Evaluation of aseismic integrity in the HTTR core-bottom structure V. On the static and dynamic behavior of graphitic HTTR key-keyway structures

The graphite components in high temperature gas-cooled reactors are connected to each other through a key-keyway structure that has gaps between the key and the keyway to accomodate thermal expansion. Because a dynamic load concentrates on the key-keyway structure during earthquakes, it is considered to be a crucial element for assessing the integrity of the graphite components. A combination of experiments and analyses was employed to investigate the dynamic behavior of the key-keyway structure, i.e. the equivalent stiffness associated with vibrational characteristics of the graphite components and the stress distribution under dynamic loading. The experiments were performed using a graphite scale model and a dynamic photo-elastic method. The analysis was carried out using the finite element method (FEM) code Abaqus, taking account of the contact between the key and the keyway. The following conclusions were derived. (1) The equivalent stiffness of the key-keyway structure shows nonlinearity, owing to the contact deformation. (2) The equivalent stiffness evaluated by the FEM analysis, taking account of the non-inear contact deformation, is applicable for predicting the vibrational characteristics of ky-keyway structure. (3) The stress concentration under dynamic loading is lower than or nearly equal to that under static loading. The maximum stress concentration of the seismic load can be sufficiently evaluated under static loading conditions.     

Research on 3D loading system for ITER gravity support prototype

The objective and importance of structural performance tests for the ITER gravity support prototype were described. The model of the gravity support system was established. Based on the analysis of loads, the torque transformation method and the 3D loading method for prototypes under complex load conditions were proposed. The proposed methods overcome 3D loading problems in the case of the complex load cases. The structural design schemes of the mixed 3D loading system with hydraulic bolt tensioners and the 3D loading system with bidirectional hydraulic cylinders were discussed. Two design schemes were compared and analyzed. Based on the finite element method, the numerical analysis of the 3D loading framework for bidirectional hydraulic cylinders was done. Results show the proposed 3D loading system meets the performance test requirements of the ITER gravity support prototype and should be preferred for the prototype loading experiment.     

A study on the free drop impact of a cask using commercial FEA codes

The package used to transport radioactive materials, which is called a cask, must be designed to keep its contents safe under normal and hypothetical accident conditions. The design requirements of the cask are verified by test or finite element analysis (FEA). Comparing evaluation procedures for the safety of a new cask, the cost of FEA is generally much less than that test. Therefore, FEA is mainly used to verify safety of a cask under the considered conditions. However, one commercial FEA code may show different results from another FEA code for the same problem due to the modeler's several assumptions for simplifying actual states into the FE model and due to modeling technique. Materials of the components of a cask display elastic–plastic or elastic–perfectly plastic behavior under the considered conditions in which large deformation, impact and contact mechanism are included. The behavior is simulated with difficulty and may have different results depending on FEA codes. In this paper, finite element analysis is carried out for the 9-m free drop and the puncture condition under the hypothetical accident condition by using LS-DYNA3D and ABAQUS/Explicit. Energy and effective stress on each component are presented and compared between the two FEA codes, where the effective stress designates the maximum von Mises stress on inner and outer shells.     

FEA-based structural optimization design of a side cooling collimating mirror at SSRF

Based on finite element analysis of thermal mechanical behavior, structural optimization design was proposed for a side cooling collimating mirror subjected to high heat load for a beamline at SSRF(Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility). The temperature distribution,stress concentration effect, maximum equivalent(vonMises) stress, and slope error of the mirror were analyzed.In particular, the cooling water channels of the traditional structural design were optimized, and the modified designs were further optimized. Although the traditional structural and the improved designs could meet requirements for the temperature and thermal stress, the deformation gradients were relatively large for several structural designs, and this led to larger slope error. The further improved structural designs could be of better performance.     

金属基弥散燃料元件失稳肿胀的静态弹塑性模型

针对金属基弥散燃料元件金属基体开裂导致的失稳肿胀,在不考虑粘塑性变形情况下建立了裂纹面的静态弹塑性模型,采用有限元模拟对静态弹塑性模型进行了验证。当金属基体发生全屈服后,其主要变形方式从弹性变形转变为塑性变形;根据金属基体的主要变形方式,分别建立金属基弥散燃料裂纹面的弹性变形模型和塑性变形模型;结合内应力与弯矩的平衡条件,获得了裂纹面弹塑性变形的临界转变条件。弹性变形模型和塑性变形模型的计算结果与有限元模拟结果符合较好,验证了金属基弥散燃料失稳肿胀的静态弹塑性模型的有效性。      

