botsis, J.

    1988-01-01

    Results of analysis on damage distribution of a crack layer, in a model material, supported the self-similarity hypothesis of damage evolution which has been adopted by the crack layer theory. On the basis of measurements of discontinuity density and the double layer potential technique, a solution to the crack damage interaction problem has been developed. Evaluation of the stress intensity factor illustrated the methodology. Analysis of experimental results showed that Arrhenius type constitutive relationship described very well the expansion of the active zone of a crack layer.

  17. Analysis of the influence of plastic deformations in fatigue and crack process by numerical simulation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rahimian, Mohammad.

    1981-06-01

    The aim of this work is to analyze, by numerical simulation the characteristics of the stresses and deformations at the bottom of cracks when plasticity is taken into account. This analysis is performed as from theoretical results laid down in the literature and makes it possible to understand the different solutions obtained from Hencky's deformation law or from the incremental theory. The role of plastic deformation is discussed in depth in the study of fatigue cracks. The problems linked to the fixed crack are studied in the first two chapters. The problems linked to the propagation of cracks are discussed in the following chapters. The fourth chapter is an application of the preceding results and knowledge to fatigue [fr

  18. Cessation of environmentally-assisted cracking in a low-alloy steel: Theoretical analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wire, G.L.

    1997-01-01

    Environmentally Assisted Cracking (EAC) can cause increases in fatigue crack growth rates of 40 to 100 times the rate in air for low alloy steels. The increased rates can lead to very large predicted crack growth. EAC is activated by a critical level of dissolved sulfides at the crack tip. Sulfide inclusions (MnS) in the steel produce corrosive sulfides in solution following exposure by a growing crack. In stagnant, low oxygen water conditions considered here, diffusion is the dominant mass transport mechanism acting to change the sulfide concentration within the crack. The average crack tip velocity is below the level required to produce the critical crack tip sulfide ion concentration required for EAC. Crack extension analyses also consider the breakthrough of large, hypothetical embedded defects with the attendant large freshly exposed sulfide inventory. Combrade et al. noted that a large inventory of undissolved metallurgical sulfides on crack flanks could trigger EAC, but did not quantify the effects. Diffusion analysis is extended herein to cover breakthrough of embedded defects with large sulfide inventories. The mass transport via diffusion is limited by the sulfide solubility. As a result, deep cracks in high sulfur steels are predicted to retain undissolved sulfides for extended but finite periods of time t diss which increase with the crack length and the metallurgical sulfide content in the steel. The analysis shows that the duration of EAC is limited to t diss providing V eac , the crack tip velocity associated with EAC is less than V In , the crack tip velocity below which EAC will not occur in an initially sulfide free crack. This condition on V eac need only be met for a short time following crack cleanup to turn off EAC. The predicted crack extension due to limited duration of EAC is a small fraction of the initial embedded defect size and would not greatly change calculated crack depths

  19. K{sub I}-T estimations for embedded flaws in pipes - Part I: Axially oriented cracks

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Qian Xudong, E-mail: cveqx@nus.edu.s [Department of Civil Engineering, National University of Singapore, 1 Engineering Drive 2, Singapore 117576 (Singapore)

    2010-04-15

    This study reports a numerical investigation on the linear-elastic K{sub I} and T-stress values over the front of elliptical cracks axially embedded in the wall of a pipe/cylindrical structure, under a uniform pressure applied on the inner surface of the pipe. The numerical procedure employs an interaction integral approach to compute the linear-elastic stress intensity factor (SIF) K{sub I} and T-stress values from very detailed crack-front meshes. The verification study confirms the accuracy of the adopted numerical procedure in computing the K{sub I} values based on existing results for external axial surface cracks in the wall of a cylindrical structure. The parametric investigation covers a wide range of geometric parameters including: the wall thickness to the inner radius ratio of the pipe (t/R{sub i}), the crack depth over the wall thickness ratio (a/t), the crack aspect ratio (a/c) and the crack location measured by the ratio of the distance from the centerline of the crack to the outer surface of the pipe over the pipe wall thickness (e{sub M}/t). Subsequent efforts develop, from a nonlinear curve-fitting procedure, a new set of equations to estimate the T-stress and K{sub I} values at three critical front locations of the axial elliptical cracks: the crack-front point O nearest to the outer surface of the pipe, the crack-front point I nearest to the inner surface of the pipe and the crack-front point M on the centerline of the axial crack. These equations combine a second-order polynomial with a power-law expression to predict the pronounced variations in the T-stress and K{sub I} values with respect to the geometric parameters. The coefficients of the new K{sub I} and T-stress equations either take a constant value or incorporate the linear variation with respect to the pipe wall thickness over the inner radius ratio, t/R{sub i}. The proposed equations demonstrate a close agreement with the finite element (FE) results, which indicate very strong

  20. Stress corrosion cracking of nickel base alloys characterization and prediction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Santarini, G.; Pinard-Legry, G.

    1988-01-01

    For many years, studies have been carried out in several laboratories to characterize the IGSCC (Intergranular Stress Corrosion Cracking) behaviour of nickel base alloys in aqueous environments. For their relative shortness, CERTs (Constant Extension Rate Tests) have been extensively used, especially at the Corrosion Department of the CEA. However, up to recently, the results obtained with this method remained qualitative. This paper presents a first approach to a quantitative interpretation of CERT results. The basic datum used is the crack trace depth distribution determined on a specimen section at the end of a CERT. It is shown that this information can be used for the calculation of initiation and growth parameters which quantitatively characterize IGSCC phenomenon. Moreover, the rationale proposed should lead to the determination of intrinsic cracking parameters, and so, to in-service behaviour prediction

  1. Radiation efficiency during slow crack propagation: an experimental study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jestin, Camille; Lengliné, Olivier; Schmittbuhl, Jean

    2017-04-01

    Creeping faults are known to host a significant aseismic deformation. However, the observations of micro-earthquake activity related to creeping faults (e.g. San Andreas Faults, North Anatolian Fault) suggest the presence of strong lateral variabilities of the energy partitioning between radiated and fracture energies. The seismic over aseismic slip ratio is rather difficult to image over time and at depth because of observational limitations (spatial resolution, sufficiently broad band instruments, etc.). In this study, we aim to capture in great details the energy partitioning during the slow propagation of mode I fracture along a heterogeneous interface, where the toughness is strongly varying in space.We lead experiments at laboratory scale on a rock analog model (PMMA) enabling a precise monitoring of fracture pinning and depinning on local asperities in the brittle-creep regime. Indeed, optical imaging through the transparent material allows the high resolution description of the fracture front position and velocity during its propagation. At the same time, acoustic emissions are also measured by accelerometers positioned around the rupture. Combining acoustic records, measurements of the crack front position and the loading curve, we compute the total radiated energy and the fracture energy. We deduce from them the radiation efficiency, ηR, characterizing the proportion of the available energy that is radiated in form of seismic wave. We show an increase of ηR with the crack rupture speed computed for each of our experiments in the sub-critical crack propagation domain. Our experimental estimates of ηR are larger than the theoretical model proposed by Freund, stating that the radiation efficiency of crack propagation in homogeneous media is proportional to the crack velocity. Our results are demonstrated to be in agreement with existing studies which showed that the distribution of crack front velocity in a heterogeneous medium can be well described by a

  2. Analysis of the Generating and Influencing Factors of Vertical Cracking in Abutments during Construction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xingwei Xue

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available In order to analyze the causes of cracking in abutments subject to concrete shrinkage and temperature variation during the construction process and to determine factors affecting the mechanical properties of the abutment, nonlinear calculations capturing abutment behavior are conducted with Midas/FEA software. Using these calculations, the cracking mechanism is identified, and the influence of the evaluated factors is analyzed. It is concluded that the deformation between the pile cap and abutment backwall as constrained by a pile foundation when subjected to concrete shrinkage and temperature changes is the basic cause of abutment cracks during construction; these cracks form over the piles and develop upward. For a given reinforcement ratio, the distribution of horizontal crack-control steel using small, closely spaced bars is more beneficial. When pile-bearing capacity meets the standard, the width of the generated cracks tends to decrease with the decrease in the diameter of the piles. The existence of a postcast strip in the abutment backwall also contributes to the decrease in the depth of the crack. Finally, the impact of age difference between the pile cap concrete and abutment backwall concrete on cracking is inconsequential.

  3. Noninvasive measurement of burn wound depth applying infrared thermal imaging (Conference Presentation)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jaspers, Mariëlle E.; Maltha, Ilse M.; Klaessens, John H.; Vet, Henrica C.; Verdaasdonk, Rudolf M.; Zuijlen, Paul P.

    2016-02-01

    In burn wounds early discrimination between the different depths plays an important role in the treatment strategy. The remaining vasculature in the wound determines its healing potential. Non-invasive measurement tools that can identify the vascularization are therefore considered to be of high diagnostic importance. Thermography is a non-invasive technique that can accurately measure the temperature distribution over a large skin or tissue area, the temperature is a measure of the perfusion of that area. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinimetric properties (i.e. reliability and validity) of thermography for measuring burn wound depth. In a cross-sectional study with 50 burn wounds of 35 patients, the inter-observer reliability and the validity between thermography and Laser Doppler Imaging were studied. With ROC curve analyses the ΔT cut-off point for different burn wound depths were determined. The inter-observer reliability, expressed by an intra-class correlation coefficient of 0.99, was found to be excellent. In terms of validity, a ΔT cut-off point of 0.96°C (sensitivity 71%; specificity 79%) differentiates between a superficial partial-thickness and deep partial-thickness burn. A ΔT cut-off point of -0.80°C (sensitivity 70%; specificity 74%) could differentiate between a deep partial-thickness and a full-thickness burn wound. This study demonstrates that thermography is a reliable method in the assessment of burn wound depths. In addition, thermography was reasonably able to discriminate among different burn wound depths, indicating its potential use as a diagnostic tool in clinical burn practice.

  4. 3D characterization of rolling contact fatigue crack networks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jessop, Casey; Ahlström, Johan; Hammar, Lars

    2016-01-01

    analysis method for geometrical reconstruction, and a 3D representation of the complex crack network was achieved. This was compared with measurements on cross-sections after repeated metallographic sectioning to determine the accuracy of prediction of the geometrical reconstruction. A second squat...... was investigated by X-ray tomography after extraction of a section of the rail head. A third squat was opened by careful cutting, which gave full access to the crack faces, and the topography was measured by stylus profilometry. The high-energy X-ray, 3D reconstruction method showed accurate main crack geometry...... to the crack face. However this time-consuming method requires destruction of the specimen investigated. The X-ray tomography revealed the 3D crack network including side branches in a 10×10×30mm3 sample, and provided topographic information without completely opening the squat. Topography measurements...

  5. Crack displacement sensing and measurement in concrete using circular grating moire fringes and pattern matching

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chan, H. M.; Yen, K. S.; Ratnam, M. M.

    2008-09-01

    The moire method has been extensively studied in the past and applied in various engineering applications. Several techniques are available for generating the moire fringes in these applications, which include moire interferometry, projection moire, shadow moire, moire deflectometry etc. Most of these methods use the superposition of linear gratings to generate the moire patterns. The use of non-linear gratings, such as circular, radial and elongated gratings has received less attention from the research community. The potential of non-linear gratings in engineering measurement has been realized in a limited number of applications, such as rotation measurement, measurement of linear displacement, measurement of expansion coefficients of materials and measurement of strain distribution. In this work, circular gratings of different pitch were applied to the sensing and measurement of crack displacement in concrete structures. Gratings of pitch 0.50 mm and 0.55 mm were generated using computer software and attached to two overlapping acrylic plates that were bonded to either side of the crack. The resulting moire patterns were captured using a standard digital camera and compared with a set of reference patterns generated using a precision positioning stage. Using several image pre-processing stages, such as filtering and morphological operations, and pattern matching the magnitude displacements along two orthogonal axes can be detected with a resolution of 0.05 mm.

  6. A comparison of conventional local approach and the short crack approach to fatigue crack initiation at a notch

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ranganathan, Narayanaswami; Leroy, Rene; Tougui, Abdellah [Laboratoire de Mecanique et Rheologie, Universite Francois Rabelais de Tours, Polytech Tours, Departement Mecanique et Conception de Systemes, Tours (France)

    2009-09-15

    Methods to estimate fatigue crack initiation life at a notch tip are compared. The methods used determine the strain amplitudes at the notch tip using Neuber's or Glinka's approximation. In conventional approaches, equivalent-damage levels are determined, using appropriate strain-life relationships coupled with damage-summation models. In the short-crack approach, a crack-like defect is assumed to exist at the notch tip. It is shown that the short-crack concept can be successfully applied to predict crack-initiation behavior at a notch. Model predictions are compared with carefully designed experiments. It is shown that model predictions are very close to experimentally measured lives under an aircraft-wing loading spectrum. (Abstract Copyright [2009], Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

  7. Actual light deflections in regions of crack tips and their influence on measurements in photomechanics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hecker, Friedrich W.; Pindera, Jerzy T.; Wen, Baicheng

    Crack-tip photomechanics procedures are based on certain simplifying assumptions that are seldom discussed. In a recent paper the theoretical bases of the shadow optical methods of caustics have been analysed and tested using the results obtained by three analytical-experimental procedures, namely classical strain gage techniques, isodynes, and strain-gradient index method. It has been concluded that the straing-radient index method appears to be a suitable tool for analysis of stress states near crack tips and notches and, in particular, for testing the predictive power of the pertinent singular solutions of the linear elastic fracture mechanics and the ranges of their applicability. In the present paper, a more detailed analysis of all results obtained in light deflection experiments allows to quantify the contribution of both involved effects and to determine the distortion of the faces of the investigated plates along their crack planes. The ability of the strain-gradient light bending method to analyse some features of the three-dimensional stress-state is reported. Finally, the presented experimental evidence allows to draw conclusions related to limits of applicability of certain photomechanical measurements near crack tips. An extensive summary of this paper is published in the Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Photomechanics and Speckle Metrology, Vol. 1554A, part of SPIE's 1991 International Symposium on Optical Applied Science and Engineering, 22-26 July 1991, San Diego, CA, USA. 1

  8. Cracked pellet gap conductance model: comparison of FRAP-S calculations with measured fuel centerline temperatures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    MacDonald, P.E.; Broughton, J.M.

    1975-03-01

    Fuel pellets crack extensively upon irradiation due both to thermal stresses induced by power changes and at high burnup, to accumulation of gaseous fission products at grain boundaries. Therefore, the distance between the fuel and cladding will be circumferentially nonuniform; varying between that calculated for intact operating fuel pellets and essentially zero (fuel segments in contact with the cladding wall). A model for calculation of temperatures in cracked pellets is proposed wherein the effective fuel to cladding gap conductance is calculated by taking a zero pressure contact conductance in series with an annular gap conductance. Comparisons of predicted and measured fuel centerline temperatures at beginning of life and at extended burnup are presented in support of the model. 13 references

  9. Experimental methods for consideration of concrete cracking in service life design

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pease, Bradley Justin; Geiker, Mette Rica; Stang, Henrik

    2011-01-01

    .e., concrete with cracks at start of service) and to more accurately estimate time-to-cracking due to reinforcement corrosion based on experimental measurements. This paper presents two non-destructive measurement techniques with potential to quantify the impact concrete cracks have on service life...

  10. Corrosion cracking

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goel, V.S.

    1985-01-01

    This book presents the papers given at a conference on alloy corrosion cracking. Topics considered at the conference included the effect of niobium addition on intergranular stress corrosion cracking, corrosion-fatigue cracking in fossil-fueled-boilers, fracture toughness, fracture modes, hydrogen-induced thresholds, electrochemical and hydrogen permeation studies, the effect of seawater on fatigue crack propagation of wells for offshore structures, the corrosion fatigue of carbon steels in seawater, and stress corrosion cracking and the mechanical strength of alloy 600

  11. Finite element modeling of stress corrosion cracking for electromagnetic nondestructive evaluations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, J.; Yusa, N.; Hashizume, H.

    2012-01-01

    This paper discusses appropriate numerical model for a stress corrosion crack (SCC) from the viewpoint of anisotropy of their conductivity. Two SCCs, which are introduced into a plate of type 316 stainless steel, are considered. Finite element simulations are carried out to evaluate the conductivity. In the simulations, the cracks are modeled as a region with a constant width on the basis of the destructive tests. The results show the conductivity on direction of width has large effect to the accuracy of numerical modeling of SCC, whereas the conductivities on direction of length and depth almost do not have remarkable effects. The results obtained by this study indicate that distribution of conductivity along the surface of a crack would be more important than the anisotropy in modeling SCCs in finite element simulations

  12. Displacement correction factor versus effective point of measurement in depth dose curve measurements at {sup 60}Co gamma rays

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bruna, A [Universidad Nacional, Cordoba (Argentina). Facultad de Matematica, Astronomia y Fisica; Velez, G R [Hospital San Roque, Cordoba (Argentina). Dept. de Radioterapia; Brunetto, M [Centro Medico Rivado Dean Funes, Cordoba (Argentina)

    1996-08-01

    The discrepancies in data sets of values of the Displacement Factor p{sub d} recommended by different codes of practices for calibration purpose still demand further investigation to clarify this point. In this paper, we propose an experimental method to determine the displacement factor for cylindrical ionization chambers (thimble chambers) in photon beams. Measurements of p{sub d} for several depths were performed for {sup 60}Co gamma rays. From these results we calculated the shift of the effective point of measurement (z-z{sub eff}) for different depths. The results obtained in this work shown: (a) there is no significant change in p{sub d} from 2 cm to 17 cm of depth in water; (b) the value of p{sub d} for a ion-chamber Farmer type (inner radius r = 3.15 cm) is p{sub d} 0.988; (c) the shift of the effective point of measurement has a smooth variation with depth; (d) the value of (z-z{sub eff}) at the recommended calibration depth for {sup 60}Co beams (5 cm) is 0.6r (with r: inner radius of the chamber). The result (b) confirms the value of p{sub d} suggested by the SEFM and NACP protocols and differs with that of the AAPM. The value obtained for (z - z{sub eff}) (d) is very closed to that recommended by the IAEA TRS-277. Finally, the results (a) and (c) suggest that it should be preferable to use the displacement factor instead of effective point of measurement to perform measurements of depth dose curves, since the use of z{sub eff} should take into account its dependence on depth. (author). 7 refs, 4 figs.

  13. Crack closure and growth behavior of short fatigue cracks under random loading (part I : details of crack closure behavior)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Shin Young; Song, Ji Ho

    2000-01-01

    Crack closure and growth behavior of physically short fatigue cracks under random loading are investigated by performing narrow-and wide-band random loading tests for various stress ratios. Artificially prepared two-dimensional, short through-thickness cracks are used. The closure behavior of short cracks under random loading is discussed, comparing with that of short cracks under constant-amplitude loading and also that of long cracks under random loading. Irrespective of random loading spectrum or block length, the crack opening load of short cracks is much lower under random loading than under constant-amplitude loading corresponding to the largest load cycle in a random load history, contrary to the behavior of long cracks that the crack opening load under random loading is nearly the same as or slightly higher than constant-amplitude results. This result indicates that the largest load cycle in a random load history has an effect to enhance crack opening of short cracks

  14. Analysis of crack opening stresses for center- and edge-crack tension specimens

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tong Di-Hua

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Accurate determination of crack opening stress is of central importance to fatigue crack growth analysis and life prediction based on the crack-closure model. This paper studies the crack opening behavior for center- and edge-crack tension specimens. It is found that the crack opening stress is affected by the crack tip element. By taking the crack tip element into account, a modified crack opening stress equation is given for the center-crack tension specimen. Crack surface displacement equations for an edge crack in a semi-infinite plate under remote uniform tension and partially distributed pressure are derived by using the weight function method. Based on these displacements, a crack opening stress equation for an edge crack in a semi-infinite plate under uniform tension has been developed. The study shows that the crack opening stress is geometry-dependent, and the weight function method provides an effective and reliable tool to deal with such geometry dependence.

  15. A consistent partly cracked XFEM element for cohesive crack growth

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Asferg, Jesper L.; Poulsen, Peter Noe; Nielsen, Leif Otto

    2007-01-01

    Present extended finite element method (XFEM) elements for cohesive crack growth may often not be able to model equal stresses on both sides of the discontinuity when acting as a crack-tip element. The authors have developed a new partly cracked XFEM element for cohesive crack growth with extra...... enrichments to the cracked elements. The extra enrichments are element side local and were developed by superposition of the standard nodal shape functions for the element and standard nodal shape functions for a sub-triangle of the cracked element. With the extra enrichments, the crack-tip element becomes...... capable of modelling variations in the discontinuous displacement field on both sides of the crack and hence also capable of modelling the case where equal stresses are present on each side of the crack. The enrichment was implemented for the 3-node constant strain triangle (CST) and a standard algorithm...

  16. Corrosion fatigue crack growth in clad low-alloy steels: Part 1, medium-sulfur forging steel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    James, L.A.; Poskie, T.J.; Auten, T.A.; Cullen, W.H.

    1996-01-01

    Corrosion fatigue crack propagation tests were conducted on a medium- sulfur ASTM A508-2 forging steel overlaid with weld-deposited Alloy EN82H cladding. The specimens featured semi-elliptical surface cracks penetrating approximately 6.3 mm of cladding into the underlying steel. The initial crack sizes were relatively large with surface lengths of 30.3--38.3 mm, and depths of 13.1--16.8 mm. The experiments were conducted in a quasi-stagnant low-oxygen (O 2 < 10 ppb) aqueous environment at 243 degrees C, under loading conditions (ΔK, R, and cyclic frequency) conductive to environmentally-assisted cracking (EAC) in higher-sulfur steels under quasi-stagnant conditions. Earlier experiments on unclad compact tension specimens of this heat of steel did not exhibit EAC, and the present experiments on semi-elliptical surface cracks penetrating cladding also did not exhibit EAC

  17. Fracture capacity of HFIR vessel with random crack size and toughness

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chang, S.J.

