Nonlinear numerical study of crack initiation and propagation in a reactor pressure vessel under pressurized thermal shock using XFEM

Under pressurized thermal shock (PTS), once crack initiation occurs in a reactor pressure vessel (RPV), the stress concentration around the crack tips may result in local instability and crack propagation. The temperature‐dependent material properties are introduced into the finite element analysis model. According to the response of the transient temperature field and stress field near the crack tip region, the influence of PTS on the carrying capacity of the structure is demonstrated. Also, the process of crack initiation and propagation is simulated by using the extended finite element method (XFEM). The results show that the crack of mode I is easy to be initiated on the nozzle in the initial high temperature and high pressure working state. The effect of cladding on the RPV integrity is enhanced with the increase of crack size, and it mainly depends on the crack length. During the PTS transient, a discontinuity of stress exists near the cladding‐base interface, and the cladding bears more loading than the base of the same size. As the unloading of the internal pressure, the stress does not decline due to the strong thermal shock. In the late stage of the PTS process, the internal pressure caused by repressurization poses a challenge to the strength of the structure. With the decrease of the base wall thickness, the allowable repressure value also gradually decreases. However, the increase of the base wall thickness causes the rise of thermal stress, and the allowable repressure load is not significantly improved.     

5083铝合金搅拌摩擦焊接头拉伸行为研究

目的 研究5083铝合金搅拌摩擦焊接（FSW）的组织、力学性能和拉伸应变,分析接头的拉伸行为。方法 采用数码相机、光学显微镜、电子扫描显微镜等表征分析方法,对焊缝的表面宏观成形、微观组织、断口形貌进行分析;利用拉伸机、三维数字动态散斑应变测量分析系统和显微维氏硬度计对接头的力学性能和拉伸应变进行测试。结果 不同焊接工艺参数下FSW接头的最低抗拉强度为305 MPa,断后延伸率达到了14%以上;焊核区拉伸应变沿板厚方向呈现上高下低和上宽下窄的不均匀梯度分布,发生了较大程度的变形强化,直到拉伸应力达到抗拉强度。断裂失效前300/120接头的最大拉伸应变在晶粒粗大的母材区,500/120和500/200接头的最大拉伸应变则位于晶粒尺寸差异较大的后退侧焊核区与热力影响区交界处。接头拉伸断口宏观上均为45°剪切韧性断裂,微观上均以韧窝韧性断裂为主,而高热输入500/120接头出现脆性断裂特征,其延伸率明显降低。结论 高热力耦合输入使铝合金FSW接头薄弱区发生转变,强韧性降低。     

铁素体管线钢的分层裂纹及其对断裂的影响

通过对针状铁素体管线钢缺口根部三维应力状态的有限元分析和不同形式的断裂实验,研究了管线钢分层裂纹产生的条件及其对断裂性能的影响.结果表明裂纹或缺口根部的三维应力状态是产生分层裂纹的必要条件,材料的强度分布影响分层裂纹的形式和方向.分层裂纹均为主裂纹扩展前材料中的弱界面在垂直该弱界面的拉应力作用下产生的,其数量和方向受裂纹端部三维应力场和材料的强度分布状态控制.分层裂纹面上的应力为零,分层裂纹有一定的间距.在断裂过程中产生的分层裂纹使裂纹或缺口根部的构形发生改变,从而对裂尖的应力状态和材料的断裂性能产生巨大的影响.穿透裂纹体的分层裂纹使其有效厚度减小,表面裂纹体的分层裂纹与裂纹扩展方向垂直.在断裂过程中产生分层裂纹需要消耗更多的能量、降低裂端三维应力约束、有效厚度降低或裂尖钝化.这些因素均使断裂扩展更加困难,而使材料韧性得到提高.     

Book Review

The evaluation of pressure vessel integrity affected by pressurized thermal shock (PTS) events caused by emergency cooling due to a small leak break is being addressed. Comprehensive numerical and experimental investigations were performed at MPA Stuttgart and the HDR plant.

During cold water feeding necessary to maintain core cooling under accident conditions, high temperature gradients arise which cause thermal stresses in the walls near the inner surface of the reactor pressure vessel (RPV). Supposing there are flaws in the inner wall the thermal stresses can increase the stress intensity considerably compared with the stresses caused by internal pressuse. st the same time, the fract/fre toughness of the ferritic reactor pressure vessel matenalls reduced through the coolmg process. Therefore, the possibility of stable or unstable crack growth cannot be ruled out.

