Development of an automated fracture assessment system for nuclear structures

A program system for fracture assessment of nuclear power plant structures has been developed. The system consists of an easy-to-use program for engineering analysis and an automated finite element (FE) program system for more accurate analysis with solid three-dimensional (3D) models. The VTTSIF (SIF stress intensity factor) program for engineering fracture assessment applies either the weight function method or superposition method in calculating the stress intensity factor, and the fatigue crack growth analysis is based on the Paris equation. The structural geometry cases of the VTTSIF program are organized in an extendable subroutine database. The generation of a 3D FE model of a cracked structure is automated by the ACR program (automatic finite element model generation for part through cracks). The FE analyses are created with generally accepted commercial programs, and the virtual crack extension method (VCE) is used for fracture parameter evaluation by the VTTVIRT postprocessor program (program for J-integral evaluation using virtual crack extension method). The several test cases have demonstrated that the accuracy of the present system is satisfactory for practical applications.