基于流固热耦合的燃料元件包壳结构完整性分析

反应堆系统发生瞬态工况时,冷却剂温度的瞬间大幅度变化会对燃料元件包壳结构完整性造成冲击,危及反应堆安全。本文以某压水堆3×3燃料组件为对象,采用流固热耦合方法对冷水事故下燃料组件的流动换热特性和燃料元件包壳温度、变形及应力进行了三维精细化模拟。结果表明:定位格架能够增强燃料棒表面的对流换热强度;包壳变形时向与刚凸接触的一侧折弯,向与弹簧接触的一侧凸起;包壳与定位格架接触部位的温度和最大等效应力随事故时间不断增大,且最大等效应力超过了包壳材料的屈服强度,将发生强度失效,影响其结构完整性。本文研究可为反应堆燃料元件包壳瞬态工况下的完整性评价提供借鉴。      

钒合金加载变形和损伤演化的数值模拟

钒合金具有良好的高温强度、低辐照活化和抗辐照肿胀等特性,使其成为核工程中的一种重要结构材料。为评估V-5Cr-5Ti合金应力作用下的变形和损伤演化特征,开展了光滑和有缺口两种形状合金试样拉伸加载过程的试验和数值模拟研究,并对断口形貌进行了扫描电镜（SEM）观察。根据拉伸试验拟合钒合金的材料本构参数,数值模拟获得试样加载过程的应力 应变分布和颈缩区的损伤演化,将数值模拟获得的载荷 位移曲线与试验测试对比,结果表明二者在弹性和塑性阶段的变形曲线均非常一致,扫描电镜观察获得了两种形状试样的静态拉伸断裂机制。     

Thermo-hydraulic and structural analysis for finger-based concept of ITER blanket first wall

The blanket first wall is one of the main plasma facing components in ITER tokamak. The finger-typed first wall was proposed through the current design progress by ITER organization. In this concept, each first wall module is composed of a beam and twenty fingers. The main function of the first wall is to remove efficiently the high heat flux loading from the fusion plasma during its operation. Therefore, the thermal and structural performance should be investigated for the proposed finger-based design concept of first wall. The various case studies were performed for a unit finger model considering different loading conditions. The finite element model was made for a half of a module using symmetric boundary conditions to reduce the computational effort. The thermo-hydraulic analysis was performed to obtain the pressure drop and temperature profiles. Then the structural analysis was carried out using the maximum temperature distribution obtained in thermo-hydraulic analysis. Finally, the transient thermo-hydraulic analysis was performed for the generic first wall module to obtain the temperature evolution history considering cyclic heat flux loading with nuclear heating. After that, the thermo-mechanical analysis was performed at the time step when the maximum temperature gradient was occurred. Also, the stress analysis was performed for the component with a finger and a beam to check the residual stress of the component after thermal shrinkage assembly.     

海洋环境下浮动核电站堆内燃料组件结构安全分析

针对海洋环境下浮动核电站堆内燃料组件的结构安全问题,结合水动力学和结构力学,考虑燃料组件在堆内作业和海上换料两种状态,以及海洋环境下船体随机运动响应的影响,对燃料组件的结构载荷进行计算,从而校核燃料组件在堆内作业时的结构安全,并为实施海上换料作业的可行性提供理论依据。以海洋核动力平台为例,首先对平台进行时域计算,得到船体重心的六自由度运动时历曲线,然后采用远程位移方法将船体运动传递到反应堆,实现对反应堆随船体运动的数值模拟,进而对燃料组件的应力、应变最大值进行求解。结果表明,与船体静止状态下相比,燃料组件的应力、应变最大值在船体运动状态下明显增大,说明在对浮动核电站堆内燃料组件进行结构安全分析时必须考虑海洋环境下船体的随机运动响应。     

单片式核燃料板轧制过程的数值模拟研究

针对UMo合金单片式核燃料板锆合金包壳材料应变率相关的力学本构关系,推导出其三维应力更新算法,相应地编写了定义其本构关系的VUMAT子程序并验证了程序的正确性;建立了对UMo合金单片式板元件的框架轧制过程进行计算模拟的有限元模型;利用显式动力有限元法,计算分析了复合坯内部的变形以及接触压强在轧制过程中的演化规律。研究结果表明,利用VUMAT用户材料子程序能方便正确地定义材料应变率相关的本构关系;燃料芯体与盖板之间的轧制接触压力随时间而演化,在靠近宽度方向的对称面处具有最大的接触压力。本研究为优化UMo合金单片式核燃料板的制造工艺参数提供了理论基础和计算手段。     