This paper describes numerical and experimental investigations with large-scale heavy section specimens with circumferential and semi-elliptical cracks. The whole range of material toughness relevant for RPV integrity studies was tested. A full-scale vessel test at the HDR plant is reported, too. The experimental results were evaluated for validation of the analytical and numerical methods. Results from these investigations contribute to resolving a generic issue in the area of reactor pressure vessel integrity.     

Multi-axial fatigue initiation at inclusions and subsequent crack growth in a bainitic high strength roller bearing steel at uniaxial experiments

The behaviour of inclusion initiated fatigue was studied for a high strength bearing steel with a bainite micro-structure. The analysis included experiments and numerical simulations. It was realized that the stress-state was multi-axial in the matrix material that met the inclusion also for a uniaxial far field stress. Fatigue initiation risk at the interface between the inclusion and matrix material was therefore predicted with the Findley multi-axial critical plane criterion. The fatigue parameters were determined from independent experiments on smooth specimens with tensile surface stress gradients. Crack growth from the inclusion to final rupture was modelled as a penny shaped crack with closure compensated effective material parameters. The growth simulations suggested that the majority of the fatigue life was consumed as fatigue crack initiation at the non-metallic inclusion.     

钢筋混凝土剪力墙拉弯受力性能试验和模拟

完成了4个剪跨比为2.0的钢筋混凝土(RC)墙在恒定轴拉力和往复水平力作用下的拟静力试验,研究了RC剪力墙在拉弯受力下的破坏模式、滞回性能、承载力、刚度、变形能力和耗能等。试验结果表明:RC墙试件出现了两种破坏模式,包括弯曲-滑移破坏(竖向钢筋平均拉应力比n_s=0.23~0.63)和弯曲破坏(n_s=0.91);轴拉力显著降低了RC墙的抗侧承载力、刚度和耗能能力,试件HSW4(n_s=0.91)的承载力比试件HSW1(n_s=0.23)的低41%;RC墙试件的极限位移角为1.3%~1.6%,大于GB 50010?2010规定的弹塑性位移角限值1/100。采用实测裂缝宽度和Vecchio-Collins公式计算了沿贯通裂面的抗滑移承载力退化曲线,揭示了试件弯曲-滑移破坏机理。采用有限元软件VecTor2建立了RC剪力墙拉弯受力分析的数值模型,分析结果与试验结果吻合良好,能准确预测试件的破坏模式、刚度和承载力。     

Determining the mechanism controlling glass fibre strength loss during thermal recycling of waste composites

This paper presents an experimental investigation into the large reductions to the tensile fracture stress and the associated strength loss mechanism of E-glass fibres during thermal recycling. Fractographic analysis reveals the fracture process is controlled by surface flaws, irrespective of heat treatment temperature and duration. The fracture toughness is an important material property in order to understand possible changes in the strength–flaw relationship during heat treatment. Focussed ion beam (FIB) milling is used to artificially create a single nano-sized deep notch (between 30 and 1000 nm) in glass fibres. The strength loss, fracture toughness, fracture mirror constant and fracture mechanism observed for nano-notched and thermally recycled fibres are identical, indicating bulk property changes do not occur during thermal recycling. The study proves conclusively that surface flaw growth is the controlling mechanism reducing fibreglass strength during thermal recycling of waste polymer composites.     

Finite fracture mechanics analysis of crack onset at a stress concentration in a UD glass/epoxy composite in off-axis tension

The presence of stress concentrations at holes and notches is known to reduce the strength of composite materials. Due to complexity of the damage processes at a stress raiser in a composite, different modeling approaches have been developed, ranging from empirical point and average stress criteria to involved damage mechanics or cohesive zone-based models of failure. Finite fracture mechanics approach with a coupled stress and energy failure criterion, recently developed and applied mainly to cracking in homogeneous isotropic materials, allows predicting the appearance and propagation of a crack using material strength and toughness characteristics obtained from independent tests. The present study concerns application of the finite fracture mechanics to the analysis of cracking at a notch in a UD glass/epoxy composite subjected to tensile off-axis loading. Based on UD composite strength and intralaminar toughness characterized by separate tests, finite fracture mechanics analysis provided conservative estimates of crack onset stress at the notch.     