    1994-01-01

    The probability of fracture versus a range of applied hoop stresses along the High Flux Isotope Reactor vessel is obtained as an estimate of its fracture capacity. Both the crack size and the fracture toughness are assumed to be random variables and subject to assumed distribution functions. Possible hoop stress is based on the numerical solution of the vessel response by applying a point pressure-pulse at the center of the fluid volume within the vessel. Both the fluid-structure interaction and radiation embrittlement are taken into consideration. Elastic fracture mechanics is used throughout the analysis. The probability function of fracture for a single crack due to either a variable crack depth or a variable toughness is derived. Both the variable crack size and the variable toughness are assumed to follow known distributions. The probability of vessel fracture with multiple number of cracks is then obtained as a function of the applied hoop stress. The probability of fracture function is, then, extended to include different levels of confidence and variability. It, therefore, enables one to estimate the high confidence and low probability fracture capacity of the reactor vessel under a range of accident loading conditions

  18. Computed tomographic imaging of subchondral fatigue cracks in the distal end of the third metacarpal bone in the thoroughbred racehorse can predict crack micromotion in an ex-vivo model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dubois, Marie-Soleil; Morello, Samantha; Rayment, Kelsey; Markel, Mark D; Vanderby, Ray; Kalscheur, Vicki L; Hao, Zhengling; McCabe, Ronald P; Marquis, Patricia; Muir, Peter

    2014-01-01

    Articular stress fracture arising from the distal end of the third metacarpal bone (MC3) is a common serious injury in Thoroughbred racehorses. Currently, there is no method for predicting fracture risk clinically. We describe an ex-vivo biomechanical model in which we measured subchondral crack micromotion under compressive loading that modeled high speed running. Using this model, we determined the relationship between subchondral crack dimensions measured using computed tomography (CT) and crack micromotion. Thoracic limbs from 40 Thoroughbred racehorses that had sustained a catastrophic injury were studied. Limbs were radiographed and examined using CT. Parasagittal subchondral fatigue crack dimensions were measured on CT images using image analysis software. MC3 bones with fatigue cracks were tested using five cycles of compressive loading at -7,500N (38 condyles, 18 horses). Crack motion was recorded using an extensometer. Mechanical testing was validated using bones with 3 mm and 5 mm deep parasagittal subchondral slots that modeled naturally occurring fatigue cracks. After testing, subchondral crack density was determined histologically. Creation of parasagittal subchondral slots induced significant micromotion during loading (pBones with parasagittal crack area measurements above 30 mm2 may have a high risk of crack propagation and condylar fracture in vivo because of crack micromotion. In conclusion, our results suggest that CT could be used to quantify subchondral fatigue crack dimensions in racing Thoroughbred horses in-vivo to assess risk of condylar fracture. Horses with parasagittal crack arrays that exceed 30 mm2 may have a high risk for development of condylar fracture.

  19. Detection and Analysis of Enamel Cracks by Quantitative Light-induced Fluorescence Technology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jun, Mi-Kyoung; Ku, Hye-Min; Kim, Euiseong; Kim, Hee-Eun; Kwon, Ho-Keun; Kim, Baek-Il

    2016-03-01

    The ability to accurately detect tooth cracks and quantify their depth would allow the prediction of crack progression and treatment success. The aim of this in vitro study was to determine the capabilities of quantitative light-induced fluorescence (QLF) technology in the detection of enamel cracks. Ninety-six extracted human teeth were selected for examining naturally existing or suspected cracked teeth surfaces using a photocuring unit. QLF performed with a digital camera (QLF-D) images were used to assess the ability to detect enamel cracks based on the maximum fluorescence loss value (ΔFmax, %), which was then analyzed using the QLF-D software. A histologic evaluation was then performed in which the samples were sectioned and observed with the aid of a polarized light microscope. The relationship between ΔFmax and the histology findings was assessed based on the Spearman rank correlation. The sensitivity and specificity were calculated to evaluate the validity of using QLF-D to analyze enamel inner-half cracks and cracks extending to the dentin-enamel junction. There was a strong correlation between the results of histologic evaluations of enamel cracks and the ΔFmax value, with a correlation coefficient of 0.84. The diagnostic accuracy of QLF-D had a sensitivity of 0.87 and a specificity of 0.98 for enamel inner-half cracks and a sensitivity of 0.90 and a specificity of 1.0 for cracks extending to the dentin-enamel junction. These results indicate that QLF technology would be a useful clinical tool for diagnosing enamel cracks, especially given that this is a nondestructive method. Copyright © 2016 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. On the crack propagation analysis of rock like Brazilian disc specimens containing cracks under compressive line loading

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hadi Haeri

    Full Text Available The pre-existing cracks in the brittle substances seem to be the main cause of their failure under various loading conditions. In this study, a simultaneous analytical, experimental and numerical analysis of crack propagation, cracks coalescence and failure process of brittle materials has been performed. Brazilian disc tests are being carried out to evaluate the cracks propagation paths in rock-like Brazilian disc specimens containing single and double cracks (using rock-like specimens which are specially prepared from Portland Pozzolana Cement (PPC, fine sands and water in a rock mechanics laboratory. The failure load of the pre-cracked disc specimens are measured showing the decreasing effects of the cracks and their orientation on the final failure load. The same specimens are numerically simulated by a higher order indirect boundary element method known as displacement discontinuity method. These numerical results are compared with the existing analytical and experimental results proving the accuracy and validity of the proposed numerical method. The numerical and experimental results obtained from the tested specimens are in good agreement and demonstrate the accuracy and effectiveness of the proposed approach.

  1. Hydrazine and hydrogen coinjection to mitigate stress corrosion cracking of structural materials in boiling water reactors (7). Effects of bulk water chemistry on ECP distribution inside a crack

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wada, Yoichi; Ishida, Kazushige; Tachibana, Masahiko; Aizawa, Motohiro; Fuse, Motomasa

    2007-01-01

    Water chemistry in a simulated crack (crack) has been studied to understand the mechanisms of stress corrosion cracking in a boiling water reactor environment. Electrochemical corrosion potential (ECP) in a crack made in an austenite type 304 stainless steel specimen was measured. The ECP distribution along the simulated crack was strongly affected by bulk water chemistry and bulk flow. When oxygen concentration was high in the bulk water, the potential difference between the crack tip and the outside of the crack (ΔE), which must be one motive force for crack growth, was about 0.3V under a stagnant condition. When oxygen was removed from the bulk water, ECP inside and outside the crack became low and uniform and ΔE became small. The outside ECP was also lowered by depositing platinum on the steel specimen surface and adding stoichiometrically excess hydrogen to oxygen to lower ΔE. This was effective only when bulk water did not flow. Under the bulk water flow condition, water-borne oxygen caused an increase in ECP on the untreated surface inside the crack. This also caused a large ΔE. The ΔE effect was confirmed by crack growth rate measurements with a catalyst-treated specimen. Therefore, lowering the bulk oxidant concentration by such measures as hydrazine hydrogen coinjection, which is currently under development, is important for suppressing the crack growth. (author)

  2. Probability of crack-initiation and application to NDE

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Prantl, G [Nuclear Safety Inspectorate HSK, (Switzerland)

    1988-12-31

    Fracture toughness is a property with a certain variability. When a statistical distribution is assumed, the probability of crack initiation may be calculated for a given problem defined by its geometry and the applied stress. Experiments have shown, that cracks which experience a certain small amount of ductile growth can reliably be detected by acoustic emission measurements. The probability of crack detection by AE-techniques may be estimated using this experimental finding and the calculated probability of crack initiation. (author).

  3. Elasto-plastic finite element analysis of axial surface crack in PHT piping of 500 MWe PHWR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chawla, D.S.; Bhate, S.R.; Kushwaha, H.S.; Mahajan, S.C.

    1994-01-01

    The leak before break (LBB) approach in nuclear piping design envisages demonstrating that the pressurized pipe with a postulated flaw will leak at a detectable rate leading to corrective action well before catastrophic rupture would occur. This requires analysis of cracked pipe to study the crack growth and its stability. This report presents the behaviour of a surface crack in the wall of a thick primary heat transport (PHT) pipe of 500 MWe Indian PHWR. The line spring model (LSM) finite element is used to model the flawed pipe geometry. The variation of crack driving force (J-integral) across the crack front has been presented. The influence of crack geometry factors such as depth, shape, aspect ratio, and loading on peak values of J-integral as well as crack mouth opening displacement has been studied. Several crack shapes have been used to study the shape influence. The results are presented in dimensionless form so as to widen their applicability. The accuracy of the results is validated by comparison with results available in open literature. (author). 47 refs., 8 figs

  4. Fatigue crack behaviour in mine excavator

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yin, Y.; Grondin, G.Y.; Elwi, A.E. [Alberta Univ., Edmonton, AB (Canada). Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering

    2006-05-15

    Fatigue cracking in excavation equipment represents a significant operating cost for oil sands operators. It is caused by high impact loads, the high frequency of load cycles, and large component sizes found in oil sands processing facilities. Monitoring and repair strategies for fatigue cracks are typically based on vendor specifications and the experience of maintenance personnel. This paper provided details of an optimized crack management program applied to a BE 395B shovel boom. The proposed crack management tool uses a chart to predict the remaining life of a corner crack in the shovel boom. Predictions are based on limited field measurements of operating loads as well as on data obtained from fatigue testing of boom material, and a finite element analysis of the shovel boom. Field and laboratory data are used along with fracture mechanics and finite element modelling to predict crack life. It was concluded that the tool will allow inspectors and planners to schedule repairs based on safe service life. The tool is applicable for any components subjected to fatigue loading. 3 refs., 21 tabs., 64 figs.

  5. The measurement of dose at 70 micrometres' depth using thermoluminescent dosimeters (tlds)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jones, A.R.

    1989-01-01

    The measurement of dose with thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLD) at a tissue-equivalent depth of 70 μm can be done in three ways. These are by using: very thin TLDs (made by cementing fine, powdered, TLD particles to a high-temperature plastic film); opaque TLDs whose surface alone is sensitive. (Light emitted at a greater depth has a low probability of emergence and, thus, they behave as if they were thin.); at least three TLDs covered with absorbers of differing thickness. The approaches were studied using examples of dosimeter arrangements of the three types. The characteristics which were measured to form a basis of comparison were: the performance at high and low doses; the effect of changing angle of incidence and beta-ray energy; the effect on performance of repeated irradiation, annealing and reading. It was concluded that the very thin TLDs (powdered) are the best suited to the measurement of doses at 70 μm depth

  6. Fatigue crack propagation behavior of stainless steel welds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kusko, Chad S.

    The fatigue crack propagation behavior of austenitic and duplex stainless steel base and weld metals has been investigated using various fatigue crack growth test procedures, ferrite measurement techniques, light optical microscopy, stereomicroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and optical profilometry. The compliance offset method has been incorporated to measure crack closure during testing in order to determine a stress ratio at which such closure is overcome. Based on this method, an empirically determined stress ratio of 0.60 has been shown to be very successful in overcoming crack closure for all da/dN for gas metal arc and laser welds. This empirically-determined stress ratio of 0.60 has been applied to testing of stainless steel base metal and weld metal to understand the influence of microstructure. Regarding the base metal investigation, for 316L and AL6XN base metals, grain size and grain plus twin size have been shown to influence resulting crack growth behavior. The cyclic plastic zone size model has been applied to accurately model crack growth behavior for austenitic stainless steels when the average grain plus twin size is considered. Additionally, the effect of the tortuous crack paths observed for the larger grain size base metals can be explained by a literature model for crack deflection. Constant Delta K testing has been used to characterize the crack growth behavior across various regions of the gas metal arc and laser welds at the empirically determined stress ratio of 0.60. Despite an extensive range of stainless steel weld metal FN and delta-ferrite morphologies, neither delta-ferrite morphology significantly influence the room temperature crack growth behavior. However, variations in weld metal da/dN can be explained by local surface roughness resulting from large columnar grains and tortuous crack paths in the weld metal.

  7. Development and validation of a method for measuring depth of understanding in constructivist learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guarino, Lucia Falsetti

    A method for measuring depth of understanding of students in the middle-level science classroom was developed and validated. A common theme in the literature on constructivism in science education is that constructivist pedagogy, as opposed to objectivist pedagogy, results in a greater depth of understanding. Since few instruments measuring this construct exist at the present time, the development of such a tool to measure this construct was a significant contribution to the current body of assessment technologies in science education. The author's Depth of Understanding Assessment (DUA) evolved from a writing measure originally designed as a history assessment. The study involved 230 eighth grade science students studying a chemical change unit. The main research questions were: (1) What is the relationship between the DUA and each of the following independent variables: recall, application, and questioning modalities as measured by the Cognitive Preference Test; deep, surface, achieving, and deep-achieving approaches as measured by the Learning Process Questionnaire; achievement as measured by the Chemical Change Quiz, and teacher perception of student ability to conceptualize science content? (2) Is there a difference in depth of understanding, as measured by the DUA, between students who are taught by objectivist pedagogy and students who are taught by constructivist pedagogy favoring the constructivist group? (3) Is there a gender difference in depth of understanding as measured by the DUA? (4) Do students who are taught by constructivist pedagogy perceive their learning environment as more constructivist than students who are taught by objectivist pedagogy? Six out of nine hypothesis tests supported the validity of the DUA. The results of the qualitative component of this study which consisted of student interviews substantiated the quantitative results by providing additional information and insights. There was a significant difference in depth of

  8. Cracks propagation by stress corrosion cracking in conditions of Boiling Water Reactor (BWR)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fuentes C, P.

    2003-01-01

    This work presents the results of the assays carried out in the Laboratory of Hot Cells of the National Institute of Nuclear Research (ININ) to a type test tube Compact Tension (CT), built in steel austenitic stainless type 304L, simulating those conditions those that it operates a Boiling Water Reactor (BWR), at temperature 288 C and pressure of 8 MPa, to determine the speed to which the cracks spread in this material that is of the one that different components of a reactor are made, among those that it highlights the reactor core vessel. The application of the Hydrogen Chemistry of the Water is presented (HWC) that is one alternative to diminish the corrosion effect low stress in the component, this is gets controlling the quantity of oxygen and of hydrogen as well as the conductivity of the water. The rehearsal is made following the principles of the Mechanics of Elastic Lineal Fracture (LEFM) that considers a crack of defined size with little plastic deformation in the tip of this; the measurement of crack advance is continued with the technique of potential drop of direct current of alternating signal, this is contained inside the standard Astm E-647 (Method of Test Standard for the Measurement of Speed of Growth of Crack by fatigue) that is the one that indicates us as carrying out this test. The specifications that should complete the test tubes that are rehearsed as for their dimensions, it forms, finish and determination of mechanical properties (tenacity to the fracture mainly) they are contained inside the norm Astm E-399, the one which it is also based on the principles of the fracture mechanics. The obtained results were part of a database to be compared with those of other rehearsals under different conditions, Normal Chemistry of the Water (NWC) and it dilutes with high content of O 2 ; to determine the conditions that slow more the phenomena of stress corrosion cracking, as well as the effectiveness of the used chemistry and of the method of

  9. Depth analysis of mechanically machined flaws on steam generator tubings using multi-parameter algorithm

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nam Gung, Chan; Lee, Yoon Sang; Hwang, Seong Sik; Kim, Hong Pyo

    2004-01-01

    The eddy current testing (ECT) is a nondestructive technique. It is used for evaluation of material's integrity, especially, steam generator (SG) tubing in nuclear plants, due to their rapid inspection, safe and easy operation. For depth measurement of defects, we prepared Electro Discharge Machined (EDM) notches that have several of defects and applied multi-parameter (MP) algorithm. It is a crack shape estimation program developed in Argonne National Laboratory (ANL). To evaluate the MP algorithm, we compared defect profile with fractography of the defects. In the following sections, we described the basic structure of a computer-aided data analysis algorithm used as means of more accurate and efficient processing of ECT data, and explained the specification of a standard calibration. Finally, we discussed the accuracy of estimated depth profile compared with conventional ECT method

  10. Evaluation of canister weld flaw depth for concrete storage cask

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Moon, Tae Chul; Cho, Chun Hyung [Korea Radioactive Waste Agency, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Jung, Sung Hun; Lee, Young Oh; Jung, In Su [Korea Nuclear Engineering and Service Corp, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2017-03-15

    Domestically developed concrete storage casks include an internal canister to maintain the confinement integrity of radioactive materials. In this study, we analyzed the depth of flaws caused by loads that propagate canister weld cracks under normal, off-normal and accident conditions, and evaluated the maximum allowable weld flaw depth needed to secure the structural integrity of the canister weld and to reduce the welding time of the internal canister lid of the concrete storage cask. Structural analyses for normal, off-normal and accident conditions were performed using the general-purpose finite element analysis program ABAQUS; the allowable flaw depth was assessed according to ASME B and PV Code Section XI. Evaluation results revealed an allowable canister weld flaw depth of 18.75 mm for the concrete storage cask, which satisfies the critical flaw depth recommended in NUREG-1536.

  11. Measurement of californium-252 gamma photons depth dose distribution in tissue equivalent material. Vol. 4

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fadel, M A; El-Fiki, M A; Eissa, H M; Abdel-Hafez, A; Naguib, S H [National Institute of Standards, Cairo (Egypt)

    1996-03-01

    Phantom of tissue equivalent material with and without bone was used measuring depth dose distribution of gamma-rays from californium-252 source. The source was positioned at center of perspex walled phantom. Depth dose measurements were recorded for X, Y and Z planes at different distances from source. TLD 700 was used for measuring the dose distribution. Results indicate that implantation of bone in tissue equivalent medium cause changes in the gamma depth dose distribution which varies according to variation in bone geometry. 9 figs.

  12. Shaft cracks detection on operating centrifugal pumps by vibration analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Serra, Reynaldo Cavalcanti.

    1995-01-01

    This study gives an account of the vibratory behaviour of one centrifugal pump representative of those employed in nuclear reactors whereby its shaft contained a fatigue crack with critical orientation. Two cracks depth were included in the study, aside from the uncracked shaft. Four other machined discontinuities with varying depths were also included to allow a direct comparison. The data acquisition was carried out with a system using eight accelerometers and a tape recorder. The signals were then processed and interpreted with a dynamic signal analysis work station. The data analysis based in the time domain were unsuccessful as a result of the signal complexity. The fundamental frequency and its harmonics were defined from the frequency spectra. The corresponding amplitudes were recorded and tabulated for future reference. A method was proposed to identify the evolution of the discontinuities based on the departures from a reference state and procedure is suggested to substitute the standards and practices presently in use which are unreliable. (author). 46 refs., 48 figs., 24 tabs

  13. Crack detecting method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Narita, Michiko; Aida, Shigekazu

    1998-01-01

    A penetration liquid or a slow drying penetration liquid prepared by mixing a penetration liquid and a slow drying liquid is filled to the inside of an artificial crack formed to a member to be detected such as of boiler power generation facilities and nuclear power facilities. A developing liquid is applied to the periphery of the artificial crack on the surface of a member to be detected. As the slow-drying liquid, an oil having a viscosity of 56 is preferably used. Loads are applied repeatedly to the member to be detected, and when a crack is caused to the artificial crack, the permeation liquid penetrates into the crack. The penetration liquid penetrated into the crack is developed by the developing liquid previously coated to the periphery of the artificial crack of the surface of the member to be detected. When a crack is caused, since the crack is developed clearly even if it is a small opening, the crack can be recognized visually reliably. (I.N.)

  14. Computed tomographic imaging of subchondral fatigue cracks in the distal end of the third metacarpal bone in the thoroughbred racehorse can predict crack micromotion in an ex-vivo model.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marie-Soleil Dubois

    Full Text Available Articular stress fracture arising from the distal end of the third metacarpal bone (MC3 is a common serious injury in Thoroughbred racehorses. Currently, there is no method for predicting fracture risk clinically. We describe an ex-vivo biomechanical model in which we measured subchondral crack micromotion under compressive loading that modeled high speed running. Using this model, we determined the relationship between subchondral crack dimensions measured using computed tomography (CT and crack micromotion. Thoracic limbs from 40 Thoroughbred racehorses that had sustained a catastrophic injury were studied. Limbs were radiographed and examined using CT. Parasagittal subchondral fatigue crack dimensions were measured on CT images using image analysis software. MC3 bones with fatigue cracks were tested using five cycles of compressive loading at -7,500N (38 condyles, 18 horses. Crack motion was recorded using an extensometer. Mechanical testing was validated using bones with 3 mm and 5 mm deep parasagittal subchondral slots that modeled naturally occurring fatigue cracks. After testing, subchondral crack density was determined histologically. Creation of parasagittal subchondral slots induced significant micromotion during loading (p<0.001. In our biomechanical model, we found a significant positive correlation between extensometer micromotion and parasagittal crack area derived from reconstructed CT images (SR = 0.32, p<0.05. Correlations with transverse and frontal plane crack lengths were not significant. Histologic fatigue damage was not significantly correlated with crack dimensions determined by CT or extensometer micromotion. Bones with parasagittal crack area measurements above 30 mm2 may have a high risk of crack propagation and condylar fracture in vivo because of crack micromotion. In conclusion, our results suggest that CT could be used to quantify subchondral fatigue crack dimensions in racing Thoroughbred horses in-vivo to

  15. Effects of Crack and Climate Change on Service Life of Concrete Subjected to Carbonation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiao-Yong Wang

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Carbonation is among the primary reasons for the initiation of the corrosion of steel rebar in reinforced concrete (RC structures. Due to structural loading effects and environmental actions, inevitable cracks have frequently occurred in concrete structures since the early ages. Additionally, climate change, which entails increases in CO2 concentration and environmental temperature, will also accelerate the carbonation of concrete. This article presents an analytical way of predicting the service life of cracked concrete structures considering influences of carbonation and climate change. First, using a hydration model, the quantity of carbonatable materials and concrete porosity were calculated. Carbonation depth was evaluated considering properties of concrete materials and environmental conditions. Second, the influence of cracks on CO2 diffusivity was examined. Carbonation depth for cracked concrete was evaluated using equivalent CO2 diffusivity. The effects of climate change, for example, growing CO2 concentration and environmental temperature, were considered using different schemes of carbonation models. Third, different climate change scenarios (such as Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP 2.6, RCP 4.5, RCP 8.5 and upper 90% confidence interval of RCP 8.5 and time slices (such as 2000 and 2050 were used for case studies. By utilizing the Monte Carlo method, the influences of various climate change scenarios on the service life loss of concrete structures were highlighted.