Call for papers to be presented at the 4th International Conference on: Structural Mechanics in Reactor Technology: San Francisco,California, USA, 15–19 August 1977

The structural response of liquid metal fast breeder reactor (LMFBR) subassemblies to local accidental events is of interest in assessing the safety of such systems. Problems to be resolved include failure propagation modes from pin to pin and from subassembly to subassembly. Factors which must be considered include: (a) the geometry of the structure, (b) uncertainty of the pressure-energy source, (c) uncertainty of materials properties under reactor operating conditions, and (d) the difficulty in performing in-pile or out-of-pile experiments which would simulate the above conditions. The main effort in evaluating the subassembly response has been centered around the development of appropriate analyses based on the finite element technique. Analysis has been extended to include not only the subassembly duct structure itself, but also the fluid environment, both within subassemblies and between them. These models and codes have been devised to cover a wide range of accident loading conditions, and can treat various materials as their properties become known. The effort described here is centered mainly around an experimental effort aimed at verifying, modifying or extending the models used in treating subassembly damage propagation.To verify the finite element codes under development, a series of out-of-pile room temperature experiments has been performed on LMFBR-type subassembly ducts under various loading conditions. The duct sections were instrumented to measure internal pressure, duct midflat strains and deflection of the mid-flat and corners. Since moderate deflections were expected, and effect influence on the radial deformation would occur over a relatively short length. Preliminary calculations and subsequent static and dynamic tests demonstrated that for the range of deformations expected in single subassembly prior to failure, a shortened duct section of only 30.48 cm in length was sufficient to provide a central section over which axially uniform conditions prevailed. As a result, with axial motion of the end plates constrained, the deformation over the uniform deflection range corresponds to two-dimensional, plane-strain conditions and a two-dimensional, finite element computer code could be applied. Tests were subsequently performed on several ducts made of type 316 stainless steel which were either annealed or 50% cold-worked. Material properties of the ducts used in the experiments were determined by testing samples obtained from each duct. Also, diamond point hardness measurements were obtained across the subassembly duct flats in order to establish that the material properties were uniform. Comparisons were then made between the code calculations and experimental results which demonstrated remarkable agreement, thus lending confidence to the code's ability to predict duct response, at least under quasi-static loading. Further preliminary work was performed on the dynamic response of hexcans to a pressure pulse designed to duplicate a postulated local event.     

中国散裂中子源主剥离膜热效应分析

主剥离膜是中国散裂中子源（CSNS）快循环同步加速器的关键设备之一。正常工况下,膜片上产生的高温与其他热效应是影响剥离膜寿命的主要因素。为预测膜片的工况,选择合理的设计方案,利用有限元分析软件计算了CSNS-Ⅰ期工程中主剥离膜在不同工况下的温升、热应力和热变形。仿真结果显示,膜片上最高温度为1450 K;固定方式对热应力、热变形影响不大。根据仿真结果,最终设计膜库的备用膜片数为20片,膜片的固定方式为双边固定。     

Low cycle fatigue behaviors of elbow pipe with local wall thinning

Low cycle fatigue tests were conducted using 100A elbow specimens made of STPT410 carbon steel with local wall thinning. Local wall thinning by erosion/corrosion was simulated by machined pipe wall thinning. The local wall thinning areas were located at three different areas, called extrados, crown and intrados. The elbow specimens were subjected to cyclic in-plane bending under displacement control without internal pressure. The effects of eroded conditions, such as eroded ratio, eroded angle and position, on the low cycle fatigue behavior and fatigue life were discussed by using experimental results and finite element analyses. Also the location of crack initiation and the crack growth direction could be predicted by three dimensional elasto-plastic finite element analyses. In addition, the safety margin of eroded elbows against seismic loading was discussed by comparing the fictitious stress of elbows with the allowable stress limit demanded by the design code.     