Dynamic crack growth along an elastoplastic bimaterial interface

Summary The near-tip stress and deformation rate fields of a crack dynamically propagating along an interface between dissimilar elastic-plastic bimaterials are presented in this paper. The elastic-plastic materials are characterised by theJ ₂-flow theory with linear plastic hardening. The solutions are assumed to be of variable-separable form with a power-law singularity in the radial direction. Two distinct solutions corresponding to the tensile and shear solutions exist with slightly different singularity strengths and very different mixities at the crack tip. The phenomenon of discrete and determinate mixities at the interfacial crack tip is confirmed in dynamic crack growth. This is not an artifact of the variable-separable solution assumption, arising from the linear-hardening material model. The dynamic crack analysis shows that the mixity of the near-tip field is mainly determined by the given material parameters and affected slightly by the crack propagation velocity. A significant variation of the mixity is observed near to the coalescing point of the tensile and shear solutions. The strength of the singularity is almost determined by the smaller strain-hardening alone, and dynamic inertia decreases the stress intensity. The asymptotic solutions reveal that the crack propagation velocity changes only the stress field of the tensile mode significantly. With increasing the crack propagation velocity, the stress singularity of the tensile solutions decreases obviously and the stress triaxiality at the tip (=0) falls considerably at the unity effective stress. These observations imply that the fracture toughness of the interface crack under tensile mode may be significantly higher than that under quasi-static conditions.     

Tuning the mechanical properties of glass fiber-reinforced bismaleimide–triazine resin composites by constructing a flexible bridge at the interface

Abstract

We demonstrate a new method that can simultaneously improve the strength and toughness of the glass fiber-reinforced bismaleimide–triazine (BT) resin composites by using polyethylene glycol (PEG) to construct a flexible bridge at the interface. The mechanical properties, including the elongation, ultimate tensile stress, Young’s modulus, toughness and dynamical mechanical properties were studied as a function of the length of PEG molecular chain. It was found that the PEG molecule acts as a bridge to link BT resin and glass fiber through covalent and non-covalent bondings, respectively, resulting in improved interfacial bonding. The incorporation of PEG produces an increase in elongation, ultimate tensile stress and toughness. The Young’s modulus and T_g were slightly reduced when the length of the PEG molecular chain was high. The elongation of the PEG-modified glass fiber-reinforced composites containing 5 wt% PEG-8000 increased by 67.1%, the ultimate tensile stress by 17.9% and the toughness by 78.2% compared to the unmodified one. This approach provides an efficient way to develop substrate material with improved strength and toughness for integrated circuit packaging applications.     

Toughness and fatigue behaviour of eutectic and hypereutectic Al–Si–Cu–Mg alloys produced through lost foam and squeeze casting

Abstract

The strength and toughness of four high silicon content Al–Si–Mg–Cu alloys have been studied at room temperature (RT), 200°C and 300°C. The fatigue behaviour has also been investigated. The alloys were produced using two very different processing routes: lost foam and squeeze casting. In the tensile tests, the ductility was low for alloys produced via both routes irrespective of the testing temperature. The strength was similar at RT and 200°C, but at 300°C it fell abruptly. The toughness followed the same trend with testing temperature. Direct observation of fatigue cracks revealed that the brittle silicon and intermetallic particles broke ahead of the crack tip; the fatigue crack advanced by linking the main crack with cracks formed ahead of it. The T6 thermal treatment improved fatigue resistance in the squeeze cast material, especially at high D K values.     

Crack resistance in two-dimensional periodic materials of medium and low porosity

The plane problem of crack resistance in elastic materials with doubly periodic system of voids is investigated. The relatively high fractional density (medium and low porosity) of above 0.6 which is typical for the partially-sintered materials is addressed. The stress field in the voided plane with embedded Mode I crack of arbitrary length bridging the voids is evaluated. In the framework of stress criterion of fracture this field allows the determination of the fracture toughness of the considered material with periodic microstructure in terms of the solid (parent) material tensile strength.The mathematical modeling of this problem is complicated due to the fact that the “ligaments” between the voids are so thick that they cannot be treated as beams. As a result, theoretical methods used to evaluate the fracture toughness of low-density cellular materials are not applicable. Accordingly, the present problem is solved by means of a novel analysis which is based on the combined use of the representative cell method, based on the discrete Fourier transform, in conjunction with a higher-order theory and a micromechanical model. These combined three approaches allow the performance of an accurate continuum mechanics analysis of the highly non-uniform stress field in the voided material with a crack.The analysis of this field for different crack lengths has shown which length must be employed in the fracture toughness evaluation. The dependence of the fracture toughness upon the relative density is examined and found to vary linearly in the majority of the considered density range. This result agrees with the known experimental observations and other theoretical predictions.     