  16. Electrochemical studies on stress corrosion cracking of incoloy-800 in caustic solution. Part II: Precracking samples

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dinu Alice

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Stress corrosion cracking (SCC in a caustic medium may affect the secondary circuit tubing of a CANDU NPP cooled with river water, due to an accidental formation of a concentrated alkaline environment in the areas with restricted circulation, as a result of a leakage of cooling water from the condenser. To evaluate the susceptibility of Incoloy-800 (used to manufacture steam generator tubes for CANDU NPP to SCC, some accelerated corrosion tests were conducted in an alkaline solution (10% NaOH, pH = 13. These experiments were performed at ambient temperature and 85 °C. We used the potentiodynamic method and the potentiostatic method, simultaneously monitoring the variation of the open circuit potential during a time period (E corr/time curve. The C-ring method was used to stress the samples. In order to create stress concentrations, mechanical precracks with a depth of 100 or 250 μm were made on the outer side of the C-rings. Experimental results showed that the stressed samples were more susceptible to SCC than the unstressed samples whereas the increase in temperature and crack depth lead to an increase in SCC susceptibility. Incipient micro cracks of a depth of 30 μm were detected in the area of the highest peak of the mechanical precrack.

  17. Sodar measurements of the mixed-layer depth over a large city

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shurygin, E.A. [Russia Academy of Sciences, Inst. of Atmospheric Physics, Moscow (Russian Federation)

    1997-10-01

    The results of synchronous sodar`s measurements on a territory of city and suburban area have shown: (a) The types of stratification over centre of the city and periphery considerably differ, and these distinctions are more often displayed in morning and evening transition period. The agreement between types of stratification in the centre and on the periphery was observed in 40% of cases; (b) At equal temperature stratification the mixed-layer depth in centre of the city is about 50-150 m higher at inversions in comparison with a periphery, at advanced convection - these depths are identical; (c) At different stratification between the city and periphery the distinction in the mixed-layer depth can reach 200. (au)

  18. Measurement of moisture depth distribution in composite materials using positron lifetime technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Singh, J.J.; Holt, W.H.; Mock, W. Jr.; Mall, G.H.

    1980-01-01

    Fiber-reinforced resin matrix composites reportedly suffer significant degradation in their mechanical properties when exposed to hot, moist, environments for extended periods. Moisture weakens the fiber matrix bond as well as the matrix shear strength. An important factor in determining the extent of degradation is the depth distribution of moisture in the resin matrix. Despite the importance of measuring moisture distribution and its effects on composite material properties, not enough data are available on suitable nondestructive techniques for detecting and measuring moisture diffusion in organic composite materials. This paper addresses itself to the problem of measuring the moisture content of such materials, with special emphasis on its depth distribution, using positron lifetime technique

  19. Permeability and elastic properties of cracked glass under pressure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ougier-Simonin, A.; GuéGuen, Y.; Fortin, J.; Schubnel, A.; Bouyer, F.

    2011-07-01

    Fluid flow in rocks is allowed through networks of cracks and fractures at all scales. In fact, cracks are of high importance in various applications ranging from rock elastic and transport properties to nuclear waste disposal. The present work aims at investigating thermomechanical cracking effects on elastic wave velocities, mechanical strength, and permeability of cracked glass under pressure. We performed the experiments on a triaxial cell at room temperature which allows for independent controls of the confining pressure, the axial stress, and pore pressure. We produced cracks in original borosilicate glass samples with a reproducible method (thermal treatment with a thermal shock of 300°C). The evolution of the elastic and transport properties have been monitored using elastic wave velocity sensors, strain gage, and flow measurements. The results obtained evidence for (1) a crack family with identified average aspect ratio and crack aperture, (2) a very small permeability which decreases as a power (exponential) function of pressure, and depends on (3) the crack aperture cube. We also show that permeability behavior of a cracked elastic brittle solid is reversible and independent of the fluid nature. Two independent methods (permeability and elastic wave velocity measurements) give these consistent results. This study provides data on the mechanical and transport properties of an almost ideal elastic brittle solid in which a crack population has been introduced. Comparisons with similar data on rocks allow for drawing interesting conclusions. Over the timescale of our experiments, our results do not provide any data on stress corrosion, which should be considered in further study.

  20. Fatigue crack growth in mode II of adhesively joined composites

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Biel, Anders; Toftegaard, Helmuth Langmaack

    2017-01-01

    , experiments are performed to derive material data for a crack propagation in shear i.e. in mode II. The shear loading of the crack is achieved by use of double cantilever beam specimens loaded with uneven bending moments. The experiments are performed under a constant cyclic displacement. An initial mode I...... loading is used to make the crack start in the adhesive. The crack length is measured using a load synchronized camera. Due to the shear loading the crack deviates from the adhesive layer into the laminate. A stable crack propagation is detected in the laminate. No influence have been detected due...... to an increasing crack length. It is also observed that the crack is trapped in the laminate; if the loading is changed to mode I the crack continues to propagate in the laminate....

  1. Concrete Crack Identification Using a UAV Incorporating Hybrid Image Processing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Hyunjun; Lee, Junhwa; Ahn, Eunjong; Cho, Soojin; Shin, Myoungsu; Sim, Sung-Han

    2017-09-07

    Crack assessment is an essential process in the maintenance of concrete structures. In general, concrete cracks are inspected by manual visual observation of the surface, which is intrinsically subjective as it depends on the experience of inspectors. Further, it is time-consuming, expensive, and often unsafe when inaccessible structural members are to be assessed. Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technologies combined with digital image processing have recently been applied to crack assessment to overcome the drawbacks of manual visual inspection. However, identification of crack information in terms of width and length has not been fully explored in the UAV-based applications, because of the absence of distance measurement and tailored image processing. This paper presents a crack identification strategy that combines hybrid image processing with UAV technology. Equipped with a camera, an ultrasonic displacement sensor, and a WiFi module, the system provides the image of cracks and the associated working distance from a target structure on demand. The obtained information is subsequently processed by hybrid image binarization to estimate the crack width accurately while minimizing the loss of the crack length information. The proposed system has shown to successfully measure cracks thicker than 0.1 mm with the maximum length estimation error of 7.3%.

  2. Crack

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... spending time in a rehab facility or getting cognitive-behavioral therapy or other treatments. Right now, there are no medicines to treat a crack addiction. If you smoke crack, talking with a counselor ...

  3. Probabilistic and microstructural aspects of fatigue cracks initiation in Inconel 718

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alexandre, F.

    2004-03-01

    Thermomechanical treatments have been recently developed to produce Inconel 718DA (Direct Aged). This alloy optimisation leads to an increase of the fatigue life but also the scatter. The aim of this study is on the one hand the understanding of the fatigue crack initiation mechanisms and on the other hand the modelling of the fatigue life and the scatter. An experimental study showed that the fatigue cracks were initiated from carbide particles in fine grain alloy. Interrupted tensile tests show that the particles cracking occurred at the first quarter of the fatigue cycle. Fatigue behaviour tests were also performed on various grain size 718 alloys. The last experimental part was devoted to measurements of the low cycle fatigue crack growth rates using a high focal distance microscope. For these tests, EDM micro-defects were used for the fatigue crack initiation sites. This method was also used to observe the small fatigue crack coalescence. A fatigue life model is proposed. It is based on the three fatigue crack initiation mechanisms competition: particle crack initiation on the surface, internal particle crack initiation and Stade I crack initiation. The particle fatigue crack initiation is supposed instantaneous at a critical stress level. The Tanaka and Mura model is used for analysing the Stage I crack initiation number of cycles. The fatigue crack growth rate was analysed using the Tomkins model identified on the small fatigue crack growth rate measurements. The proposed fatigue life model decomposed in three levels: a deterministic one and two probabilistic with and without crack coalescence. (author)

  4. FASTRAN II - FATIGUE CRACK GROWTH STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS (UNIX VERSION)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Newman, J. C.

    1994-01-01

    Predictions of fatigue crack growth behavior can be made with the Fatigue Crack Growth Structural Analysis (FASTRAN II) computer program. As cyclic loads are applied to a selected crack configuration with an initial crack size, FASTRAN II predicts crack growth as a function of cyclic load history until either a desired crack size is reached or failure occurs. FASTRAN II is based on plasticity-induced crack-closure behavior of cracks in metallic materials and accounts for load-interaction effects, such as retardation and acceleration, under variable-amplitude loading. The closure model is based on the Dugdale model with modifications to allow plastically deformed material to be left along the crack surfaces as the crack grows. Plane stress and plane strain conditions, as well as conditions between these two, can be simulated in FASTRAN II by using a constraint factor on tensile yielding at the crack front to approximately account for three-dimensional stress states. FASTRAN II contains seventeen predefined crack configurations (standard laboratory fatigue crack growth rate specimens and many common crack configurations found in structures); and the user can define one additional crack configuration. The baseline crack growth rate properties (effective stress-intensity factor against crack growth rate) may be given in either equation or tabular form. For three-dimensional crack configurations, such as surface cracks or corner cracks at holes or notches, the fatigue crack growth rate properties may be different in the crack depth and crack length directions. Final failure of the cracked structure can be modelled with fracture toughness properties using either linear-elastic fracture mechanics (brittle materials), a two-parameter fracture criterion (brittle to ductile materials), or plastic collapse (extremely ductile materials). The crack configurations in FASTRAN II can be subjected to either constant-amplitude, variable-amplitude or spectrum loading. The applied

  5. Transient subcritical crack-growth behavior in transformation-toughened ceramics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dauskardt, R.H.; Ritchie, R.O.; Carter, W.C.; Veirs, D.K.

    1990-01-01

    Transient subcritical crack-growth behavior following abrupt changes in the applied load are studied in transformation-toughened ceramics. A mechanics analysis is developed to model the transient nature of transformation shielding of the crack tip, K s , with subcritical crack extension following the applied load change. conditions for continued crack growth, crack growth followed by arrest, and no crack growth after the load change, are considered and related to the magnitude and sign of the applied load change and to materials properties such as the critical transformation stress. The analysis is found to provide similar trends in K s compared to values calculated from experimentally measured transformation zones in a transformation-toughened Mg-PSZ. In addition, accurate prediction of the post load-change transient crack-growth behavior is obtained using experimentally derived steady-state subcritical crack-growth relationships for cyclic fatigue in the same material

  6. Facts and views on the role of anionic impurities, crack tip chemistry and oxide films in environmentally assisted cracking

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aaltonen, P.; Bojinov, M.; Helin, M.

    2002-01-01

    The aim of this literature study has been to evaluate the level of understanding of the role of anionic impurities in environmentally assisted cracking (EAC) of iron- and nickel-based alloys in the coolant conditions of a boiling water reactor (BWR) - type nuclear power plant, mainly under normal water chemistry (NWC). The study has been motivated by a need to find the most relevant experimental approaches that can be applied when looking for correlations between crack growth rate and measurable electrochemical and chemical parameters. Special crack tip chemistry conditions are established, when trace amounts are present in the BWR coolant and become enriched within a crack. Anions may influence both the conductivity and the pH of the coolant within the crack. In addition, they may influence the composition, structure and properties of the oxide films formed on crack walls either directly via adsorption or incorporation or indirectly via the effect of changes in pH within the crack. Based on the proposed mechanisms for EAC, oxide films formed on crack wall surfaces are likely to play a key role in determing the crack growth rate of structural materials. The prediction of the influence of anionic impurities is thus likely to be facilitated by means of understanding their effect on the films on crack walls. One of the most promising approaches to experimentally clarify this influence is based on investigating the electrochemical behaviour of oxide films Fe- and Ni-based materials in high-temperature conditions simulating the special chemistry within a stress corrosion crack. Results from such studies should be compared and combined with ex situ analytical results obtained using modern electron microscopic techniques. In addition to crack growth, currently available electro-chemical techniques should also be applied to find out whether crack initiation can be explained and modelled on the basis of the electrochemical behaviour of oxide films. (orig.)

  7. Crack shape developments and leak rates for circumferential complex-cracked pipes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brickstad, B.; Bergman, M. [SAQ Inspection Ltd., Stockholm (Sweden)

    1997-04-01

    A computerized procedure has been developed that predicts the growth of an initial circumferential surface crack through a pipe and further on to failure. The crack growth mechanism can either be fatigue or stress corrosion. Consideration is taken to complex crack shapes and for the through-wall cracks, crack opening areas and leak rates are also calculated. The procedure is based on a large number of three-dimensional finite element calculations of cracked pipes. The results from these calculations are stored in a database from which the PC-program, denoted LBBPIPE, reads all necessary information. In this paper, a sensitivity analysis is presented for cracked pipes subjected to both stress corrosion and vibration fatigue.

  8. Fracture fragility of HFIR vessel caused by random crack size or random toughness

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chang, Shih-Jung; Proctor, L.D.

    1993-01-01

    This report discuses the probability of fracture (fracture fragility) versus a range of applied hoop stresses along the HFIR vessel which is obtained as an estimate of its fracture capacity. Both the crack size and the fracture toughness are assumed to be random variables that follow given distribution functions. Possible hoop stress is based on the numerical solution of the vessel response by applying a point pressure-pulse it the center of the fluid volume within the vessel. Both the fluid-structure interaction and radiation embrittlement are taken into consideration. Elastic fracture mechanics is used throughout the analysis. The probability of vessel fracture for a single crack caused by either a variable crack depth or a variable toughness is first derived. Then the probability of fracture with multiple number of cracks is obtained. The probability of fracture is further extended to include different levels of confidence and variability. It, therefore, enables one to estimate the high confidence and low probability capacity accident load

  9. Non destructive characterization of cracks in concrete by ultrasonic auscultation of civil engineering structures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Quiviger, A.; Payan, C.; Chaix, J.F.; Zardan, J.P.; Garnier, V.; Salin, J.

    2011-01-01

    Concrete Non Destructive Characterisation is one of the important issues to evaluate the life duration in the present and future civil engineering structures. The damaging modes of the structures often imply the phases of the appearance and after growth of the cracks. We have to detect, identify and characterize them. The characterization result must lead to a diagnosis of the criticality of a crack regarding to the integrity of the structure and its ability to fulfill its function. The Non Destructive Evaluation techniques are numerous but the ultrasonic ones are able to give an answer to both the characterization and the follow-up of the defect on site. Yet if this method is potentially relevant to detect and identify the cracks in the concrete, we have today a certain amount of locks to remove in order to offer robust and reproducible industrial solutions. These locks range from research points like the description of the real propagation of linear or non linear ultrasonic waves in a heterogeneous material, to more industrial concepts such as the development of devices designed to be applied in the concrete control. For this purpose, we present our latest works on this topic. We develop an overview of the problem: first, to extract the most important theoretical solutions to analyse an unstopping and closed crack in concrete with an only one face access. Then we suggest a methodology to apply one of these solutions on site. A first step of this work after having chosen a solution is to check the ability of the technique to detect a crack, and its sensitivity to the length, depth and opening of the crack. We have developed an experimental plan based on theoretical concept to compare the linear and non linear survey on a set of specimens composed of concrete beams cracked to different depths. We describe the devices and give the latest results. The non linear technique is able to extract information on the size of the cracks. It is an important step to progress in

  10. Non destructive characterization of cracks in concrete by ultrasonic auscultation of civil engineering structures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Quiviger, A.; Payan, C.; Chaix, J.F.; Zardan, J.P.; Garnier, V. [EDF, LCND (France); Salin, J. [EDF Paris (France)

    2011-07-01

    Concrete Non Destructive Characterisation is one of the important issues to evaluate the life duration in the present and future civil engineering structures. The damaging modes of the structures often imply the phases of the appearance and after growth of the cracks. We have to detect, identify and characterize them. The characterization result must lead to a diagnosis of the criticality of a crack regarding to the integrity of the structure and its ability to fulfill its function. The Non Destructive Evaluation techniques are numerous but the ultrasonic ones are able to give an answer to both the characterization and the follow-up of the defect on site. Yet if this method is potentially relevant to detect and identify the cracks in the concrete, we have today a certain amount of locks to remove in order to offer robust and reproducible industrial solutions. These locks range from research points like the description of the real propagation of linear or non linear ultrasonic waves in a heterogeneous material, to more industrial concepts such as the development of devices designed to be applied in the concrete control. For this purpose, we present our latest works on this topic. We develop an overview of the problem: first, to extract the most important theoretical solutions to analyse an unstopping and closed crack in concrete with an only one face access. Then we suggest a methodology to apply one of these solutions on site. A first step of this work after having chosen a solution is to check the ability of the technique to detect a crack, and its sensitivity to the length, depth and opening of the crack. We have developed an experimental plan based on theoretical concept to compare the linear and non linear survey on a set of specimens composed of concrete beams cracked to different depths. We describe the devices and give the latest results. The non linear technique is able to extract information on the size of the cracks. It is an important step to progress in

  11. Fault feature analysis of cracked gear based on LOD and analytical-FE method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Jiateng; Yang, Yu; Yang, Xingkai; Cheng, Junsheng

    2018-01-01

    At present, there are two main ideas for gear fault diagnosis. One is the model-based gear dynamic analysis; the other is signal-based gear vibration diagnosis. In this paper, a method for fault feature analysis of gear crack is presented, which combines the advantages of dynamic modeling and signal processing. Firstly, a new time-frequency analysis method called local oscillatory-characteristic decomposition (LOD) is proposed, which has the attractive feature of extracting fault characteristic efficiently and accurately. Secondly, an analytical-finite element (analytical-FE) method which is called assist-stress intensity factor (assist-SIF) gear contact model, is put forward to calculate the time-varying mesh stiffness (TVMS) under different crack states. Based on the dynamic model of the gear system with 6 degrees of freedom, the dynamic simulation response was obtained for different tooth crack depths. For the dynamic model, the corresponding relation between the characteristic parameters and the degree of the tooth crack is established under a specific condition. On the basis of the methods mentioned above, a novel gear tooth root crack diagnosis method which combines the LOD with the analytical-FE is proposed. Furthermore, empirical mode decomposition (EMD) and ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD) are contrasted with the LOD by gear crack fault vibration signals. The analysis results indicate that the proposed method performs effectively and feasibility for the tooth crack stiffness calculation and the gear tooth crack fault diagnosis.

  12. Option-4 algorithm for Florida pocket depth probe: reduction in the variance of site-specific probeable crevice depth measurements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Breen, H J; Rogers, P; Johnson, N W; Slaney, R

    1999-08-01

    Clinical periodontal measurement is plagued by many sources of error which result in aberrant values (outliers). This study sets out to compare probeable crevice depth measurements (PCD) selected by the option-4 algorithm against those recorded with a conventional double-pass method and to quantify any reduction in site-specific PCD variances. A single clinician recorded full-mouth PCD at 1 visit in 32 subjects (mean age 45.5 years) with moderately advanced chronic adult periodontitis. PCD was recorded over 2 passes at 6 sites per tooth with the Florida Pocket Depth Probes, a 3rd generation probe. The option-4 algorithm compared the 1st pass site-specific PCD value (PCD1) to the 2nd pass site-specific PCD value (PCD2) and, if the difference between these values was >1.00 mm, allowed the recording of a maximum of 2 further measurements (3rd and 4th pass measurements PCD3 and PCD4): 4 site-specific measure-meets were considered to be the maximum subject and tissue tolerance. The algorithm selected the 1st 2 measurements whose difference was difference Y) (Y=[(A-B)/A]X 100) and a 75% reduction in the median site-specific variance of PCD1/PCD2.

  13. Handheld White Light Interferometer for Measuring Defect Depth in Windows

    Science.gov (United States)

    Youngquist, Robert; Simmons, Stephen; Cox, Robert

    2010-01-01

    Accurate quantification of defects (scratches and impacts) is vital to the certification of flight hardware and other critical components. The amount of damage to a particular component contributes to the performance, reliability, and safety of a system, which ultimately affects the success or failure of a mission or test. The launch-commit criteria on a Space Shuttle Orbiter window are governed by the depth of the defects that are identified by a visual inspection. This measurement of a defect is not easy to obtain given the environment, size of the defect, and location of the window(s). The determination of depth has typically been performed by taking a mold impression and measuring the impression with an optical profiling instrument. Another method of obtaining an estimate of the depth is by using a refocus microscope. To use a refocus microscope, the surface of the glass and bottom of the defect are, in turn, brought into focus by the operator. The amount of movement between the two points corresponds to the depth of the defect. The refocus microscope requires a skilled operator and has been proven to be unreliable when used on Orbiter windows. White light interferometry was chosen as a candidate to replace the refocus microscope. The White Light Interferometer (WLI) was developed to replace the refocus microscope as the instrument used for measuring the depth of defects in Orbiter windows. The WLI consists of a broadband illumination source, interferometer, detector, motion control, displacement sensor, mechanical housing, and support electronics. The illumination source for the WLI is typically a visible light emitting diode (LED) or a near-infrared superluminescent diode (SLD) with power levels of less than a milliwatt. The interferometer is a Michelson configuration consisting of a 1-in. (2.5-cm) cube beam splitter, a 0.5-in. (1.3-cm) optical window as a movable leg (used to closely match the return intensity of the fixed leg from the window), and a

  14. Elastic-plastic analysis of local and integral straining behaviour in a cracked plate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grueter, L.; Ruettenauer, B.

    1982-01-01

    For components of the primary coolant system of the German LMFBR prototype reactor SNR-300, integrity against anticipated accidents (Bethe-Tait) has to be shown for a cracked structure. Within this programme a number of tests with cracked wide plate specimens yielding overall limit strains of approximately 15% have been run; finite element calculations have been infinated for the wide plate geometry. The paper discusses the straining behaviour of a cracked plate by considering the numerical simulation of structures strained up to such high levels. The stress-strain diagram of the weldment of the austenitic stainless steel X6 CrNi 18 at 450 0 C has been used. Plane strain and stress conditions have been prescribed. The original plate dimensions (t = thickness = 40 mm; h = height = 400 mm) have been used as well as a similar, but smaller plate of t = 8.8 mm width. The crack length is defined as 0.1 t. The results show that for a cracked plate under high plastic strain the near-crack-tip-field values still govern the structural mechanical behaviour. Concerning the absolute dimensions the effects known for elasticity retain their influence in the plastic regime; however, the crack location becomes more unimportant with increasing strain, i.e. the appropriate pure geometry factor tends to unity in the plastic regime. The center-crack, defined as 2a = 0.1 t, corresponds to an equivalent edge crack of depth a = 0.05 t in the elastic case. It can be shown that for high plastic strains this correspondence remains fully valid. (orig.)

  15. The implementation of depth measurement and related algorithms based on binocular vision in embedded AM5728

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deng, Zhiwei; Li, Xicai; Shi, Junsheng; Huang, Xiaoqiao; Li, Feiyan

    2018-01-01

    Depth measurement is the most basic measurement in various machine vision, such as automatic driving, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), robot and so on. And it has a wide range of use. With the development of image processing technology and the improvement of hardware miniaturization and processing speed, real-time depth measurement using dual cameras has become a reality. In this paper, an embedded AM5728 and the ordinary low-cost dual camera is used as the hardware platform. The related algorithms of dual camera calibration, image matching and depth calculation have been studied and implemented on the hardware platform, and hardware design and the rationality of the related algorithms of the system are tested. The experimental results show that the system can realize simultaneous acquisition of binocular images, switching of left and right video sources, display of depth image and depth range. For images with a resolution of 640 × 480, the processing speed of the system can be up to 25 fps. The experimental results show that the optimal measurement range of the system is from 0.5 to 1.5 meter, and the relative error of the distance measurement is less than 5%. Compared with the PC, ARM11 and DMCU hardware platforms, the embedded AM5728 hardware is good at meeting real-time depth measurement requirements in ensuring the image resolution.

  16. Geometry of X-ray based measurement of residual strain at desired penetration depth

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Morawiec, A. [Polish Academy of Sciences, Institute of Metallurgy and Materials Science, Krakow (Poland)

    2017-10-15

    X-ray based measurement of residual lattice strains at chosen penetration depth is one of the methods for investigating strain inhomogeneities in near-surface layers of polycrystalline materials. The measurement relies on determining shifts of Bragg peaks for various directions of the scattering vector with respect to the specimen. At each of these directions, to reach a given the penetration depth, a proper specimen orientation is required. The task of determining such orientations, albeit elementary, is quite intricate. The existing literature describes only partial solutions with unspecified domains of application, which fail if applied to beyond the domains. Therefore, geometric aspects of the measurement are analyzed in details. Explicit bounds on measurement parameters are given. The equation fundamental for the procedure is solved with respect to specimen orientations. For a given direction of the scattering vector, there are generally four different specimen orientations leading to the same penetration depth. This simple fact (overlooked in previous analyses) can be used for improving reliability of measurement results. Analytical formulas for goniometer angles representing these orientations are provided. (copyright 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

  17. Dynamic propagation and cleavage crack arrest in bainitic steel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hajjaj, M.

    2006-06-01

    In complement of the studies of harmfulness of defects, generally realized in term of initiation, the concept of crack arrest could be used as complementary analyses to the studies of safety. The stop occurs when the stress intensity factor becomes lower than crack arrest toughness (KIa) calculated in elasto-statics (KI ≤ KIa). The aim of this thesis is to understand and predict the stop of a crack propagating at high speed in a 18MND5 steel used in the pressure water reactor (PWR). The test chosen to study crack arrest is the disc thermal shock test. The observations under the scanning electron microscope of the fracture surface showed that the crack arrest always occurs in cleavage mode and that the critical microstructural entity with respect to the propagation and crack arrest corresponds to at least the size of the prior austenitic grain. The numerical analyses in elasto-statics confirm the conservatism of the codified curve of the RCC-M with respect to the values of KIa. The dynamic numerical analyses show that the deceleration of the crack measured at the end of the propagation is related to the global dynamic of the structure (vibrations). The transferability to components of crack arrest toughness obtained from tests analysed in static is thus not assured. The disc thermal shock tests were also modelled by considering a criterion of propagation and arrest of the type 'RKR' characterized by a critical stress sc which depends on the temperature. The results obtained account well for the crack jump measured in experiments as well as the shape of the crack arrest front. (author)

  18. Application of X-ray fractography for estimation of crack resistance of structural materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vikulin, A.V.; Veselov, V.A.; Georgiev, M.N.; Strok, L.P.

    1984-01-01

    An attempt is made to correlate the depth of plasticity zone h with characteristics of fracture toughness Ksub(Ic) and Ksub(c) at different temperatures, using roentgenography. The steel 38KhMA(0.38 mass.% C; 0.28Si; 0.54Mn; 0.015S; 0.011P; 1.12Cr; 0.26Ni; 0.08Cu; 0.25Mo; 0.02V; 0.02Ti) has been investigated. It is shown, that the decrease in fracture energy consumption with the test temperature decrease is conditioned by two effects: decrease in plastic zone dimensions near crack top and weakening of intensity of deformation processes in it. It is possible to use the method of roentgenography to predict crack resistance, accepting the measured value for plastic zone dimension and using formulas of fracture mechanics. Fracture toughness characteristics thus calculated agree satisfactorily with the experimental ones. Fractographic characteristics, established in the process of X-ray structural study of fractures, and strength characteristics, obtained in the process of tests for fracture toughness, are closely bound linear dependence in a wide temperature range

  19. B-scan technique for localization and characterization of fatigue cracks around fastener holes in multi-layered structures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hopkins, Deborah; Datuin, Marvin; Aldrin, John; Warchol, Mark; Warchol, Lyudmila; Forsyth, David

    2018-04-01

    The work presented here aims to develop and transition angled-beam shear-wave inspection techniques for crack localization at fastener sites in multi-layer aircraft structures. This requires moving beyond detection to achieve reliable crack location and size, thereby providing invaluable information for maintenance actions and service-life management. The technique presented is based on imaging cracks in "True" B-scans (depth view projected in the sheets along the beam path). The crack traces that contribute to localization in the True B-scans depend on small, diffracted signals from the crack edges and tips that are visible in simulations and experimental data acquired with sufficient gain. The most recent work shows that cracks rotated toward and away from the central ultrasonic beam also yield crack traces in True B-scans that allow localization in simulations, even for large obtuse angles where experimental and simulation results show very small or no indications in the C-scans. Similarly, for two sheets joined by sealant, simulations show that cracks in the second sheet can be located in True B-scans for all locations studied: cracks that intersect the front or back wall of the second sheet, as well as relatively small mid-bore cracks. These results are consistent with previous model verification and sensitivity studies that demonstrate crack localization in True B-scans for a single sheet and cracks perpendicular to the ultrasonic beam.

  20. Computed Tomographic Imaging of Subchondral Fatigue Cracks in the Distal End of the Third Metacarpal Bone in the Thoroughbred Racehorse Can Predict Crack Micromotion in an Ex-Vivo Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dubois, Marie-Soleil; Morello, Samantha; Rayment, Kelsey; Markel, Mark D.; Vanderby, Ray; Kalscheur, Vicki L.; Hao, Zhengling; McCabe, Ronald P.; Marquis, Patricia; Muir, Peter

    2014-01-01

    Articular stress fracture arising from the distal end of the third metacarpal bone (MC3) is a common serious injury in Thoroughbred racehorses. Currently, there is no method for predicting fracture risk clinically. We describe an ex-vivo biomechanical model in which we measured subchondral crack micromotion under compressive loading that modeled high speed running. Using this model, we determined the relationship between subchondral crack dimensions measured using computed tomography (CT) and crack micromotion. Thoracic limbs from 40 Thoroughbred racehorses that had sustained a catastrophic injury were studied. Limbs were radiographed and examined using CT. Parasagittal subchondral fatigue crack dimensions were measured on CT images using image analysis software. MC3 bones with fatigue cracks were tested using five cycles of compressive loading at -7,500N (38 condyles, 18 horses). Crack motion was recorded using an extensometer. Mechanical testing was validated using bones with 3 mm and 5 mm deep parasagittal subchondral slots that modeled naturally occurring fatigue cracks. After testing, subchondral crack density was determined histologically. Creation of parasagittal subchondral slots induced significant micromotion during loading (pThoroughbred horses in-vivo to assess risk of condylar fracture. Horses with parasagittal crack arrays that exceed 30 mm2 may have a high risk for development of condylar fracture. PMID:25077477

  1. Ductile crack growth simulation from near crack tip dissipated energy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marie, S.; Chapuliot, S.

    2000-01-01

    A method to calculate ductile tearing in both small scale fracture mechanics specimens and cracked components is presented. This method is based on an estimation of the dissipated energy calculated near the crack tip. Firstly, the method is presented. It is shown that a characteristic parameter G fr can be obtained, relevant to the dissipated energy in the fracture process. The application of the method to the calculation of side grooved crack tip (CT) specimens of different sizes is examined. The value of G fr is identified by comparing the calculated and experimental load line displacement versus crack extension curve for the smallest CT specimen. With this identified value, it is possible to calculate the global behaviour of the largest specimen. The method is then applied to the calculation of a pipe containing a through-wall thickness crack subjected to a bending moment. This pipe is made of the same material as the CT specimens. It is shown that it is possible to simulate the global behaviour of the structure including the prediction of up to 90-mm crack extension. Local terms such as the equivalent stress or the crack tip opening angle are found to be constant during the crack extension process. This supports the view that G fr controls the fields in the vicinity near the crack tip. (orig.)

  2. Severity parameters for steam cracking

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Golombok, M.; Bijl, J.L.M.; Kornegoor, M.

    2001-01-01

    There are several ways to measure severity in steam cracking which are all a function of residence time, temperature, and pressure. Many measures of severity are not practicable for experimental purposes. Our experimental study shows that methane make is the best measure of severity because it is an

  3. Thermal shock cracking of GSO single crystal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miyazaki, Noriyuki; Yamamoto, Kazunari; Tamura, Takaharu; Kurashige, Kazuhisa; Ishibashi, Hiroyuki; Susa, Kenzo

    1998-01-01

    The quantitative estimation of the failure stress of a gadolinium orthosilicate (Gd 2 SiO 5 , hereafter abbreviated as GSO) single crystal due to thermal shock was investigated. A cylindrical test specimen was heated in a silicone oil bath, then subjected to thermal shock by pouring room temperature silicone oil. Cracking occurred during cooling. The heat conduction analysis was performed to obtain temperature distribution in a GSO single crystal at cracking, using the surface temperatures measured in the thermal shock cracking test. Then the thermal stress was calculated using temperature profile of the test specimen obtained from the heat conduction analysis. It is found from the results of the thermal stress analysis and the observation of the cracking in test specimens that the thermal shock cracking occurs in a cleavage plane due to the stress normal to the plane. Three-point bending tests were also performed to examine the relationship between the critical stress for thermal shock cracking and the three-point bending strength obtained from small-sized test specimens. (author)

  4. An accurately controllable imitative stress corrosion cracking for electromagnetic nondestructive testing and evaluations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yusa, Noritaka; Uchimoto, Tetsuya; Takagi, Toshiyuki; Hashizume, Hidetoshi

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► We propose a method to simulate stress corrosion cracking. ► The method offers nondestructive signals similar to those of actual cracking. ► Visual and eddy current examinations validate the method. - Abstract: This study proposes a simple and cost-effective approach to fabricate an artificial flaw that is identical to stress corrosion cracking especially from the viewpoint of electromagnetic nondestructive evaluations. The key idea of the approach is to embed a partially-bonded region inside a material by bonding together surfaces that have grooves. The region is regarded as an area of uniform non-zero conductivity from an electromagnetic nondestructive point of view, and thus simulates the characteristics of stress corrosion cracking. Since the grooves are introduced using electro-discharge machining, one can control the profile of the imitative stress corrosion cracking accurately. After numerical simulation to evaluate the spatial resolution of conventional eddy current testing, six specimens made of type 316L austenitic stainless steel were fabricated on the basis of the results of the simulations. Visual and eddy current examinations were carried out to demonstrate that the artificial flaws well simulated the characteristics of actual stress corrosion cracking. Subsequent destructive test confirmed that the bonding did not change the depth profiles of the artificial flaw.

  5. On applicability of crack shape characterization rules for multiple in-plane surface cracks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Jong Min; Choi, Suhn; Park, Keun Bae; Choi, Jae Boong; Huh, Nam Su

    2009-01-01

    The fracture mechanics assessment parameters, such as the elastic stress intensity factor and the elastic-plastic J-integral, for a surface crack can be significantly affected by adjacent cracks. Regarding such an interaction effect, the relative distance between adjacent cracks, crack aspect ratio and loading condition were known to be important factors for multiple cracks, which affects the fracture mechanics assessment parameters. Although several guidance (ASME Sec. XI, BS7910, British Energy R6 and API RP579) on a crack interaction effect (crack combination rule) have been proposed and used for assessing the interaction effect, each guidance provides different rules for combining multiple surface cracks into a single surface crack. Based on the systematic elastic and elastic-plastic finite element analyses, the present study investigated the acceptability of the crack combination rules provided in the existing guidance, and the relevant recommendations on a crack interaction for in-plane surface cracks in a plate were discussed. To quantify the interaction effect, the elastic stress intensity factor and elastic-plastic J-integral along the crack front were used. As for the loading condition, only axial tension was considered. As a result, BS7910 seems to provide the most relevant crack combination rule for in-plane dual surface cracks, whereas API RP579 provides the most conservative results. In particular, ASME Sec. XI still seems to have some room for a revision to shorten the critical distance between two adjacent cracks for a crack combination. The overall tendency of the elastic-plastic analyses results is identical to that of the elastic analyses results.

  6. Geometrically Nonlinear Static Analysis of Edge Cracked Timoshenko Beams Composed of Functionally Graded Material

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Şeref Doğuşcan Akbaş

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Geometrically nonlinear static analysis of edge cracked cantilever Timoshenko beams composed of functionally graded material (FGM subjected to a nonfollower transversal point load at the free end of the beam is studied with large displacements and large rotations. Material properties of the beam change in the height direction according to exponential distributions. The cracked beam is modeled as an assembly of two subbeams connected through a massless elastic rotational spring. In the study, the finite element of the beam is constructed by using the total Lagrangian Timoshenko beam element approximation. The nonlinear problem is solved by using incremental displacement-based finite element method in conjunction with Newton-Raphson iteration method. The convergence study is performed for various numbers of finite elements. In the study, the effects of the location of crack, the depth of the crack, and various material distributions on the nonlinear static response of the FGM beam are investigated in detail. Also, the difference between the geometrically linear and nonlinear analysis of edge cracked FGM beam is investigated in detail.

  7. Photoelastic Analysis of Cracked Thick Walled Cylinders

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pastramă, Ştefan Dan

    2017-12-01

    In this paper, the experimental determination of the stress intensity factor in thick walled cylinders subject to uniform internal pressure and having longitudinal non-penetrating cracks is presented. Photoelastic measurements were used together with the expressions of the stress field near the crack tip for Mode I crack extension and a specific methodology for stress intensity factor determination. Two types of longitudinal cracks - internal and external - were considered. Four plane models were manufactured and analyzed in a plane polariscope at different values of the applied internal pressure. The values of the normalized stress intensity factor were calculated and the results were compared to those reported by other authors. A good accuracy was noticed, showing the reliability of the experimental procedure.

  8. Deterministic and probabilistic crack growth analysis for the JRC Ispra 1/5 scale pressure vessel n0 R2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bruckner-Foit, A.; Munz, D.

    1989-10-01

    A deterministic and a probabilistic crack growth analysis is presented for the major defects found in the welds during ultrasonic pre-service inspection. The deterministic analysis includes first a determination of the number of load cycles until crack initiation, then a cycle-by-cycle calculation of the growth of the embedded elliptical cracks, followed by an evaluation of the growth of the semi-elliptical surface crack formed after the crack considered has broken through the wall and, finally, a determination of the critical crack size and shape. In the probabilistic analysis, a Monte-Carlo simulation is performed with a sample of cracks where the statistical distributions of the crack dimensions describe the uncertainty in sizing of the ultrasonic inspection. The distributions of crack depth, crack length and location are evaluated as a function of the number of load cycles. In the simulation, the fracture mechanics model of the deterministic analysis is employed for each random crack. The results of the deterministic and probabilistic crack growth analysis are compared with the results of the second in-service inspection where stable extension of some of the cracks had been observed. It is found that the prediction and the experiment agree only with a probability of the order of 5% or less

  9. Studying unsaturated epikarst water storage properties by time lapse surface to depth gravity measurements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deville, S.; Champollion, C.; chery, J.; Doerflinger, E.; Le Moigne, N.; Bayer, R.; Vernant, P.

    2011-12-01

    The assessment of water storage in the unsaturated zone in karstic areas is particularly challenging. Indeed, water flow path and water storage occur in quite heterogeneous ways through small scale porosity, fractures, joints and large voids. Due to this large heterogeneity, it is therefore difficult to estimate the amount of water circulating in the vadose zone by hydrological means. One indirect method consists to measure the gravity variation associated to water storage and withdrawal. Here, we apply a gravimetric method in which the gravity is measured at the surface and at depth on different sites. Then the time variations of the surface to depth (STD) gravity differences are compared for each site. In this study we attempt to evaluate the magnitude of epikarstic water storage variation in various karst settings using a CG5 portable gravimeter. Surface to depth gravity measurements are performed two times a year since 2009 at the surface an inside caves at different depths on three karst aquifers in southern France : 1. A limestone site on the Larzac plateau with a vadose zone thickness of 300m On this site measurements are done on five locations at different depths going from 0 to 50 m; 2. A dolomitic site on the Larzac plateau (Durzon karst aquifer) with a vadose zone thickness of 200m; Measurements are taken at the surface and at 60m depth 3. A limestone site on the Hortus karst aquifer and "Larzac Septentrional karst aquifer") with a vadose zone thickness of only 35m. Measurements are taken at the surface and at 30m depth Therefore, our measurements are used in two ways : First, the STD differences between dry and wet seasons are used to estimate the capacity of differential storage of each aquifer. Surprisingly, the differential storage capacity of all the sites is relatively invariant despite their variable geological of hydrological contexts. Moreover, the STD gravity variations on site 1 show that no water storage variation occurs beneath 10m depth

  10. The application of RBI-concept to ultrasonic measurement of fatigue cracks

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pitkaenen, J; Saerkiniemi, P; Kauppinen, P [VTT Manufacturing Technology, Espoo (Finland)

    1999-12-31

    In many power plants there are problem areas, which are not included in the official inspection programs. Flaws can be induced during service due to the service conditions in components and welded joints. These can lead to failures, which cause unforeseen shutdowns during operation and unscheduled repairs have to be earned out. The basic idea of Risk Based Inspection (RBI) methodology is to include this kind of objects in the inspection program. In this presentation two possible objects for RBI are described - thermal fatigue cracking in process piping and fatigue cracking in spinning fly wheel. (orig.) 4 refs.

  11. The application of RBI-concept to ultrasonic measurement of fatigue cracks

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pitkaenen, J.; Saerkiniemi, P.; Kauppinen, P. [VTT Manufacturing Technology, Espoo (Finland)

    1998-12-31

    In many power plants there are problem areas, which are not included in the official inspection programs. Flaws can be induced during service due to the service conditions in components and welded joints. These can lead to failures, which cause unforeseen shutdowns during operation and unscheduled repairs have to be earned out. The basic idea of Risk Based Inspection (RBI) methodology is to include this kind of objects in the inspection program. In this presentation two possible objects for RBI are described - thermal fatigue cracking in process piping and fatigue cracking in spinning fly wheel. (orig.) 4 refs.

  12. Determining the influential depth for surface reflectance of sediment by BRDF measurements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, H; Voss, K; Reid, R

    2003-10-20

    We measure the Bi-directional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) of ooid sand layers with three particle size distributions (0.5-1mm, 0.25-0.5mm and 0.125-0.25mm) and layer thicknesses on a reflecting mirror to determine the influential depth in the optical region at wavelengths of 658 nm (red), 570 nm (green) and 457 nm (blue). The hemispherical reflectance (albedo) was used as an indicator of BRDF changes between different layers. Measurements are carried out on both dry and water wetted grains. The results indicate that for both dry and wet and all size distributions, the influential depth is at most 2mm.

  13. Comparison of crack arrest methodologies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1979-01-01

    The ASTM Cooperative Test Program Data were used to compare the static (K/sub Ia/) and dynamic (K/sud ID/, K/sub IDm/) approaches to crack arrest. K/sub Ia/ is not dependent on K/sub Q/. This is consistent with the requirements of the static approach, but not the dynamic one which requires that K/sub Ia/ decrease with K/sub Q/ if K/sub ID/ (= K/sub IDm/) is a constant. K/sub ID/ increases systematically with K/sub Q/ at a rate that is consistent with calculations based on the use of a constant value for K/sub Ia/ which is equal to its measured mean value. Only in the limiting case of very short crack jumps (associated with very low average crack speeds) can K/sub ID/ be identified as a minimum value at which K/sub ID/ = K/sub IDm/. In this case K/sub IDm/ approx. K/sub Ia/ approx. K/sub Im/. The latter is the idealized minimum value of K that will support the continued propagation of a running crack

  14. Cracks in functionally graded materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bahr, H.-A.; Balke, H.; Fett, T.; Hofinger, I.; Kirchhoff, G.; Munz, D.; Neubrand, A.; Semenov, A.S.; Weiss, H.-J.; Yang, Y.Y.

    2003-01-01

    The weight function method is described to analyze the crack growth behavior in functionally graded materials and in particular materials with a rising crack growth resistance curve. Further, failure of graded thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) under cyclic surface heating by laser irradiation is modeled on the basis of fracture mechanics. The damage of both graded and non-graded TBCs is found to develop in several distinct stages: vertical cracking→delamination→blistering→spalling. This sequence can be understood as an effect of progressive shrinkage due to sintering and high-temperature creep during thermal cycling, which increases the energy-release rate for vertical cracks which subsequently turn into delamination cracks. The results of finite element modeling, taking into account the TBC damage mechanisms, are compatible with experimental data. An increase of interface fracture toughness due to grading and a decrease due to ageing have been measured in a four-point bending test modified by a stiffening layer. Correlation with the damage observed in cyclic heating is discussed. It is explained in which way grading is able to reduce the damage

  15. Dynamic strain distribution measurement and crack detection of an adhesive-bonded single-lap joint under cyclic loading using embedded FBG

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ning, Xiaoguang; Murayama, Hideaki; Kageyama, Kazuro; Wada, Daichi; Kanai, Makoto; Ohsawa, Isamu; Igawa, Hirotaka

    2014-01-01

    In this study, the dynamic strain distribution measurement of an adhesive-bonded single-lap joint was carried out in a cyclic load test using a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensor embedded into the adhesive/adherend interface along the overlap length direction. Unidirectional carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) substrates were bonded by epoxy resin to form the joint, and the FBG sensor was embedded into the surface of one substrate during its curing. The measurement was carried out with a sampling rate of 5 Hz by the sensing system, based on the optical frequency domain reflectometry (OFDR) throughout the test. A finite element analysis (FEA) was performed for the measurement evaluation using a three-dimensional model, which included the embedded FBG sensor. The crack detection method, based on the longitudinal strain distribution measurement, was introduced and performed to estimate the cracks that occurred at the adhesive/adherend interface in the test. (paper)

  16. Opto-thermal moisture content and moisture depth profile measurements in organic materials

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Xiao, P.; Guo, X.; Cui, Y.Y.; Imhof, R.; Bicanic, D.D.