基于材料延性的高延性混凝土无腹筋梁受剪性能试验研究

为探讨材料延性对无腹筋梁受剪性能的影响,根据高延性混凝土设计理论,考虑纤维抗拉强度、长径比和纤维掺量等因素的影响,进行了4种不同配合比高延性混凝土（HDC）的力学性能试验,并设计了7个高延性混凝土（HDC）无腹筋梁和2个混凝土（RC）梁对比试件,通过静力试验研究材料延性对无腹筋梁的破坏形态、承载力和剪切变形能力的影响。试验结果表明:1）4组HDC试件分别达到不同的延性要求,其等效弯曲韧性可达砂浆试件的50倍,极限拉应变可达普通混凝土的90倍;2） HDC无腹筋梁的承载力可达RC梁的2.36倍,剪切变形能力可达RC梁的3倍以上,均发生具有一定延性的剪拉破坏;3）除剪跨比和纵筋配筋率外,HDC无腹筋梁的受剪承载力和变形能力均随材料延性的提高而增大,在设计中应予以考虑,并可根据工程实际需要选择相应的材料延性需求。     

采用螺栓连接的工字形全装配式RC剪力墙试验研究

采用连接钢框、高强度螺栓将带有内嵌边框的纵横向预制钢筋混凝土（RC）剪力墙连接起来,形成工字形剪力墙。为研究该全装配式剪力墙的受力性能和抗震性能,进行了3榀墙体的单调加载试验和1榀墙体的低周反复荷载试验,分析了该全装配式工字形剪力墙的承载能力、刚度、延性性能、耗能能力、连接件的应变分布以及连接件间的相对滑移等,最后探讨了试件的极限抗剪抵抗机制。研究结果表明:该全装配式剪力墙具有较高的承载能力、较好的延性性能以及耗能能力,位移延性系数约为3~6;高强度螺栓的直径、连接钢框钢板的厚度对装配式剪力墙的抗侧刚度及峰值荷载有一定的影响;内嵌边框既传递了分布钢筋的应力,也起到了约束混凝土、增加RC剪力墙延性性能的作用。     

均匀热流作用下含裂纹板I 型温度应力强度因子的解析解

研究一种新的温度边值问题。含中心裂纹无限大板受远场均匀热流作用,热流密度方向与裂纹有一夹角。当裂纹面上维持一恒定温差时,采用复变函数理论,得出了温度场、温度应力场与位移场的解析解。利用位移单值条件,确定出温度应力强度因子的解析表达式。针对铝合金LY12 材料进行了相应数值计算,分析了热流密度大小与方向对温度分布与温度应力强度因子的影响。研究表明:该文给定的温度边界条件下,只产生Ⅰ 型温度应力强度因子,不产生Ⅱ 型温度应力强度因子。温度应力场取决于热流密度沿裂纹方向的分量,垂直于裂纹方向的分量对温度应力场没有影响。     

On the dependence of the dynamic crack tip temperature fields in metals upon crack tip velocity and material parameters

Although various approximations have been used to analytically predict the temperature rise at a dynamic crack tip and its relation to the crack tip velocity or the material properties, few experimental investigations of these effects exist. Here, the method of using a high speed infrared detector array to measure the temperature distribution at the tip of a dynamically propagating crack tip is outlined, and the results from a number of experiments on different metal alloys are reviewed. First the effect of crack tip velocity in 4340 steel is investigated, and it is seen that the maximum temperature increases with increasing velocity, the maximum plastic work rate density increases with velocity and the active plastic zone size decreases with increasing velocity. Also, it is observed that a significant change in the geometry of the temperature distribution occurs at higher velocities in steel due to the opening of the crack faces behind the crack tip. Next, the effect of thermal properties is examined, and it is seen that, due to adiabatic conditions at the crack tip, changes in thermal conductivity do not significantly affect the temperature field. Changes in density and heat capacity (as well as material dynamic fracture toughness) are more likely to produce significant differences in temperature than changes in thermal conductivity. Finally, the effect of heat upon the crack tip deformation is reviewed, and it is seen that the generation of heat at the crack tip in steel leads to the localization of deformation in the shear lip. The shear lip is actualy an adiabatic shear band formed at 45° to the surface of the specimen. In titanium, no conclusive evidence of shear localization in the shear lip is seen.     