    2004-01-01

    Opto-thermal transient emission radiometry(OTTER) is a infrared remote sensing technique, which has been successfully used in in vivo skin moisture content and skin moisture depth profiling measurements.In present paper, we extend this moisture content measurement capability to analyze the moisture

  17. Subsurface metals fatigue cracking without and with crack tip

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrey Shanyavskiy

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available Very-High-Cycle-Fatigue regime for metals was considered and mechanisms of the subsurface crack origination were introduced. In many metals first step of crack origination takes place with specific area formation because of material pressing and rotation that directed to transition in any volume to material ultra-high-plasticity with nano-structure appearing. Then by the border of the nano-structure takes place volume rotation and fracture surface creates with spherical particles which usually named Fine-Granular-Area. In another case there takes place First-Smooth-Facet occurring in area of origin due to whirls appearing by the one of the slip systems under discussed the same stress-state conditions. Around Fine-Granular-Area or First-Smooth-Facet there plastic zone appeared and, then, subsurface cracking develops by the same manner as for through cracks. In was discussed quantum-mechanical nature of fatigue crack growth in accordance with Yang’s modulus quantization for low level of deformations. New simply equation was considered for describing subsurface cracking in metals out of Fine-Granular-Area or Fist-Smooth-Facet.

  18. Initiation of delayed hydride cracking in zirconium-2.5 wt% niobium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shalabi, A.F.; Meneley, D.A.

    1990-01-01

    Delayed hydride cracking in zirconium alloys is caused by the repeated precipitation and cracking of brittle hydrides. The growth kinetic of the hydrides have been measured to evaluate the critical hydride length for crack initiation. Hydride growth leading to crack initiation follows an approximate (time) 1/3 law on the average; crack propagation proceeds in a stepwise fashion. The critical length of hydride for crack initiation increases with stress and temperature. The fracture criterion for crack initiation predicts the critical hydride length at a give stress level and temperature. The fracture initiation mechanism of the hydride confirms the temperature effects for heating and cooling cycles under services loads. (orig.)

  19. Volume measurement of the leg with the depth camera for quantitative evaluation of edema

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kiyomitsu, Kaoru; Kakinuma, Akihiro; Takahashi, Hiroshi; Kamijo, Naohiro; Ogawa, Keiko; Tsumura, Norimichi

    2017-02-01

    Volume measurement of the leg is important in the evaluation of leg edema. Recently, method for measurement by using a depth camera is proposed. However, many depth cameras are expensive. Therefore, we propose a method using Microsoft Kinect. We obtain a point cloud of the leg by Kinect Fusion technique and calculate the volume. We measured the volume of leg for three healthy students during three days. In each measurement, the increase of volume was confirmed from morning to evening. It is known that the volume of leg is increased in doing office work. Our experimental results meet this expectation.

  20. Studies on the behavior of part-through circumferential crack at intrados in elbows under in-plane bending moment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Srivastava, A.; Prabhakaran, K.M.; Ghosh, A.K.

    2011-01-01

    Highlights: → Behavior of cracked elbows with part-through crack at intrados under bending moment is studied. → Some part of crack always opens and some part gets closed irrespective of mode of applied moment. → Fraction of the crack that opens basically decides the weakening effect of the cracked elbow. → Results will be useful for fracture studies and limit load estimation especially for LBB. - Abstract: This paper presents the behavior of part-through circumferential crack at intrados in elbows under in-plane bending moment. This is based on detailed non-linear (both material and geometric) finite element analysis performed on various sizes of elbows (generally used in piping industry), having different crack sizes. It is observed that some part of the crack always opens and some part gets closed irrespective of the mode of applied bending moment (opening/closing). The fraction of the crack that opens basically decides the weakening effect of the cracked elbow. It is observed that there is a threshold value of crack length and crack depth, before which no crack opening is observed under opening mode. Also as elbow becomes thinner, the threshold value of above two parameters increases. Quite interestingly, the part of crack which closes in opening mode opens under closing mode. The above mentioned study on the behavior of crack will be useful for fracture studies and limit load estimation especially when leak before break concept is to be employed.

  1. Contribution to the Evaluation of the Circumferentially-Cracked Round Bar for Fracture Toughness Determination of Reactor Pressure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Scibetta, M.

    1999-06-01

    The subject of this PhD dissertation is the use of the Circumferentially-Cracked Round Bar (CRB) for fracture toughness measurements. The main advantages of CRB are the relatively small size requirements of the testing specimens, the low cost to machine the specimen, the rotating bending fatigue allowing for easy precracking of specimens, the use of standard tensile test fixture and the axisymmetry of the specimen that avoids time consuming 3D finite element calculations. An in-depth study of the most widely used precracking technique for CRB, namely the rotating bending fatigue, is made

  2. Contribution to the Evaluation of the Circumferentially-Cracked Round Bar for Fracture Toughness Determination of Reactor Pressure

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Scibetta, M

    1999-06-01

    The subject of this PhD dissertation is the use of the Circumferentially-Cracked Round Bar (CRB) for fracture toughness measurements. The main advantages of CRB are the relatively small size requirements of the testing specimens, the low cost to machine the specimen, the rotating bending fatigue allowing for easy precracking of specimens, the use of standard tensile test fixture and the axisymmetry of the specimen that avoids time consuming 3D finite element calculations. An in-depth study of the most widely used precracking technique for CRB, namely the rotating bending fatigue, is made.

  3. Observation and simulation of crack growth in Zry-4

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bertolino, Graciela; Meyer, Gabriel; Perez Ipina, J

    2003-01-01

    Security and life extension of components of nuclear reactors are the most motivating aspects that encourage to study embrittlement processes of zirconium alloys by reaction with hydrogen.Here, the use of fracture mechanics tests are suitable to monitor the material resistance of components under service.Because many times is difficult to obtain normalized probes from real size components, researchers look for alternative experimental techniques or crack growth simulation from the knowledge of particular material properties.In this work we present the results obtained after experimental observation and computer simulation of crack growth in Zry-4 probes.Experimental observation were obtained by performing flexion tests in three point probes SSEN(B) of 3 x 7 x 32 mm 3 located in the chamber of a scanning electron microscope, measuring in situ the crack length and opening when an external load is applied.Using the information obtained from stress-displacement measurements after tensile tests and the empiric relationship between crack opening and crack length, the crack growth process was simulated.Displacement field in the zone close to the crack tip was obtained by finite elements technique (Castem, DMT, CEA) assuming plain stress, a plastic bilinear homogeneous material and neglecting texture or directional anisotropy.To compare experimental observation and simulation, a grid (10 x 10 μm 2 each square) was drawn in the zone close to the crack tip by selective sputtering.Following the movement of two (three) points of the surface allows to compare uni (bi) dimensional deformation.A good agreement between observation and simulation was observed: after the crack opening grew 28 times (from 1.5 to 42 μm) the base-height relationship of a triangle involving the crack tip change 40% (35%) in the experimental observation (simulation)

  4. The Antiproton Depth Dose Curve Measured with Alanine Detectors

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bassler, Niels; Hansen, Johnny Witterseh; Palmans, Hugo

    2008-01-01

    In this paper we report on the measurement of the antiproton depth dose curve, with alanine detectors. The results are compared with simulations using the particle energy spectrum calculated by FLUKA, and using the track structure model of Hansen et Olsen for conversion of calculated dose...... into response. A good agreement was observed between the measured and calculated relative effectiveness although a slight underestimation of the calculated values in the Bragg peak remains unexplained. The model prediction of response of alanine towards heavy charged particles encourages future use...... of the alanine detectors for dosimetry of mixed radiation fields....

  5. Creep crack growth verification testing in alloy 800H tubular components

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hunter, C.P.; Hurst, R.C.

    1992-01-01

    A method for determining the creep crack growth, CCG, and stress rupture behaviour of Alloy 800H tubular components containing longitudinal notches at 800deg C is described. The presence of the notch is found to systematically weaken the tube, the degree of weaking dependent upon the notch length and depth. The creep crack growth rates, determined from a specially adapted potential drop technique are compared with those obtained from conventional compact tension type specimens. Using the stress intensity factor, K 1 , and the C * parameter as the basis of comparison it is found that the latter gives excellent correlation between the specimen and component behaviour. Finally attention is drawn to the potential dangers of predicting the component creep crack growth behaviour from the data obtained using conventional specimens for a structure sensitive material such as Alloy 800H and conversely to the advantages of the component type CCG tests developed in the present work. (orig.)

  6. Soil desiccation cracks as a suction–contraction process

    KAUST Repository

    Cordero, J. A.; Useche, G.; Prat, P. C.; Ledesma, A.; Santamarina, Carlos

    2017-01-01

    Recent macro- and particle-scale advances in unsaturated soil behaviour have led to an enhanced understanding of the effects of moisture changes on soil response. This research examines desiccation cracks as a suction–contraction-coupled process using sand–clay mixtures. Suction–moisture measurements highlight the role of fines on suction potential even at low fines content; on the other hand, oedometer tests exhibit a marked transition from sand-controlled to clay-controlled compressibility. Time-lapse photography of desiccation tests in flat trays show the onset of crack initiation and the subsequent evolution in horizontal strains; concurrent gravimetric water content measurements relate crack nucleation to suction at air entry. Suction and compressibility increase with the soil-specific surface and have a compounded effect on desiccation-driven lateral contraction. Both layer thickness and its lateral extent affect the development of desiccation cracks. The recently proposed revised soil classification system properly anticipates the transitions in compressibility and capillary phenomena observed in this study (between 15 and 35% fines content).

  7. Soil desiccation cracks as a suction–contraction process

    KAUST Repository

    Cordero, J. A.

    2017-10-05

    Recent macro- and particle-scale advances in unsaturated soil behaviour have led to an enhanced understanding of the effects of moisture changes on soil response. This research examines desiccation cracks as a suction–contraction-coupled process using sand–clay mixtures. Suction–moisture measurements highlight the role of fines on suction potential even at low fines content; on the other hand, oedometer tests exhibit a marked transition from sand-controlled to clay-controlled compressibility. Time-lapse photography of desiccation tests in flat trays show the onset of crack initiation and the subsequent evolution in horizontal strains; concurrent gravimetric water content measurements relate crack nucleation to suction at air entry. Suction and compressibility increase with the soil-specific surface and have a compounded effect on desiccation-driven lateral contraction. Both layer thickness and its lateral extent affect the development of desiccation cracks. The recently proposed revised soil classification system properly anticipates the transitions in compressibility and capillary phenomena observed in this study (between 15 and 35% fines content).

  8. Evaluations of environmental effect on micro crack initiation and propagation by surface observations of fatigue specimens

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fujikawa, Ryosuke; Abe, Shigeki; Nakamura, Takao; Kamaya, Masayuki

    2014-01-01

    Fatigue life of nuclear facilities tends to be decreased by the influence of reactor coolant, which is called environmental effect. The effect accelerates crack growth rate but the influence for crack initiation is not clarified. This study intends to discuss the environmental effect in crack initiation. The crack length and the number of cracks are measured from the investigation of fatigue test specimens in reactor coolant and air. The behavior of crack initiation is revealed from the measurement of number of cracks, crack sizes and fatigue life. From this study, environmental effect of reactor coolant is considered to influence crack initiation and increase the number of micro crack. It is also estimated that the coalescence of cracks influences the acceleration of crack growth. (author)

  9. Snow depth retrieval from L-band satellite measurements on Arctic and Antarctic sea ice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maaß, N.; Kaleschke, L.; Wever, N.; Lehning, M.; Nicolaus, M.; Rossmann, H. L.

    2017-12-01

    The passive microwave mission SMOS provides daily coverage of the polar regions and measures at a low frequency of 1.4 GHz (L-band). SMOS observations have been used to operationally retrieve sea ice thickness up to 1 m and to estimate snow depth in the Arctic for thicker ice. Here, we present how SMOS-retrieved snow depths compare with airborne measurements from NASA's Operation IceBridge mission (OIB) and with AMSR-2 satellite retrievals at higher frequencies, and we show first applications to Antarctic sea ice. In previous studies, SMOS and OIB snow depths showed good agreement on spatial scales from 50 to 1000 km for some days and disagreement for other days. Here, we present a more comprehensive comparison of OIB and SMOS snow depths in the Arctic for 2011 to 2015. We find that the SMOS retrieval works best for cold conditions and depends on auxiliary information on ice surface temperature, here provided by MODIS thermal imagery satellite data. However, comparing SMOS and OIB snow depths is difficult because of the different spatial resolutions (SMOS: 40 km, OIB: 40 m). Spatial variability within the SMOS footprint can lead to different snow conditions as seen from SMOS and OIB. Ideally the comparison is made for uniform conditions: Low lead and open water fraction, low spatial and temporal variability of ice surface temperature, no mixture of multi- and first-year ice. Under these conditions and cold temperatures (surface temperatures below -25°C), correlation coefficients between SMOS and OIB snow depths increase from 0.3 to 0.6. A finding from the comparison with AMSR-2 snow depths is that the SMOS-based maps depend less on the age of the sea ice than the maps derived from higher frequencies. Additionally, we show first results of SMOS snow depths for Antarctic sea ice. SMOS observations are compared to measurements of autonomous snow buoys drifting in the Weddell Sea since 2014. For a better comparability of these point measurements with SMOS data, we use

  10. Effects of δ-hydride precipitation at a crack tip on crack propagation in delayed hydride cracking of Zircaloy-2

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kubo, T., E-mail: kubo@nfd.co.jp [Nippon Nuclear Fuel Development Co., Ltd., 2163 Narita-cho, Oarai-machi, Ibaraki 311-1313 (Japan); Kobayashi, Y. [M.O.X. Co., Ltd., 1828-520 Hirasu-cho, Mito, Ibaraki 311-0853 (Japan)

    2013-08-15

    Highlights: • Steady state crack velocity of delayed hydride cracking in Zircaloy-2 was analyzed. • A large stress peak is induced at an end of hydride by volume expansion of hydride. • Hydrogen diffuses to the stress peak, thereby accelerating steady hydride growth. • Crack velocity was estimated from the calculated hydrogen flux into the stress peak. • There was good agreement between calculation results and experimental data. -- Abstract: Delayed hydride cracking (DHC) of Zircaloy-2 is one possible mechanism for the failure of boiling water reactor fuel rods in ramp tests at high burnup. Analyses were made for hydrogen diffusion around a crack tip to estimate the crack velocity of DHC in zirconium alloys, placing importance on effects of precipitation of δ-hydride. The stress distribution around the crack tip is significantly altered by precipitation of hydride, which was strictly analyzed using a finite element computer code. Then, stress-driven hydrogen diffusion under the altered stress distribution was analyzed by a differential method. Overlapping of external stress and hydride precipitation at a crack tip induces two stress peaks; one at a crack tip and the other at the front end of the hydride precipitate. Since the latter is larger than the former, more hydrogen diffuses to the front end of the hydride precipitate, thereby accelerating hydride growth compared with that in the absence of the hydride. These results indicated that, after hydride was formed in front of the crack tip, it grew almost steadily accompanying the interaction of hydrogen diffusion, hydride growth and the stress alteration by hydride precipitation. Finally, crack velocity was estimated from the calculated hydrogen flux into the crack tip as a function of temperature, stress intensity factor and material strength. There was qualitatively good agreement between calculation results and experimental data.

  11. Crack retardation by load reduction during fatigue crack propagation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Hyun Soo; Nam, Ki Woo; Ahn, Seok Hwan; Do, Jae Yoon

    2003-01-01

    Fracture life and crack retardation behavior were examined experimentally using CT specimens of aluminum alloy 5083. Crack retardation life and fracture life were a wide difference between 0.8 and 0.6 in proportion to ratio of load reduction. The wheeler model retardation parameter was used successfully to predict crack growth behavior. By using a crack propagation rule, prediction of fracture life can be evaluated quantitatively. A statistical approach based on Weibull distribution was applied to the test data to evaluate the dispersion in the retardation life and fracture life by the change of load reduction

  12. The Detection of Vertical Cracks in Asphalt Using Seismic Surface Wave Methods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Iodice, M; Muggleton, J; Rustighi, E

    2016-01-01

    Assessment of the location and of the extension of cracking in road surfaces is important for determining the potential level of deterioration in the road overall and the infrastructure buried beneath it. Damage in a pavement structure is usually initiated in the tarmac layers, making the Rayleigh wave ideally suited for the detection of shallow surface defects. This paper presents an investigation of two surface wave methods to detect and locate top-down cracks in asphalt layers. The aim of the study is to compare the results from the well- established Multichannel Analysis of Surface Waves (MASW) and the more recent Multiple Impact of Surface Waves (MISW) in the presence of a discontinuity and to suggest the best surface wave technique for evaluating the presence and the extension of vertical cracks in roads. The study is conducted through numerical simulations alongside experimental investigations and it considers the cases for which the cracking is internal and external to the deployment of sensors. MISW is found to enhance the visibility of the reflected waves in the frequency wavenumber ( f-k ) spectrum, helping with the detection of the discontinuity. In some cases, by looking at the f-k spectrum obtained with MISW it is possible to extract information regarding the location and the depth of the cracking. (paper)

  13. Sub-surface Fatigue Crack Growth at Alumina Inclusions in AISI 52100 Roller Bearings

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cerullo, Michele

    2014-01-01

    Sub-surface fatigue crack growth at non metallic inclusions is studied in AISI 52100 bearing steel under typical rolling contact loads. A first 2D plane strain finite element analysis is carried out to compute the stress history in the innner race at a characteristic depth, where the Dang Van...... damage factor is highest. Subsequently the stress history is imposed as boundary conditions in a periodic unit cell model, where an alumina inclusion is embedded in a AISI 52100 matrix. Cracks are assumed to grow radially from the inclusion under cyclic loading. The growth is predicted by means...

  14. Investigation of Helicopter Longeron Cracks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Newman, John A.; Baughman, James; Wallace, Terryl A.

    2009-01-01

    Four cracked longerons, containing a total of eight cracks, were provided for study. Cracked regions were cut from the longerons. Load was applied to open the cracks, enabling crack surface examination. Examination revealed that crack propagation was driven by fatigue loading in all eight cases. Fatigue crack initiation appears to have occurred on the top edge of the longerons near geometric changes that affect component bending stiffness. Additionally, metallurgical analysis has revealed a local depletion in alloying elements in the crack initiation regions that may be a contributing factor. Fatigue crack propagation appeared to be initially driven by opening-mode loading, but at a crack length of approximately 0.5 inches (12.7 mm), there is evidence of mixed-mode crack loading. For the longest cracks studied, shear-mode displacements destroyed crack-surface features of interest over significant portions of the crack surfaces.

  15. Crack growth prediction method considering interaction between multiple cracks. Growth of surface cracks of dissimilar size under cyclic tensile and bending load

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kamaya, Masayuki; Miyokawa, Eiichi; Kikuchi, Masanori

    2011-01-01

    When multiple cracks approach one another, the stress intensity factor is likely to change due to the interaction of the stress field. This causes change in growth rate and shape of cracks. In particular, when cracks are in parallel position to the loading direction, the shape of cracks becomes non-planar. In this study, the complex growth of interacting cracks is evaluated by using the S-Version finite element method, in which local detailed finite element mesh (local mesh) is superposed on coarse finite element model (global mesh) representing the global structure. In order to investigate the effect of interaction on the growth behavior, two parallel surface cracks are subjected to cyclic tensile or bending load. It is shown that the smaller crack is shielded by larger crack due to the interaction and stops growing when the difference in size of two cracks is significant. Based on simulations of various conditions, a procedure and criteria for evaluating crack growth for fitness-for-service assessment is proposed. According to the procedure, the interaction is not necessary to be considered in the crack growth prediction when the difference in size of two cracks exceeds the criterion. (author)

  16. Benefits and drawbacks of TOFD and SAFT for crack depth measurement at thick-walled vessels; Vor- und Nachteile von TOFD und SAFT zur Risstiefenmessung an dickwandigen Behaeltern

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schmitz, V.; Mueller, W. [IZFP, Saarbruecken (Germany); Hecht, A. [BASF AG, Ludwigshafen (Germany)

    1999-08-01

    The results presented in the paper show that TOFD can be applied in many cases as a low-cost and reliable testing method, but is less suitable for some cases. These are: Description of cracks in welded joints which yield a multitude of data, as e.g. microstructural data, so that the method is less suitable for austenitic weld testing; detection of small cracks. (orig./CB) [Deutsch] Aus den gezeigten Beispielen ergibt sich, dass TOFD in einer Vielzahl von Anwendungsfaellen als preisguenstiges und zuverlaessiges Pruefverfahren eingesetzt werden kann, dass es aber fuer einige Anwendungsfaelle weniger geeignet ist: Diese Anwendungsfaelle sind: (1) Nachweis von Rissen in Schweissnaehten mit vielen Anzeigen, z.B. Gefuegeanzeigen, d.h. insbesondere bei austenitischen Schweissnaehten, und (2) Nachweis von kleinen Rissen. Der Nachweis auch von kleinen Rissen wird dahingegen beim Impuls-Echo Verfahren aufgrund des vorliegenden Winkelspiegeleffektes durchaus moeglich sein. Durch eine nachgeschaltete SAFT-Auswertung werden zum einen stoerendes Gefuegerauschen unterdrueckt und zum anderen Echos von Fehlstellen angehoben. Diese Verbesserung des Signal-Rausch-Abstandes fuehrt zu einer Verbesserung der Fehlererkennbarkeit und der Fehlerbewertung. (orig.)

  17. Estimation of Fatigue Crack Growth Behavior of Cracked Specimen Under Mixed-mode Loads

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Han, Jeong Woo; Woo, Eun Taek; Han, Seung Ho

    2015-01-01

    To estimate the fatigue crack propagation behavior of compact tension shear (CTS) specimen under mixed-mode loads, crack path prediction theories and Tanaka’s equation were applied. The stress intensity factor at a newly created crack tip was calculated using a finite element method via ANSYS, and the crack path and crack increment were then obtained from the crack path prediction theories, Tanaka’s equation, and the Paris’ equation, which were preprogrammed in Microsoft Excel. A new method called the finite element crack tip updating method (FECTUM) was developed. In this method, the finite element method and Microsoft Excel are used to calculate the stress intensity factors and the crack path, respectively, at the crack tip per each crack increment. The developed FECTUM was applied to simulate the fatigue crack propagation of a single-edge notched bending (SENB) specimen under eccentric three-point bending loads. The results showed that the number of cycles to failure of the specimen obtained experimentally and numerically were in good agreement within an error range of less than 3%

  18. Estimation of Fatigue Crack Growth Behavior of Cracked Specimen Under Mixed-mode Loads

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Han, Jeong Woo [KIMM, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Woo, Eun Taek; Han, Seung Ho [Dong-A University, Busan (Korea, Republic of)

    2015-07-15

    To estimate the fatigue crack propagation behavior of compact tension shear (CTS) specimen under mixed-mode loads, crack path prediction theories and Tanaka’s equation were applied. The stress intensity factor at a newly created crack tip was calculated using a finite element method via ANSYS, and the crack path and crack increment were then obtained from the crack path prediction theories, Tanaka’s equation, and the Paris’ equation, which were preprogrammed in Microsoft Excel. A new method called the finite element crack tip updating method (FECTUM) was developed. In this method, the finite element method and Microsoft Excel are used to calculate the stress intensity factors and the crack path, respectively, at the crack tip per each crack increment. The developed FECTUM was applied to simulate the fatigue crack propagation of a single-edge notched bending (SENB) specimen under eccentric three-point bending loads. The results showed that the number of cycles to failure of the specimen obtained experimentally and numerically were in good agreement within an error range of less than 3%.

  19. Air-steam leakage through cracks in concrete

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Georges Nahas; Helene Simon

    2005-01-01

    axial load is applied on the reinforcement bars for cracking. In this experiment, about five almost plane vertical traversing cracks are induced. Air-steam pressure is applied in a chamber at the top of the slab. Water leakage is collected at the bottom and measured. A scenario lasting 40 hours is produced with a 4 hour temperature stage at 210 Celsius degrees followed by a 4 hour temperature stage at 160 Celsius degrees. During the experiment, the average crack opening is kept constant at the bottom of the slab by changing the applied axial load. At the top, the concrete slab is heated by heat exchange with the steam in the pressure chamber and thermal expansion of the concrete causes the cracks to close during the first stage and reopen during the following stage. A mechanical calculation with the code CAST3M aims to reproduce the mechanical behavior of the slab during the test, namely closing and reopening of the cracks at the top of the slab, where openings are measured. The model represents the five idealized cracks in bidimensional analysis with real test conditions (pressure and thermal load). The mechanical calculation furnishes data needed by the leakage calculation and unreachable to the experiment that are the internal crack profiles ( variation of the opening with the curvilinear coordinate of the crack inside the concrete slab). Various leakage calculations have been performed: linear internal crack profile with inlet crack opening varying with time, complex internal crack profile given by mechanical calculation, and finally mechanics and thermal hydraulics coupling. (authors)

  20. Application of the cohesive zone model for the evaluation of stiffness losses in a rotor with a transverse breathing crack

    Science.gov (United States)

    Toni Liong, Rugerri; Proppe, Carsten

    2013-04-01

    The breathing mechanism of a transversely cracked rotor and its influence on a rotor system that appears due to shaft weight and inertia forces is studied. A method is proposed for the evaluation of the stiffness losses in the cross-section that contains the crack. This method is based on a cohesive zone model (CZM) instead of linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM). The CZM is developed for mode-I plane strain conditions and accounts explicitly for triaxiality of the stress state by using constitutive relations. The breathing crack is modelled by a parabolic shape. As long as the relative crack depth is small, a crack closure straight line model may be used, while the crack closure parabolic line should be used in the case of a deep crack. The CZM is also implemented in a one-dimensional continuum rotor model by means of finite element (FE) discretisation in order to predict and to analyse the dynamic behavior of a cracked rotor. The proposed method provides a useful tool for the analysis of rotor systems containing cracks.

  1. Research works on contamination transfers through cracked concrete walls

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gelain, T.; Vendel, J.

    2006-01-01

    This study takes place within the framework of nuclear facilities containment assessment. The objectives are to determine gaseous and two-phase flow laws, aerosol deposition correlations into crack network, further to accidental situation (e.g. seism) and the real crack network characteristics considering the cracks as two infinite parallel plates. At first, we performed air flow experiments on three concrete walls (128 cm in width, 75 cm in height and 10 cm in thickness), cracked by shear stresses. Using 'aeraulic' crack network characteristics, the results are in good agreement with the Poiseuille law in laminar flow, but in the case of transition flow it has been necessary to determine a specific correlation for the friction factor. Then, we performed aerosol deposition experiments with one of the previous concrete walls to determine global aerosol deposition model in a crack network. Using these previous experiments and an experiment consisting in calculating the crack network volume by measuring transfer time, we could determine the real crack network characteristics in a good agreement with characteristics calculated by a structural mechanical code for our experimental configuration. (authors)

  2. The analysis of optimal crack ratio for PWR pressure vessel cladding using genetic algorithm

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mike Susmikanti; Roziq Himawan; Jos Budi Sulistyo

    2018-01-01

    Several aspects of material failure have been investigated, especially for materials used in Reactor Pressure Vessel (RPV) cladding. One aspect that needs to be analyzed is the crack ratio. The crack ratio is a parameter that compares the depth of the gap to its width. The optimal value of the crack ratio reflects the material's resistance to the fracture. Fracture resistance of the material to fracture mechanics is indicated by the value of Stress Intensity Factor (SIF). This value can be obtained from a J-integral calculation that expresses the energy release rate. The detection of the crack ratio is conducted through the calculation of J-integral value. The Genetic Algorithm (GA) is one way to determine the optimal value for a problem. The purpose of this study is to analyze the possibility of fracture caused by crack. It was conducted by optimizing the crack ratio of AISI 308L and AISI 309L stainless steels using GA. Those materials are used for RPV cladding. The minimum crack ratio and J-Integral values were obtained for AISI 308L and AISI 309L. The SIF value was derived from the J-Integral calculation. The SIF value was then compared with the fracture toughness of those material. With the optimal crack ratio, it can be predicted that the material boundaries are protected from damaged events. It can be a reference material for the durability of a mechanical fracture event. (author)

  3. FASTRAN II - FATIGUE CRACK GROWTH STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS (IBM PC VERSION)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Newman, J. C.

    1994-01-01

    Predictions of fatigue crack growth behavior can be made with the Fatigue Crack Growth Structural Analysis (FASTRAN II) computer program. As cyclic loads are applied to a selected crack configuration with an initial crack size, FASTRAN II predicts crack growth as a function of cyclic load history until either a desired crack size is reached or failure occurs. FASTRAN II is based on plasticity-induced crack-closure behavior of cracks in metallic materials and accounts for load-interaction effects, such as retardation and acceleration, under variable-amplitude loading. The closure model is based on the Dugdale model with modifications to allow plastically deformed material to be left along the crack surfaces as the crack grows. Plane stress and plane strain conditions, as well as conditions between these two, can be simulated in FASTRAN II by using a constraint factor on tensile yielding at the crack front to approximately account for three-dimensional stress states. FASTRAN II contains seventeen predefined crack configurations (standard laboratory fatigue crack growth rate specimens and many common crack configurations found in structures); and the user can define one additional crack configuration. The baseline crack growth rate properties (effective stress-intensity factor against crack growth rate) may be given in either equation or tabular form. For three-dimensional crack configurations, such as surface cracks or corner cracks at holes or notches, the fatigue crack growth rate properties may be different in the crack depth and crack length directions. Final failure of the cracked structure can be modelled with fracture toughness properties using either linear-elastic fracture mechanics (brittle materials), a two-parameter fracture criterion (brittle to ductile materials), or plastic collapse (extremely ductile materials). The crack configurations in FASTRAN II can be subjected to either constant-amplitude, variable-amplitude or spectrum loading. The applied

  4. Evaluation of crack interaction effect for in-plane surface cracks using elastic finite element analyses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huh, Nam Su; Choi, Suhn; Park, Keun Bae; Kim, Jong Min; Choi, Jae Boong; Kim, Young Jin

    2008-01-01

    The crack-tip stress fields and fracture mechanics assessment parameters, such as the elastic stress intensity factor and the elastic-plastic J-integral, for a surface crack can be significantly affected by adjacent cracks. Such a crack interaction effect due to multiple cracks can magnify the fracture mechanics assessment parameters. There are many factors to be considered, for instance the relative distance between adjacent cracks, crack shape and loading condition, to quantify a crack interaction effect on the fracture mechanics assessment parameters. Thus, the current guidance on a crack interaction effect (crack combination rule), including ASME Sec. XI, BS7910, British Energy R6 and API RP579, provide different rules for combining multiple surface cracks into a single surface crack. The present paper investigates a crack interaction effect by evaluating the elastic stress intensity factor of adjacent surface cracks in a plate along the crack front through detailed 3-dimensional elastic finite element analyses. The effects of the geometric parameters, the relative distance between cracks and the crack shape, on the stress intensity factor are systematically investigated. As for the loading condition, only axial tension is considered. Based on the elastic finite element results, the acceptability of the crack combination rules provided in the existing guidance was investigated, and the relevant recommendations on a crack interaction for in-plane surface cracks in a plate were discussed

  5. An Exploration of the Needling Depth in Acupuncture: The Safe Needling Depth and the Needling Depth of Clinical Efficacy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jaung-Geng Lin

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective. To explore the existing scientific information regarding safe needling depth of acupuncture points and the needling depth of clinical efficacy. Methods. We searched the PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane, Allied and Complementary Medicine (AMED, The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI databases to identify relevant monographs and related references from 1991 to 2013. Chinese journals and theses/dissertations were hand searched. Results. 47 studies were recruited and divided into 6 groups by measuring tools, that is, MRI, in vivo evaluation, CT, ultrasound, dissected specimen of cadavers, and another group with clinical efficacy. Each research was analyzed for study design, definition of safe depth, and factors that would affect the measured depths. Depths of clinical efficacy were discussed from the perspective of de-qi and other clinical observations. Conclusions. Great inconsistency in depth of each point measured from different subject groups and tools exists. The definition of safe depth should be established through standardization. There is also lack of researches to compare the clinical efficacy. A well-designed clinical trial selecting proper measuring tools to decide the actual and advisable needling depth for each point, to avoid adverse effects or complications and promote optimal clinical efficacy, is a top priority.

  6. Crack identification for reinforced concrete using PZT based smart rebar active sensing diagnostic network

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, N. N.; Wu, F.

    2016-04-01

    An active sensing diagnostic system using PZT based smart rebar for SHM of RC structure has been currently under investigation. Previous test results showed that the system could detect the de-bond of concrete from reinforcement, and the diagnostic signals were increased exponentially with the de-bonding size. Previous study also showed that the smart rebar could function well like regular reinforcement to undertake tension stresses. In this study, a smart rebar network has been used to detect the crack damage of concrete based on guided waves. Experimental test has been carried out for the study. In the test, concrete beams with 2 reinforcements have been built. 8 sets of PZT elements were mounted onto the reinforcement bars in an optimized way to form an active sensing diagnostic system. A 90 kHz 5-cycle Hanning-windowed tone burst was used as input. Multiple cracks have been generated on the concrete structures. Through the guided bulk waves propagating in the structures from actuators and sensors mounted from different bars, crack damage could be detected clearly. Cases for both single and multiple cracks were tested. Different crack depths from the surface and different crack numbers have been studied. Test result shows that the amplitude of sensor output signals is deceased linearly with a propagating crack, and is decreased exponentially with increased crack numbers. From the study, the active sensing diagnostic system using PZT based smart rebar network shows a promising way to provide concrete crack damage information through the "talk" among sensors.

  7. Crack-opening area calculations for circumferential through-wall pipe cracks

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kishida, K.; Zahoor, A.

    1988-08-01

    This report describes the estimation schemes for crack opening displacement (COD) of a circumferential through-wall crack, then compares the COD predictions with pipe experimental data. Accurate predictions for COD are required to reliably predict the leak rate through a crack in leak-before-break applications.

  8. Crack-opening area calculations for circumferential through-wall pipe cracks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kishida, K.; Zahoor, A.

    1988-08-01

    This report describes the estimation schemes for crack opening displacement (COD) of a circumferential through-wall crack, then compares the COD predictions with pipe experimental data. Accurate predictions for COD are required to reliably predict the leak rate through a crack in leak-before-break applications

  9. Fatigue crack closure behavior at high stress ratios

    Science.gov (United States)

    Turner, C. Christopher; Carman, C. Davis; Hillberry, Ben M.

    1988-01-01

    Fatigue crack delay behavior at high stress ratio caused by single peak overloads was investigated in two thicknesses of 7475-T731 aluminum alloy. Closure measurements indicated no closure occurred before or throughout the overload plastic zones following the overload. This was further substantiated by comparing the specimen compliance following the overload with the compliance of a low R ratio test when the crack was fully open. Scanning electron microscope studies revealed that crack tunneling and possibly reinitiation of the crack occurred, most likely a result of crack-tip blunting. The number of delay cycles was greater for the thinner mixed mode stress state specimen than for the thicker plane strain stress state specimen, which is similar to low R ratio test results and may be due to a larger plastic zone for the mixed mode cased.

  10. Crack propagation on spherical pressure vessels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lebey, J.; Roche, R.

    1975-01-01

    The risk presented by a crack on a pressure vessel built with a ductile steel cannot be well evaluated by simple application of the rules of Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics, which only apply to brittle materials. Tests were carried out on spherical vessels of three different scales built with the same steel. Cracks of different length were machined through the vessel wall. From the results obtained, crack initiation stress (beginning of stable propagation) and instable propagation stress may be plotted against the lengths of these cracks. For small and medium size, subject to ductile fracture, the resulting curves are identical, and may be used for ductile fracture prediction. Brittle rupture was observed on larger vessels and crack propagation occurred at lower stress level. Preceedings curves are not usable for fracture analysis. Ultimate pressure can be computed with a good accuracy by using equivalent energy toughness, Ksub(1cd), characteristic of the metal plates. Satisfactory measurements have been obtained on thin samples. The risks of brittle fracture may then judged by comparing Ksub(1cd) with the calculated K 1 value, in which corrections for vessel shape are taken into account. It is thus possible to establish the bursting pressure of cracked spherical vessels, with the help of two rules, one for brittle fracture, the other for ductile instability. A practical method is proposed on the basis of the work reported here

  11. Uncertainty characterization of particle depth measurement using digital in-line holography and the hybrid method.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Jian; Guildenbecher, Daniel R; Reu, Phillip L; Chen, Jun

    2013-11-04

    In the detection of particles using digital in-line holography, measurement accuracy is substantially influenced by the hologram processing method. In particular, a number of methods have been proposed to determine the out-of-plane particle depth (z location). However, due to the lack of consistent uncertainty characterization, it has been unclear which method is best suited to a given measurement problem. In this work, depth determination accuracies of seven particle detection methods, including a recently proposed hybrid method, are systematically investigated in terms of relative depth measurement errors and uncertainties. Both synthetic and experimental holograms of particle fields are considered at conditions relevant to particle sizing and tracking. While all methods display a range of particle conditions where they are most accurate, in general the hybrid method is shown to be the most robust with depth uncertainty less than twice the particle diameter over a wide range of particle field conditions.

  12. An electro-mechanical impedance model of a cracked composite beam with adhesively bonded piezoelectric patches

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yan, Wei; Cai, J. B.; Chen, W. Q.

    2011-01-01

    A model of a laminated composite beam including multiple non-propagating part-through surface cracks as well as installed PZT transducers is presented based on the method of reverberation-ray matrix (MRRM) in this paper. Toward determining the local flexibility characteristics induced by the individual cracks, the concept of the massless rotational spring is applied. A Timoshenko beam theory is then used to simulate the behavior of the composite beam with open cracks. As a result, transverse shear and rotatory inertia effects are included in the model. Only one-dimensional axial vibration of the PZT wafer is considered and the imperfect interfacial bonding between PZT patches and the host beam is further investigated based on a Kelvin-type viscoelastic model. Then, an accurate electro-mechanical impedance (EMI) model can be established for crack detection in laminated beams. In this model, the effects of various parameters such as the ply-angle, fibre volume fraction, crack depth and position on the EMI signatures are highlighted. Furthermore, comparison with existent numerical results is presented to validate the present analysis.

  13. Study on heat transfer process during leaks of high pressure argon through a realistic crack

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ai, Gang; Liu, Yinghua; Wah Ng, Heong

    2016-01-01

    This paper proposes a method for simulating the heat transfer process of high pressure argon gas leaking through a narrow crack which causes the Joule-Thomson cooling effect (JT cooling effect). A once-through (decoupled) model was developed to firstly calculate the gas pressure drop at different crack depth, followed by the temperature drop. A MATLAB code was also developed to iteratively calculate the properties of leaking gas in a crack which was fitted as formula as boundary conditions in heat transfer simulation in COMSOL program. The simulated lowest temperature of the test plate in the vicinity of the crack is 13.8 C after decreasing from the temperature of 30 C with initial argon gas pressure of 91 bar. An experiment test rig designed and tested under the same conditions showed a good agreement between the simulation and experiment at the obtained lowest temperature in the test plate. The method is useful for predicting the lowest temperature in the vicinity of the crack caused by the JT cooling effect. (authors)

  14. Thermal fatigue cracking of austenitic stainless steels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fissolo, A.

    2001-01-01

    usual approaches are adapted in used conditions ( 280 ≤ T max ≤ 550 deg C, 100 ≤ □T ≤ 300 deg C): they are simply based on thermal loading mechanical loading equivalence. However, they appear not to be well adapted when additional factors exist such as roughness, residual stresses... Furthermore, Scanning Electron Microscopy observations show that damage is initiated well before the 'engineer initiation', as previously detected using optical microscopy on SPLASH specimen. First stage damage evolutions are thus a new task. Strain and stress fields generated during test are estimated thanks to finite element method computations (FEM), using CASTEM-2000 CEA software. Information coming from these FEM computations monitor lower-scale modelling: Discrete dislocation Dynamics (MICROMEGAS software). In order to continue that task, a new specimen has been adapted to the CYTHIA facility. Specimens consist of removable disks in which different and well-controlled conditions may be enforced. In order to estimate propagation of long crack, conventional fracture mechanic approach seems to be well adapted. The effective Stress Intensity Factor calculation takes into account of plastic strain. Furthermore, it is assumed that crack is opened during 60 % of cyclic loading. Shielding effect is clearly underlined by all the observations: on surface, on cross side section, and after sub-surface step-by-step removal. Multiple crack propagation (in the depth direction) is simulated using the previous single crack modelling. An auto-adaptative meshing allows simulating growth of 10 cracks up to 35,000 cycles. Two-development tasks are now in progress. The first task is oriented on the multiple crack growth and stability after an additional mechanical loading. The second task deals with the first damage stage up to the 'engineer crack initiation'. (author)

  15. Microstructural modelling of creep crack growth from a blunted crack

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Onck, P.R.; Giessen, E. van der

    1998-01-01

    The effect of crack tip blunting on the initial stages of creep crack growth is investigated by means of a planar microstructural model in which grains are represented discretely. The actual linking-up process of discrete microcracks with the macroscopic crack is simulated, with full account of the

  16. Ultrasonic Measurement of Corrosion Depth Development in Concrete Exposed to Acidic Environment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fan Yingfang

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Corrosion depth of concrete can reflect the damage state of the load-carrying capacity and durability of the concrete structures servicing in severe environment. Ultrasonic technology was studied to evaluate the corrosion depth quantitatively. Three acidic environments with the pH level of 3.5, 2.5, and 1.5 were simulated by the mixture of sulfate and nitric acid solutions in the laboratory. 354 prism specimens with the dimension of 150 mm × 150 mm × 300 mm were prepared. The prepared specimens were first immersed in the acidic mixture for certain periods, followed by physical, mechanical, computerized tomography (CT and ultrasonic test. Damage depths of the concrete specimen under different corrosion states were obtained from both CT and ultrasonic test. Based on the ultrasonic test, a bilinear regression model is proposed to estimate the corrosion depth. It is shown that the results achieved by ultrasonic and CT test are in good agreement with each other. Relation between the corrosion depth of concrete specimen and the mechanical indices such as mass loss, compressive strength, and elastic modulus is discussed in detail. It can be drawn that the ultrasonic test is a reliable nondestructive way to measure the damage depth of concrete exposed to acidic environment.

  17. Fatigue crack growth from a cracked elastic particle into a ductile matrix

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Groh, S.; Olarnrithinun, S.; Curtin, W. A.; Needleman, A.; Deshpande, V. S.; Van der Giessen, E.

    2008-01-01

    The monotonic and cyclic crack growth rate of cracks is strongly influenced by the microstructure. Here, the growth of cracks emanating from pre-cracked micron-scale elastic particles and growing into single crystals is investigated, with a focus on the effects of (i) plastic confinement due to the

  18. Experiments performed on a man-made crack in the flat low-permeability basement as a basis for large-scale technical extraction of terrestrial heat

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kappelmeyer, O.; Jung, R.; Rummel, F.

    1984-01-01

    Research work is performed on an in-situ experimental field in the crystalline subsoil near Falkenberg in East Bavaria which are to help develop new technologies for exploiting geothermal energy. The aim is to make terrestrial heat available for technical utilization even with a relatively normal geologic structure of the subsoil - i.e. far away from volcanos and outside of layers carrying water or steam. To achieve this objective, artificial heat exchange systems were produced by hydraulic fracturing of crystalline rocks at a depth of 250 m. Geometric positions of these cracks were located by means of seismic and geo-electric methods. Seismic observations allowed deriving a crack model which helped with penetrating the man-made crack by sectional drilling. The circulation system consisting in production drill-hole, crack system and sectional drill-hole was studied for hydraulic parameter (e.g. flow resistance) and thermal efficiency at various pressure levels in the crack. Crack width was measured at different pressure stages for the first time. Thermal model calculations allow transferral of the results gained from the flat relatively cool basement to basement areas of an elevated temperature. A number of rock parameters which are relevant for an assessment whether or not the subsoil is suitable for creating artificial heat exchange systems, were examined on-site and bench-scale.