Stable crack growth in a surface compression-strengthened hollow cylinder

In this paper the static fatigue problem for a circumferentially cracked hollow cylinder is examined. For this particular configuration, stable crack growth, in the absense of any external forces, is determined for cylinders with axial components of residual stress which are compressive on the inner and outer radial surfaces and tensile in the cylinder wall. An initial surface crack which is deep enough to penetrate the compression strengthened surface region and enters the tensile zone may propagate in a stable manner until either sudden spontaneous failure occurs or the crack arrests. Since a portion of the crack near the cylinder surface will be closed because of the compressive residual stress field, an additional unknown in the problem is the extent of the crack surface contact. This crack surface contact length is determined by iteration on the integral equation which arises in the mathematical derivation for an embedded circumferential crack in a hollow cylinder. As an illustration of stable crack growth for this geometry with a realistic residual stress distribution, numerical results are presented for a hollow, soda-lime glass cylinder, based on crack growth rates in soda-lime glass exposed to water at 25‡ C. Using the fracture toughness and slow crack growth characteristics for soda-lime glass, the conditions for no crack propagation, crack propagation leading to crack arrest, and catastrophic failure are established.     

Fracture and physical properties of carbon anodes for the aluminum reduction cell

An experimental study with total 504 specimens has been carried out to investigate the fracture and physical properties of the carbon anode materials. The specimens were sampled from anodes produced with machined stub holes. From normal-and Weibull analysis the fracture toughness and the tensile strength showed a clear temperature dependency and orthotropic behavior. It has been found that both the fracture toughness and tensile strength increases with the temperature and are larger for the specimens directed in the horizontal direction than in the vertical direction. The variation in the tensile strength within an anode decreased with the temperature but the variation in the fracture strain increased. The tensile strain appears to be only dependent on the temperature and insensitive to the routine anode properties of the anode material. A multivariate linear regression analyses of the fracture toughness and tensile strength has been conducted and a typical correlation of R² = 0.5 (R is the Coefficient of Determination) to the measured routine anode properties was found. The thermal expansion coefficient is also larger in the vertical anode direction which makes the crack initiation more sensitive to temperatures. The orthotropic studies also showed that the air permeability has a tendency to be larger in the horizontal direction in the upper part of the anode which can induce unnecessary burning from the anode sides. The influence of the processing parameters in the paste plant and baking furnace has not been presented in this paper.     

Martensitic stainless steel AISI 420—mechanical properties,creep and fracture toughness

In this paper some experimental results and analyses regarding the behavior of AISI 420 martensitic stainless steel under different environmental conditions are presented. That way, mechanical properties like ultimate tensile strength and 0.2 percent offset yield strength at lowered and elevated temperatures as well as short-time creep behavior for selected stress levels at selected elevated temperatures of mentioned material are shown. The temperature effect on mentioned mechanical properties is also presented. Fracture toughness was calculated on the basis of Charpy impact energy. Experimentally obtained results can be of importance for structure designers.     

模拟酸雨腐蚀钢管混凝土构件静力性能研究

该文讨论了模拟酸雨腐蚀环境下钢管混凝土构件静力性能的退化规律,具体包括模拟酸雨腐蚀后:钢材材料力学性能;钢管混凝土构件轴压力学性能;钢管混凝土构件纯弯力学性能;钢管混凝土构件偏压力学性能。分析了腐蚀率对钢材屈服强度、弹性模量、极限抗拉强度和极限延伸率的影响,采用钢管壁厚折减以及壁厚折减耦合材性折减的模拟腐蚀损伤方法,结合有限元ABAQUS软件、规范公式,分别计算了构件荷载-变形关系曲线、极限承载力,并和试验结果进行了比较,发现钢管壁厚折减方法优于壁厚折减耦合材性折减方法,地方标准严于国家标准。