  19. Study of stress corrosion cracking initiation of high alloy materials

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Blahetova, Marie; Cihal, Vladimir; Lasek, Stanislav [Department of Materials Engineering, VSB - Technical University of Ostrava, tr. 17. listopadu 15, 708 33 Ostrava - Poruba (Czech Republic)

    2004-07-01

    The stainless steels and related alloys with sufficient resistance to a general corrosion can be susceptible to a localized corrosion (pitting, cracking, intergranular corrosion) in certain environment under specific conditions. The Drop Evaporation Test (DET) was developed for study of stainless materials resistance to stress corrosion cracking (SCC) at elevated temperatures 100 - 300 deg. C under constant external load using a chloride containing water solution. In the contribution the initiation and propagation of short cracks as well as pits were observed during the test. The crack initiation and/or propagation can be influenced by the cyclic thermal stresses, when the diluted water solution drops cool down the hot sample. The coordinates measurement of microscopic pits and sharp corrosion crack tips by the travelling microscope method allowed to derive the crack growth lengths and rates of short cracks. (authors)

  20. Study of stress corrosion cracking initiation of high alloy materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Blahetova, Marie; Cihal, Vladimir; Lasek, Stanislav

    2004-01-01

    The stainless steels and related alloys with sufficient resistance to a general corrosion can be susceptible to a localized corrosion (pitting, cracking, intergranular corrosion) in certain environment under specific conditions. The Drop Evaporation Test (DET) was developed for study of stainless materials resistance to stress corrosion cracking (SCC) at elevated temperatures 100 - 300 deg. C under constant external load using a chloride containing water solution. In the contribution the initiation and propagation of short cracks as well as pits were observed during the test. The crack initiation and/or propagation can be influenced by the cyclic thermal stresses, when the diluted water solution drops cool down the hot sample. The coordinates measurement of microscopic pits and sharp corrosion crack tips by the travelling microscope method allowed to derive the crack growth lengths and rates of short cracks. (authors)

  1. Ductile fracture prediction of an axially cracked pressure vessel under pressurized thermal shock

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Takahashi, Jun; Okamura, Hiroyuki

    1991-01-01

    In this paper, the J-value of an axially cracked cylinder under several PTS conditions are evaluated using a simple estimation scheme which we proposed. Results obtained are summerized as follow: (1) Under any PTS conditions, the effect of internal pressure is so predominant upon the J-value and dJ/da that it is very important to grasp the transient of internal pressure under any imaginable accident from the viewpoint of structural integrity. (2) Under any IP, TS, and PTS conditions, J - a/W relation shows that the J-value reaches its maximum at a certain crack depth, then drops to zero at a/W ≅ 0.9. Though the effect of inertia is not taken into account, this fact may explain the phenomena of crack arrest qualitatively. (3) The compliance of a cylindrical shell plays an important role in the fracture prediction of a pressure vessel. (4) Under typical PTS conditions, the region at the crack tip dominated by the Hutchinson-Rice-Rosengren singularity is substantially large enough to apply the J-based criterion to predict unstable ductile fracture. (author)

  2. Recent evaluations of crack-opening-area in circumferentially cracked pipes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rahman, S.; Brust, F.; Ghadiali, N.; Wilkowski, G.; Miura, N.

    1997-04-01

    Leak-before-break (LBB) analyses for circumferentially cracked pipes are currently being conducted in the nuclear industry to justify elimination of pipe whip restraints and jet shields which are present because of the expected dynamic effects from pipe rupture. The application of the LBB methodology frequently requires calculation of leak rates. The leak rates depend on the crack-opening area of the through-wall crack in the pipe. In addition to LBB analyses which assume a hypothetical flaw size, there is also interest in the integrity of actual leaking cracks corresponding to current leakage detection requirements in NRC Regulatory Guide 1.45, or for assessing temporary repair of Class 2 and 3 pipes that have leaks as are being evaluated in ASME Section XI. The objectives of this study were to review, evaluate, and refine current predictive models for performing crack-opening-area analyses of circumferentially cracked pipes. The results from twenty-five full-scale pipe fracture experiments, conducted in the Degraded Piping Program, the International Piping Integrity Research Group Program, and the Short Cracks in Piping and Piping Welds Program, were used to verify the analytical models. Standard statistical analyses were performed to assess used to verify the analytical models. Standard statistical analyses were performed to assess quantitatively the accuracy of the predictive models. The evaluation also involved finite element analyses for determining the crack-opening profile often needed to perform leak-rate calculations.

  3. Measurement of Optic Disc Cup Surface Depth Using Cirrus HD-OCT.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Young Kook; Ha, Ahnul; Lee, Won June; Jeoung, Jin Wook; Park, Ki Ho

    2017-12-01

    To introduce the measurement method of optic disc cup surface depth using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) and then evaluate the rates of cup surface depression at 3 different stages of glaucoma. We retrospectively identified 52 eyes with preperimetric glaucoma, 56 with mild-or-moderate glaucoma and 50 with severe glaucoma and followed them for at least 48 months. Eyes were imaged using SD-OCT (Cirrus HD-OCT) at 12-month intervals. The mean cup surface depth was calculated using the following formula: Cup volume/(disc area×average cup-to-disc ratio)-200 μm. The rates of mean cup surface depression (μm/y) were significantly greater in mild-or-moderate glaucoma (-7.96±1.03) than in preperimetric (-3.11±0.61) and severe glaucoma (-0.70±0.12; all Pcup surface depression (%/y) were significantly greater than those of average of retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thinning (%/y) in preperimetric glaucoma (-1.64±0.12 vs. -1.11±0.07; Pcup surface depth changed slower than did average RNFL thickness (-0.64±0.06 vs. -0.75±0.08%/y; Pcup surface depth changed faster than did the RNFL thickness. These results signify the possibility that SD-OCT-based estimation of cup surface depth might be useful for monitoring of glaucoma development and progression.

  4. Pitting and Stress Corrosion Cracking Susceptibility of Nanostructured Al-Mg Alloys in Natural and Artificial Environments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharma, Mala M.; Ziemian, Constance W.

    2008-12-01

    The stress corrosion cracking (SCC) behavior of two developmental nanocrystalline 5083 alloys with varied composition and processing conditions was studied. The results were compared to a commercial aluminum AA 5083 (H111) alloy. The pitting densities, size and depths, and residual tensile strengths were measured after alternate immersion in artificial seawater and atmospheric exposure under different loading conditions. Optical and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with EDX was used to analyze the fracture surfaces of failed specimen after removal at selected intervals and tensile testing. One of the nanostructured Al-Mg alloys exhibited significantly superior pitting resistance when compared to conventional microstructured AA 5083. Under conditions where pitting corrosion showed up as local tunnels toward phase inclusions, transgranular cracking was observed, whereas under conditions when pitting corrosion evolved along grain boundaries, intergranular cracking inside the pit was observed. Pit initiation resistance of the nano alloys appears to be better than that of the conventional alloys. However, long-term pit propagation is a concern and warrants further study. The objective of this investigation was to obtain information regarding the role that ultra-fine microstructures play in their degradation in marine environments and to provide insight into the corrosion mechanisms and damage processes of these alloys.

  5. The measurement of internal stress fields in weldments and around cracks using high resolution neutron diffraction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Allen, A.J.; Hutchings, M.T.; Windsor, C.G.

    1987-01-01

    The paper describes and illustrates the capability of neutron diffraction to measure the complete internal lattice macrostrain field, and hence the stress field, within steel components and weldments arising from their fabrication. A brief outline is given of the theory of the neutron method. The experimental considerations are discussed. The method is illustrated by its application to the measurement of the stress distribution in a:- uniaxially stressed mild steel rod, a double - V test weld, a tube-plate weld, and a cracked fatigue test specimen. (U.K.)

  6. Signal sensitivity of alternating current potential drop measurement for crack detection of conductive substrate with tunable coating materials through finite element modeling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rao, Simha Sandeep; Zhao, Huijuan; Liu, Ming; Peng, Fei; Zhang, Bo

    2016-01-01

    We adopt a finite element numerical modeling approach to investigate the electromagnetic coupling effect of two parallel electric conductors with tunable electric conductivity σ and magnetic permeability μ . For two parallel conductors C and S ( μ C   ⋅  σ C   ≤  μ S   ⋅  σ S ), we find that the shape of current density profile of conductor S is dependent on the product of μ C   ⋅  σ C , while the magnitude is determined by the AC current frequency f . On the other hand, the frequency f affects not only the shape but also the magnitude of the current density profile of conductor C. We further adopt a coplanar model to investigate the signal sensitivity of alternating current potential drop (ACPD) measurement for both surface crack and inner crack detection. We find that with modified coating materials (lower electric conductivity and higher magnetic permeability, compared with the substrate material properties), the crack detection signal sensitivity can be greatly enhanced for both the cracks within the coating and at the coating/substrate interface, where cracks are most commonly encountered in real situations. (paper)

  7. Improvement of elastic-plastic fatigue crack growth evaluation method. 2. Crack opening behavior

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Takahashi, Yukio [Central Research Inst. of Electric Power Industry, Tokyo (Japan)

    2001-05-01

    Evaluation of crack growth behavior under cyclic loading is often required in the structural integrity assessment of cracked components. Closing and re-opening of the crack give large influence on crack growth rate through the change of fracture mechanics parameters. Based on the finite element analysis for a center-cracked plate, dependency of crack opening ratio on applied stress range and mean stress was examined. Simple formulae for representing the results were derived for plane stress and plane strain conditions. (author)

  8. Identification of cracks in thick beams with a cracked beam element model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hou, Chuanchuan; Lu, Yong

    2016-12-01

    The effect of a crack on the vibration of a beam is a classical problem, and various models have been proposed, ranging from the basic stiffness reduction method to the more sophisticated model involving formulation based on the additional flexibility due to a crack. However, in the damage identification or finite element model updating applications, it is still common practice to employ a simple stiffness reduction factor to represent a crack in the identification process, whereas the use of a more realistic crack model is rather limited. In this paper, the issues with the simple stiffness reduction method, particularly concerning thick beams, are highlighted along with a review of several other crack models. A robust finite element model updating procedure is then presented for the detection of cracks in beams. The description of the crack parameters is based on the cracked beam flexibility formulated by means of the fracture mechanics, and it takes into consideration of shear deformation and coupling between translational and longitudinal vibrations, and thus is particularly suitable for thick beams. The identification procedure employs a global searching technique using Genetic Algorithms, and there is no restriction on the location, severity and the number of cracks to be identified. The procedure is verified to yield satisfactory identification for practically any configurations of cracks in a beam.

  9. On-line depth measurement for laser-drilled holes based on the intensity of plasma emission

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ho, Chao-Ching; Chiu, Chih-Mu; Chang, Yuan-Jen; Hsu, Jin-Chen; Kuo, Chia-Lung

    2014-09-01

    The direct time-resolved depth measurement of blind holes is extremely difficult due to the short time interval and the limited space inside the hole. This work presents a method that involves on-line plasma emission acquisition and analysis to obtain correlations between the machining processes and the optical signal output. Given that the depths of laser-machined holes can be estimated on-line using a coaxial photodiode, this was employed in our inspection system. Our experiments were conducted in air under normal atmospheric conditions without gas assist. The intensity of radiation emitted from the vaporized material was found to correlate with the depth of the hole. The results indicate that the estimated depths of the laser-drilled holes were inversely proportional to the maximum plasma light emission measured for a given laser pulse number.

  10. Fast fracture: an adiabatic restriction on thermally activated crack propagation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Burns, S.J.

    1978-01-01

    Slow, isothermal, crack propagation is widely suspected to be rate controlled by thermally activated plastic deformation in the crack tip region. Adiabatic conditions are generally established in the fracture modified material at the tip of a crack during fast fracture. The temperature of this material is not the temperature of the specimen and is generally not measured during fast fracture. Thus, a complete thermodynamic description of adiabatic crack propagation data can not be made. When the slow, isothermal, crack propagation mechanisms are assumed to be operative during adiabatic crack propagation then certain predictions can be made. For example: the changes in the driving force due to temperature and rate are always in the opposite sense; there is no minimum in the driving force versus crack velocity without a change in mechanism; the temperature rise in the crack tip fracture modified material is determined mainly by the activation enthalpy for crack propagation; the interpretation of fast fracture structural steel data from simple plastic models is suspect since these materials have dissimilar isothermal temperature dependencies.

  11. Crack Tip Parameters for Growing Cracks in Linear Viscoelastic Materials

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brincker, Rune

    In this paper the problem of describing the asymptotic fields around a slowly growing crack in a linearly viscoelastic material is considered. It is shown that for plane mixed mode problems the asymptotic fields must be described by 6 parameters: 2 stress intensity factors and 4 deformation...... intensity factors. In the special case of a constant Poisson ratio only 2 deformation intensity factors are needed. Closed form solutions are given both for a slowly growing crack and for a crack that is suddenly arrested at a point at the crack extension path. Two examples are studied; a stress boundary...... value problem, and a displacement boundary value problem. The results show that the stress intensity factors and the displacement intensity factors do not depend explicitly upon the velocity of the crack tip....

  12. Production of steam cracking feedstocks by mild cracking of plastic wastes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Angyal, Andras; Miskolczi, Norbert; Bartha, Laszlo; Tungler, Antal; Nagy, Lajos; Vida, Laszlo; Nagy, Gabor

    2010-11-15

    In this work the utility of new possible petrochemical feedstocks obtained by plastic waste cracking has been studied. The cracking process of polyethylene (PE), polyethylene-polypropylene (PEPP) and polyethylene-polystyrene (PEPS) has been carried out in a pilot scale tubular reactor. In this process mild reaction parameters has been applied, with the temperature of 530 C and the residence time of 15 min. The produced hydrocarbon fractions as light- and middle distillates were tested by using a laboratory steam cracking unit. It was concluded that the products of the mild cracking of plastic wastes could be applied as petrochemical feedstocks. Based on the analytical data it was determined that these liquid products contained in significant concentration (25-50 wt.%) of olefin hydrocarbons. Moreover the cracking of polystyrene containing raw material resulted in liquid products with significant amounts of aromatic hydrocarbons too. The steam cracking experiments proved that the products obtained by PE and PEPP cracking resulted in similar or better ethylene and propylene yields than the reference samples, however the aromatic content of PEPS products reduced the ethylene and propylene yields. (author)

  13. Temperature effect on Zircaloy-4 stress corrosion cracking

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Farina, Silvia B.; Duffo, Gustavo S.; Galvele, Jose R.

    1999-01-01

    Stress corrosion cracking (SCC) susceptibility of Zircaloy-4 alloy in chloride, bromide and iodide solutions with variables as applied electrode potential, deformation rate and temperature have been studied. In those three halide solutions the susceptibility to SCC is only observed at potentials close to pitting potential, the crack propagation rate increases with the increase of deformation rate, and that the temperature has a notable effect only for iodide solutions. For chloride and bromide solutions and temperatures ranging between 20 to 90 C degrees it was not found measurable changes in crack propagation rates. (author)

  14. Direct measurement of dose at depth in breast cancer using lithium fluoride

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dawes, P J.D.K.; Aird, E G; Crawshaw, I P

    1988-05-01

    In 23 cases of breast cancer treated conservatively using external beam and interstitial radiotherapy, lithium fluoride thermoluminescent dosimetry has been used to measure the radiation dose received by the breast tissue at depth. Thirty-six investigations were made using a number of lithium fluoride micro-rods for each investigation. Three results could not be analysed because of measurement problems in two and insufficient information in one. Twenty-eight results were obtained at a depth in tissue greater than the build-up zone, 23 of the 28 falling within +- 5% and 27 of the 28 falling within +- 10% of the computer-calculated prescribed dose. Of five results obtained within the build-up zone, two fell within +- 5% and four within +- 10% of the prescribed dose.

  15. Distortion of depth perception in virtual environments using stereoscopic displays: quantitative assessment and corrective measures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kleiber, Michael; Winkelholz, Carsten

    2008-02-01

    The aim of the presented research was to quantify the distortion of depth perception when using stereoscopic displays. The visualization parameters of the used virtual reality system such as perspective, haploscopic separation and width of stereoscopic separation were varied. The experiment was designed to measure distortion in depth perception according to allocentric frames of reference. The results of the experiments indicate that some of the parameters have an antithetic effect which allows to compensate the distortion of depth perception for a range of depths. In contrast to earlier research which reported underestimation of depth perception we found that depth was overestimated when using true projection parameters according to the position of the eyes of the user and display geometry.

  16. Cracked gas generator

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Abthoff, J; Schuster, H D; Gabler, R

    1976-11-17

    A small cracked-gas generator in a vehicle driven, in particular, by an air combustion engine has been proposed for the economic production of the gases necessary for low toxicity combustion from diesel fuel. This proceeds via catalytic crack-gasification and exploitation of residual heat from exhaust gases. This patent application foresees the insertion of one of the catalysts supporting the cracked-gas reaction in a container through which the reacting mixture for cracked-gas production flows in longitudinal direction. Further, air ducts are embedded in the catalyst through which exhaust gases and fresh air flow in counter direction to the cracked gas flow in the catalyst. The air vents are connected through heat conduction to the catalyst. A cracked gas constituting H/sub 2//CO/CO/sub 2//CH/sub 4/ and H/sub 2/O can be produced from the air-fuel mixture using appropriate catalysts. By the addition of 5 to 25% of cracked gas to the volume of air drawn in by the combustion engine, a more favourable combustion can be achieved compared to that obtained under normal combustion conditions.

  17. Fatigue crack growth in austenitic stainless steel piping

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bethmont, M.; Cheissoux, J.L.; Lebey, J.

    1981-04-01

    The study presented in this paper is being carried out with a view to substantiating the calculations of the fatigue crack growth in pipes made of 316 L stainless steel. The results obtained may be applied to P.W.R. primary piping. It is divided into two parts. First, fatigue tests (cyclic pressure) are carried out under hot and cold conditions with straight pipes machined with notches of various dimensions. The crack propagation and the fatigue crack growth rate are measured here. Second, calculations are made in order to interpret experimental results. From elastic calculations the stress intensity factor is assessed to predict the crack growth rate. The results obtained until now and presented in this paper relate to longitudinal notches

  18. Evaluation of stress intensity factors due to welding residual stresses for circumferential cracked pipes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oh, Chang-Young; Kim, Yun-Jae; Oh, Young-Jin; Kim, Jong-Sung; Song, Tae-Kwang; Kim, Yong-Beum

    2013-01-01

    To investigate the applicability of existing methods to estimate stress intensity factors due to welding residual stresses, comparisons with finite element (FE) solutions are made for two types of generic welding residual stress profiles, generated by simulating repair welds. It is found that fitting residual stresses over the crack depth using third-order polynomials gives good estimates of stress intensity factors but fitting over the entire thickness can result in inaccurate estimates even with fourth-order polynomials. Noting that welding residual stresses are often determined from FE analyses, linearization of residual stresses to estimate stress intensity factors is proposed. Comparison with FE solutions shows good agreements. -- Highlights: ► Applicability of K estimation methods is investigated for welding residual stresses. ► Two types of generic residual stress profiles with repair welds are considered. ► Fitting residual stresses over the crack depth gives good estimates of K. ► A method to estimate K by linearising residual stress profiles is proposed

  19. Separating the Influence of Environment from Stress Relaxation Effects on Dwell Fatigue Crack Growth

    Science.gov (United States)

    Telesman, Jack; Gabb, Tim; Ghosn, Louis J.

    2016-01-01

    Seven different microstructural variations of LSHR were produced by controlling the cooling rate and the subsequent aging and thermal exposure heat treatments. Through cyclic fatigue crack growth testing performed both in air and vacuum, it was established that four out of the seven LSHR heat treatments evaluated, possessed similar intrinsic environmental resistance to cyclic crack growth. For these four heat treatments, it was further shown that the large differences in dwell crack growth behavior which still persisted, were related to their measured stress relaxation behavior. The apparent differences in their dwell crack growth resistance were attributed to the inability of the standard linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) stress intensity parameter to account for visco-plastic behavior. Crack tip stress relaxation controls the magnitude of the remaining local tensile stresses which are directly related to the measured dwell crack growth rates. It was hypothesized that the environmentally weakened grain boundary crack tip regions fail during the dwells when their strength is exceeded by the remaining local crack tip tensile stresses. It was shown that the classical creep crack growth mechanisms such as grain boundary sliding did not contribute to crack growth, but the local visco-plastic behavior still plays a very significant role by determining the crack tip tensile stress field which controls the dwell crack growth behavior. To account for the influence of the visco-plastic behavior on the crack tip stress field, an empirical modification to the LEFM stress intensity parameter, Kmax, was developed by incorporating into the formulation the remaining stress level concept as measured by simple stress relaxation tests. The newly proposed parameter, Ksrf, did an excellent job in correlating the dwell crack growth rates for the four heat treatments which were shown to have similar intrinsic environmental cyclic fatigue crack growth resistance.

  20. DEPTH MEASUREMENT OF DISRUPTED LAYER ON SILICON WAFER SURFACE USING AUGER SPECTROSCOPY METHOD

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. A. Solodukha

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper proposes a method for depth measurement of a disrupted layer on silicon wafer surface which is based on application of Auger spectroscopy with the precision sputtering of surface silicon layers and registration of the Auger electron yield intensity. In order to measure the disrupted layer with the help of Auger spectroscopy it is necessary to determine dependence of the released Auger electron amount on sputtering time (profile and then the dependence is analyzed. Silicon amount in the disrupted layer is less than in the volume. While going deeper the disruptive layer is decreasing that corresponds to an increase of atom density in a single layer. The essence of the method lies in the fact the disruptive layer is removed by ion beam sputtering and detection of interface region is carried out with the help of registration of the Auger electron yield intensity from the sputtered surface up to the moment when it reaches the value which is equal to the Auger electron yield intensity for single-crystal silicon. While removing surface silicon layers the registration of the Auger electron yield intensity from silicon surface makes it possible to control efficiently a presence of the disrupted layer on the silicon wafer surface. In this case depth control locality is about 1.0 nm due to some peculiarities of Auger spectroscopy method. The Auger electron yield intensity is determined automatically while using Auger spectrometer and while removing the disrupted layer the intensity is gradually increasing. Depth of the disrupted layer is determined by measuring height of the step which has been formed as a result of removal of the disrupted layer from the silicon wafer surface. Auger spectroscopy methods ensures an efficient depth control surface disruptions at the manufacturing stages of silicon wafers and integrated circuits. The depth measurement range of disruptions constitutes 0.001–1.000 um.

  1. Fatigue crack extension in nozzle junctions; comparison of analytical approximations with experimental data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Broekhoven, M.J.G.; Ruijtenbeek, M.G. van de

    1975-01-01

    The fracture mechanics based stress intensity factor (K-factor) concept has obtained wide-spread acceptance as a tool for quantitative analysis of both fatigue crack growth and instable fracture. The present study discusses the applicability of various simple analytical approximations by comparing results with experimental data. A semi-analytical procedure has been developed whose main characteristics are: the true stress distribution perpendicular to the crack plane for the uncracked structure is used as input data; an extended version of the Shah and Kobayashi solution for elliptical cracks, loaded on their surfaces by tractions described by fourth order double symmetrical polynomials fit through the data of previous step is used to calculate full K-factor variations along the crack fronts; several corrections, a.o. to correct for free surfaces and for a corner radius are incorporated. The experiments concern careful monitoring crack growth rates (da/dN) under uniaxial fatigue loading of precracked nozzle-on-plate models, a.o. using a closed T.V. circuit. Resulting da/dN versus crack length (a) curves are converted into K versus a curves using da/dN versus ΔK curves for the same material (ASTM A 508 C12) obtained by standard procedures. Comparison of theoretical and experimental data yields the conclusion that: simple analytical approximations as sometimes recommended in literature may largely overestimate or underestimate K-factors for nozzle corner cracks; a computer program based on the semi-analytical procedure yields results within seconds of CPU-time once the input data have been generated. These results compare well with experimental and available finite element data for the range of crack depths of practical concern

  2. Quarter elliptical crack growth using three dimensional finite element method and crack closure technique

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gozin, Mohammad-Hosein; Aghaie-Khafri, Mehrdad [K. N. Toosi University of Technology, Tehran (Korea, Republic of)

    2014-06-15

    Shape evolution of a quarter-elliptical crack emanating from a hole is studied. Three dimensional elastic-plastic finite element analysis of the fatigue crack closure was considered and the stress intensity factor was calculated based on the duplicated elastic model at each crack tip node. The crack front node was advanced proportional to the imposed effective stress intensity factor. Remeshing was applied at each step of the crack growth and solution mapping algorithm was considered. Crack growth retardation at free surfaces was successfully observed. A MATLAB-ABAQUS interference code was developed for the first time to perform crack growth on the basis of crack closure. Simulation results indicated that crack shape is sensitive to the remeshing strategy. Predictions based on the proposed models were in good agreement with Carlson's experiments results.

  3. Method of measurement of near tip field of fast propagating cracks by means of interferometry; Hikari kansho ni yoru kosoku shinten kiretsu sentanbu no oryokuba keisokuho

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Suzuki, s.; Miyazaki, F. [Toyohashi University of Technology, Aichi (Japan); Nakane, K. [Nitto Denko Corp., Osaka (Japan)

    1994-12-15

    The measurement by an interference method at the tip of fast propagating cracks was investigated. To clarify the direction-dependent problem of dynamic cracks in a higher-order term, a high-precision stress field must be measured in every direction. In this method, the propagated interference fringes near the crack tip are shot at a speed of some hundreds of m/sec, and the coefficient of dynamic stress extension is obtained from the expression given when the number of fringes (`m`) in the interferences fringes is differentiated partially. The information below was obtained. The stress field in every direction can be analyzed by the interference method. However, the interference fringes in an area of absolute {theta} < 120{degree} are radially spread from the crack tip, so the precision of the interference fringes in the {gamma} direction deteriorates. In this area, the above partial differential is higher in precision when {alpha}m/{alpha}{theta} is used instead of {alpha}m/{alpha}{gamma}. The stress extension coefficient obtained by a caustic method can be verified if a stress field of {theta} = {plus_minus}72{degree} is analyzed by the interference method. By shooting in this optical system, the COD measurement, the K-value measurement of caustic light, and the stress field measurement by an interference method can be done simultaneously. 17 refs., 11 figs.

  4. Lifetime evaluation of first wall and divertor plate by crack analyses during plasma disruptions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ohmori, Junji; Kobayashi, Takeshi; Yamada, Masao; Iida, Hiromasa

    1988-05-01

    The first wall and divertor armor in fusion devices are subjected to high heat and particle fluxes. In particular, disruption heating is an intense thermal shock which may cause melting or vaporization of the armor surfaces. The behavior of the armor materials is one of the major factors limiting the lifetime of these components. Generally the surface temperature of armor due to disruption gets so high that the surface may become cracked. However, even if only the surface of the armor is cracked, the function of the armor will not be lost as long as the damage is limited to within a small depth of the surface. In this study, the lifetime of the armor is evaluated by two stages: crack initiation life and crack propagation life which are related to the fatigue life and the energy release rate, respectively. Materials are graphite and C/C composite (carbon fiber reinforced carbon composite) for the first wall, and tungsten for the dinertor. For disruption conditions of Fusion Experimental Reactor, the fatigue life and the energy release rates are calculated by thermal, and stress analyses. Results show that crack initiation is expected after only a few disruptions, and the energy release rate as a function of the crack length comes up to the maximum value at a small crack length, and decreases with increasing of the crack length. This decreasing means that a crack propagation rate reduces. An unstable fracture does not occur if the maximum energy release rate does not exceed the critical energy release rate which can be obtained from the fracture toughness. (author)

  5. TRANSPORT THROUGH CRACKED CONCRETE: LITERATURE REVIEW

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Langton, C.

    2012-05-11

    Concrete containment structures and cement-based fills and waste forms are used at the Savannah River Site to enhance the performance of shallow land disposal systems designed for containment of low-level radioactive waste. Understanding and measuring transport through cracked concrete is important for describing the initial condition of radioactive waste containment structures at the Savannah River Site (SRS) and for predicting performance of these structures over time. This report transmits the results of a literature review on transport through cracked concrete which was performed by Professor Jason Weiss, Purdue University per SRR0000678 (RFP-RQ00001029-WY). This review complements the NRC-sponsored literature review and assessment of factors relevant to performance of grouted systems for radioactive waste disposal. This review was performed by The Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses, San Antonio, TX, and The University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen Scotland and was focused on tank closure. The objective of the literature review on transport through cracked concrete was to identify information in the open literature which can be applied to SRS transport models for cementitious containment structures, fills, and waste forms. In addition, the literature review was intended to: (1) Provide a framework for describing and classifying cracks in containment structures and cementitious materials used in radioactive waste disposal, (2) Document the state of knowledge and research related to transport through cracks in concrete for various exposure conditions, (3) Provide information or methodology for answering several specific questions related to cracking and transport in concrete, and (4) Provide information that can be used to design experiments on transport through cracked samples and actual structures.

  6. Transport Through Cracked Concrete: Literature Review

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Langton, C.

    2012-01-01

    Concrete containment structures and cement-based fills and waste forms are used at the Savannah River Site to enhance the performance of shallow land disposal systems designed for containment of low-level radioactive waste. Understanding and measuring transport through cracked concrete is important for describing the initial condition of radioactive waste containment structures at the Savannah River Site (SRS) and for predicting performance of these structures over time. This report transmits the results of a literature review on transport through cracked concrete which was performed by Professor Jason Weiss, Purdue University per SRR0000678 (RFP-RQ00001029-WY). This review complements the NRC-sponsored literature review and assessment of factors relevant to performance of grouted systems for radioactive waste disposal. This review was performed by The Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses, San Antonio, TX, and The University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen Scotland and was focused on tank closure. The objective of the literature review on transport through cracked concrete was to identify information in the open literature which can be applied to SRS transport models for cementitious containment structures, fills, and waste forms. In addition, the literature review was intended to: (1) Provide a framework for describing and classifying cracks in containment structures and cementitious materials used in radioactive waste disposal, (2) Document the state of knowledge and research related to transport through cracks in concrete for various exposure conditions, (3) Provide information or methodology for answering several specific questions related to cracking and transport in concrete, and (4) Provide information that can be used to design experiments on transport through cracked samples and actual structures.

  7. Fatigue life evaluation of a cracked pipeline pipe operating under variable; Estudo da vida em fadiga com variacao de pressao interna em tubos com defeitos

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Betanzos, J.; Mattei, F. [Rio Grande do Sul Univ., Porto Alegre, RS (Brazil); Strohaecker, T. [Rio Grande do Sul Univ., Porto Alegre, RS (Brazil). Programa de Pos-graduacao em Engenharia de Minas, Metalurgia e Materiais; Marinho, R.; Hoppe, R.; Donato, G. [PETROBRAS, Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

    2005-07-01

    Fatigue cracks in welded joints are commonly found in gas and oil pipelines and usually pumping is interrupted for repair. The strength of welded joints with defects, and consequently, the useful life of a pipeline, is an important information that could lead to great improvements in the reliability. To evaluate the working conditions determined by standards, specimens with 22'' diameter and 1/2'' wall thickness API 5L X60 pipes were used. Two semi-elliptical cracks were electro spark machined, with 50% and 25% of the tube wall thickness depths and a length/depth ratio of 1/20. Both defects were located in the HAZ of the tube longitudinal seam weld. Applying a cyclic internal pressure it was possible to propagate a fatigue crack until a through-thickness condition. The results show that the pressures to initiate crack propagation are too much higher than the pressures allowed by the standards for this kind of defect. (author)

  8. Fatigue crack growth rate studies on pipes and pipe welds made of austenitic stainless steel and carbon steel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arora, Punit; Singh, P.K.; Bhasin, Vivek; Vaze, K.K.; Pukazhendhi, D.M.; Gandhi, P.; Raghava, G.

    2011-01-01

    The objective of the present study is to understand the fatigue crack growth behavior in austenitic stainless steel and carbon steel pipes and pipe welds by carrying out analysis/predictions and experiments. The Paris law has been used for the prediction of fatigue crack growth life. To carry out the analysis, Paris constants have been determined for pipe (base) and pipe weld materials by using Compact Tension (CT)/Three Point Bend (TPB) specimens machined from the actual pipe/pipe weld. Analyses have been carried out to predict the fatigue crack growth life of pipes/pipe welds having part through cracks on the outer surface. In the analyses, Stress Intensity Factors (K) have been evaluated through two different schemes. The first scheme considers the 'K' evaluations at two points of the crack front i.e. maximum crack depth and crack tip at the outer surface. The second scheme accounts for the area averaged root mean square stress intensity factor (K RMS ) at deepest and surface points. In order to validate the analytical procedure/results, experiments have been carried out on full scale pipe and pipe welds with part through circumferential crack. Fatigue crack growth life evaluated using both schemes have been compared with experimental results. Use of stress intensity factor (K RMS ) evaluated using second scheme gives better fatigue crack growth life prediction compared to that of first scheme. (author)

  9. Stress corrosion cracking of candidate materials for nuclear waste containers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maiya, P.S.; Shack, W.J.; Kassner, T.F.

    1989-09-01

    Types 304L and 316L stainless steel (SS), Incoloy 825, Cu, Cu-30%Ni, and Cu-7%Al have been selected as candidate materials for the containment of high-level nuclear waste at the proposed Yucca Mountain Site in Nevada. The susceptibility of these materials to stress corrosion cracking has been investigated by slow-strain-rate tests (SSRTs) in water which simulates that from well J-13 (J-13 water) and is representative of the groundwater present at the Yucca Mountain site. The SSRTs were performed on specimens exposed to simulated J-13 water at 93 degree C and at a strain rate 10 -7 s -1 under crevice conditions and at a strain rate of 10 -8 s -1 under both crevice and noncrevice conditions. All the tests were interrupted after nominal elongation strains of 1--4%. Examination by scanning electron microscopy showed some crack initiation in virtually all specimens. Optical microscopy of metallographically prepared transverse sections of Type 304L SS suggests that the crack depths are small (<10 μm). Preliminary results suggest that a lower strain rate increases the severity of cracking of Types 304L and 316L SS, Incoloy 825, and Cu but has virtually no effect on Cu-30%Ni and Cu-7%Al. Differences in susceptibility to cracking were evaluated in terms of a stress ratio, which is defined as the ratio of the increase in stress after local yielding in the environment to the corresponding stress increase in an identical test in air, both computed at the same strain. On the basis of this stress ratio, the ranking of materials in order of increasing resistance to cracking is: Types 304L SS < 316L SS < Incoloy 825 congruent Cu-30%Ni < Cu congruent Cu-7%Al. 9 refs., 12 figs., 7 tabs

  10. Role of plasticity-induced crack closure in fatigue crack growth

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jesús Toribio

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available The premature contact of crack surfaces attributable to the near-tip plastic deformations under cyclic loading, which is commonly referred to as plasticity induced crack closure (PICC, has long been focused as supposedly controlling factor of fatigue crack growth (FCG. Nevertheless, when the plane-strain near-tip constraint is approached, PICC lacks of straightforward evidence, so that its significance in FCG, and even the very existence, remain debatable. To add insights into this matter, large-deformation elastoplastic simulations of plane-strain crack under constant amplitude load cycling at different load ranges and ratios, as well as with an overload, have been performed. Modeling visualizes the Laird-Smith conceptual mechanism of FCG by plastic blunting and re-sharpening. Simulation reproduces the experimental trends of FCG concerning the roles of stress intensity factor range and overload, but PICC has never been detected. Near-tip deformation patterns discard the filling-in a crack with material stretched out of the crack plane in the wake behind the tip as supposed PICC origin. Despite the absence of closure, load-deformation curves appear bent, which raises doubts about the trustworthiness of closure assessment from the compliance variation. This demonstrates ambiguities of PICC as a supposedly intrinsic factor of FCG and, by implication, favors the stresses and strains in front of the crack tip as genuine fatigue drivers.

  11. Measurement of underground water-soil radioactivity at different depths in arsenic prone areas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ghosh, D.; Deb, A.; Patra, K.K.; Sengupta, R.; Nag, S.K.

    2007-01-01

    Studies on the presence of alpha emitting nuclides in the environment assume importance since they are found to be carcinogenic. Measurement of radioactivity in arsenic contaminated drinking water has already been reported. To perform a detail study we have undertaken a programme to measure radioactivity in drinking water and soil samples in three different places of North 24 Parganas in West Bengal, India, where arsenic contamination is severe. A detail investigation on soil samples at different depths and soil-water samples at same depth have been made with CR-39 plates -a Solid State Nuclear Track Detector (SSNTD) -a commonly used detector for alpha radiation. The data indicates high alpha activity in soil than water and this ratio is different at different places varying from 1.22 to 2.63. The dependence of the alpha activity in soil on depth is also different at different sites. The data shows some interesting results. (author)

  12. Crack formation mechanisms during micro and macro indentation of diamond-like carbon coatings on elastic-plastic substrates

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thomsen, N.B.; Fischer-Cripps, A.C.; Swain, M.V.

    1998-01-01

    of cracking and the fracture mechanisms taking place. In the study various diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings deposited onto stainless steel and tool steel were investigated. Results primarily for one DLC system will be presented here. (C) 1998 Published by Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.......In the present study crack formation is investigated on both micro and macro scale using spherical indenter tips. in particular, systems consisting of elastic coatings that are well adhered to elastic-plastic substrates are studied. Depth sensing indentation is used on the micro scale and Rockwell...... indentation on the macro scale. The predominant driving force for coating failure and crack formation during indentation is plastic deformation of the underlying substrate. The aim is to relate the mechanisms creating both delamination and cohesive cracking on both scales with fracture mechanical models...

  13. Measurement of depth-dose distributions by means of the LiF-fluoroplastic thermoluminescent detectors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shaks, A.I.; Uryaev, I.A.; Trifonov, V.A.; Reshetnikova, L.V.

    1977-01-01

    Depth-dose distributions have been studied by means of thin-layer thermoluminescent detectors LiF-fluoroplast (8 mg/cm 2 ). Dosimetric characteristics of the detectors are described. They are: tissue-equivalence, dependence of sensitivity on the dose, dose rate and angle of incidence of radiation, and time-dependent storage, of the total light absorbed. Comparison of the results obtained with the measurements taken with an extrapolation chamber has demonstrated the possibility of measuring the depth-dose distributions by means of LiF-fluoroplast detectors

  14. Evaluation of the depth-integration method of measuring water discharge in large rivers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moody, J.A.; Troutman, B.M.

    1992-01-01

    The depth-integration method oor measuring water discharge makes a continuos measurement of the water velocity from the water surface to the bottom at 20 to 40 locations or verticals across a river. It is especially practical for large rivers where river traffic makes it impractical to use boats attached to taglines strung across the river or to use current meters suspended from bridges. This method has the additional advantage over the standard two- and eight-tenths method in that a discharge-weighted suspended-sediment sample can be collected at the same time. When this method is used in large rivers such as the Missouri, Mississippi and Ohio, a microwave navigation system is used to determine the ship's position at each vertical sampling location across the river, and to make accurate velocity corrections to compensate for shift drift. An essential feature is a hydraulic winch that can lower and raise the current meter at a constant transit velocity so that the velocities at all depths are measured for equal lengths of time. Field calibration measurements show that: (1) the mean velocity measured on the upcast (bottom to surface) is within 1% of the standard mean velocity determined by 9-11 point measurements; (2) if the transit velocity is less than 25% of the mean velocity, then average error in the mean velocity is 4% or less. The major source of bias error is a result of mounting the current meter above a sounding weight and sometimes above a suspended-sediment sampling bottle, which prevents measurement of the velocity all the way to the bottom. The measured mean velocity is slightly larger than the true mean velocity. This bias error in the discharge is largest in shallow water (approximately 8% for the Missouri River at Hermann, MO, where the mean depth was 4.3 m) and smallest in deeper water (approximately 3% for the Mississippi River at Vickbsurg, MS, where the mean depth was 14.5 m). The major source of random error in the discharge is the natural

  15. Workshop on initiation of stress corrosion cracking under LWR conditions: Proceedings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nelson, J.L.; Cubicciotti, D.; Licina, G.J.

    1988-05-01

    A workshop titled ''Initiation of Stress Corrosion Cracking under LWR Conditions'' was held in Palo Alto, California on November 13, 1986, hosted by the Electric Power Research Institute. Participants were experts on the topic from nuclear steam supply and component manufacturers, public and private research laboratories, and university environments. Presentations included discussions on the definition of crack initiation, the effects of environmental and electrochemical variables on cracking susceptibility, and detection methods for the determination of crack initiation events and measurement of critical environmental and stress parameters. Examination of the questions related to crack initiation and its relative importance to the overall question of cracking of LWR materials from these perspectives provided inputs to EPRI project managers on the future direction of research efforts designed to prevent and control cracking. Thirteen reports have been cataloged separately

  16. The fatigue life and fatigue-crack-through-thickness behavior of a surface-cracked plate, 3

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nam, Ki-Woo; Matsui, Kentaro; Ando, Kotoji; Ogura, Nobukazu

    1989-01-01

    The LBB (leak-before-break) design is one of the most important subjects for the evaluation and the assurance of safety in pressure vessels, piping systems, LNG carriers and various other structures. In the LBB design, it is necessary to evaluate precisely the lifetime of steel plate. Furthermore, the change in crack shape that occurs during the propagation after through thickness is of paramount importance. For this reason, in a previous report, the authors proposed a simplified evaluation model for the stress intensity factor after cracking through thickness. Using this model, the crack propagation behavior, crack-opening displacement and crack shape change of surface-cracked smooth specimens and surface-cracked specimens with a stress concentration were evaluated quantitatively. The present study was also done to investigate the fatigue crack propagation behavior of surface cracks subjected to combined tensile and bending stress. Estimation of fatigue crack growth was done using the Newman-Raju formula before through thickness, and using formula (7) and (8) after through thickness. Crack length a r at just through thickness increases with increasing a bending stress. Calculated fatigue crack shape showed very good agreement with experimental one. It was also found that particular crack growth behavior and change in crack shape after cracking through thickness can be explained quantitatively using the K value based on Eqs. (7) and (8). (author)

  17. Direct measurement of dose at depth in breast cancer using lithium fluoride

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dawes, P.J.D.K.; Aird, E.G.; Crawshaw, I.P.

    1988-01-01

    In 23 cases of breast cancer treated conservatively using external beam and interstitial radiotherapy, lithium fluoride thermoluminescent dosimetry has been used to measure the radiation dose received by the breast tissue at depth. Thirty-six investigations were made using a number of lithium fluoride micro-rods for each investigation. Three results could not be analysed because of measurement problems in two and insufficient information in one. Twenty-eight results were obtained at a depth in tissue greater than the build-up zone, 23 of the 28 falling within ± 5% and 27 of the 28 falling within ± 10% of the computer-calculated prescribed dose. Of five results obtained within the build-up zone, two fell within ± 5% and four within ± 10% of the prescribed dose. (author)

  18. Analytical Model for Fictitious Crack Propagation in Concrete Beams

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ulfkjær, J. P.; Krenk, S.; Brincker, Rune

    An analytical model for load-displacement curves of unreinforced notched and un-notched concrete beams is presented. The load displacement-curve is obtained by combining two simple models. The fracture is modelled by a fictitious crack in an elastic layer around the mid-section of the beam. Outside...... the elastic layer the deformations are modelled by the Timoshenko beam theory. The state of stress in the elastic layer is assumed to depend bi-lineary on local elongation corresponding to a linear softening relation for the fictitious crack. For different beam size results from the analytical model...... is compared with results from a more accurate model based on numerical methods. The analytical model is shown to be in good agreement with the numerical results if the thickness of the elastic layer is taken as half the beam depth. Several general results are obtained. It is shown that the point on the load...

  19. On fatigue crack growth in ductile materials by crack-tip blunting

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tvergaard, Viggo

    2004-01-01

    One of the basic mechanisms for fatigue crack growth in ductile metals is that depending on crack-tip blunting under tensile loads and re-sharpening of the crack-tip during unloading. In a standard numerical analysis accounting for finite strains it is not possible to follow this process during...

  20. Ultrasonic phased array with surface acoustic wave for imaging cracks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yoshikazu Ohara

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available To accurately measure crack lengths, we developed a real-time surface imaging method (SAW PA combining an ultrasonic phased array (PA with a surface acoustic wave (SAW. SAW PA using a Rayleigh wave with a high sensitivity to surface defects was implemented for contact testing using a wedge with the third critical angle that allows the Rayleigh wave to be generated. Here, to realize high sensitivity imaging, SAW PA was optimized in terms of the wedge and the imaging area. The improved SAW PA was experimentally demonstrated using a fatigue crack specimen made of an aluminum alloy. For further verification in more realistic specimens, SAW PA was applied to stainless-steel specimens with a fatigue crack and stress corrosion cracks (SCCs. The fatigue crack was visualized with a high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR and its length was measured with a high accuracy of better than 1 mm. The SCCs generated in the heat-affected zones (HAZs of a weld were successfully visualized with a satisfactory SNR, although responses at coarse grains appeared throughout the imaging area. The SCC lengths were accurately measured. The imaging results also precisely showed complicated distributions of SCCs, which were in excellent agreement with the optically observed distributions.