Thermal and mechanical characteristics of an instrumented capsule for a material irradiation test

In this study, the thermal and mechanical characteristics are analyzed for the structural integrity evaluation of the instrumented capsule used for the irradiation test of reactor vessel materials in the research reactor, hi-flux advanced neutron application reactor (HANARO). The temperature of test specimens inserted in the capsule mainbody by γ-flux is calculated using a heat transfer code, HEATING 7.2f. The maximum temperature is 556.75 K at the center of the capsule mainbody, thus the temperature satisfies the user's requirement. To estimate the mechanical characteristics of the capsule due to the pressure and thermal loading, stress analysis is carried out with a finite element analysis program, ANSYS. The strength of the capsule's external tube is also evaluated by considering the buckling stress of the capsule mainbody under coolant pressure loading. The results of the analysis show that the temperature distributions are significantly affected by the gap size between the holder and the specimen. The calculated stresses of the capsule structure are well within the allowable stress values of the ASME code. It is expected that the results presented in this paper will be useful in the design and safety evaluation of instrumented capsules for material irradiation tests.     

ITER纵场磁体过渡馈线结构力学分析

运用数值方法计算了不同等离子体运行时刻纵场磁体过渡馈线(CFT)超导母线上的电磁载荷,并确定了磁感应强度最大的时刻,采用增量有限元法对过渡馈线进行非线性力学分析,得到不同工况下结构上的应力分布及变形情况。分析结果表明,带有万向节的过渡馈线结构具有足够的强度来承受运行过程中的各种载荷,从而证明了结构设计的合理性。     

Dynamics and generation of stress waves in cracked graphite moderator bricks

In the present study, static and dynamic analyses have been performed for graphite moderator bricks with and without key grooves under the different initial loading conditions of pure bending and slot rotation by using the finite element method. The possibilities of the occurrence of multiple cracking due to internal stresses have been investigated in terms of the (1) initial loading condition; (2) vibration mode shapes; and (3) damping of the bricks. Firstly, modal dynamic analysis has been carried out, and the effect of the initial loading conditions, such as pure bending and slot rotation, on the dynamic stress responses was investigated. It was found that stress enhancement was more significant under the condition of pure bending than that of slot rotation. For pure bending, the key groove which was opposite to the primary cracking site had the maximum dynamic circumferential stress. This implied that secondary cracking might occur at this position under pure bending. Secondly, in order to investigate the dominant mode shape for the stress enhancement, natural frequency analysis has been conducted. Fast Fourier Transformation (FFT) has also been performed to convert time–domain stress responses into frequency–domain stress responses. The initial loading conditions determined which mode shape was dominant for the stress enhancement. It was also suggested that a fundamental mode shape principally contributed to the occurrence of the multiple cracking. Thirdly, modal damping analysis has been performed, and the effect of damping on the stress enhancement was studied. It was found that damping had little effect on the initial peak of the dynamic stress response. This suggested that secondary cracking might still occur at the key groove opposite the primary cracking site, even if damping was present. The results of the analysis give a fundamental insight into the mechanism that may lead to multiple cracking in graphite components subject to internal stresses. However, the effects of 3-D, crack propagation speed and external restraint have not been taken into consideration in the present study. These effects may mitigate the possibility of secondary cracking, and are parts of further investigation.     

反应堆压力容器接管嘴内隅角应力强度因子计算研究

本文针对反应堆压力容器接管嘴内隅角,采用含真实裂纹的三维有限元法对温度与压力作用下应力强度因子的计算进行了研究。以某工程压力容器接管嘴内隅角为例,用含真实裂纹的三维有限元法和目前使用的简化工程算法对压力与热载荷作用下的接管嘴内隅角应力强度因子进行了计算,并对两种方法的计算结果进行对比分析。结果表明:当简化工程算法得到的应力强度因子接近规范限值时,应对热载荷引起的应力强度因子进行详细有限元计算,以规避简化工程算法的不保守性给压力容器带来的快速断裂风险。     

核电厂凝汽器管束模块内流动及换热特性数值分析

针对国内某核电厂凝汽器钛管变形问题,采用多相流动CFD方法开展凝汽器内部管束模块不同工况下的流动和换热特性分析,采用有限元分析局部钛管受力情况。研究结果表明,凝汽器在冬季临停工况下,空冷区将结冰;机组启动时,在凝汽器内部流场力及重力作用下冰体运动而损伤钛管,造成凝汽器空冷区周边钛管大规模变形。      

数值堆结构力学高精细模拟的并行实现和优化技术

反应堆结构力学模拟是对堆芯组件的静动态形变位移和受力进行分析,以保证堆芯安全、稳定运行。不同于传统的结构力学模拟,本文结合异构超级计算机上的AMD GPU体系架构进行高精细大规模模拟。在数学物理模型方面使用有限元分析方法,通过充分利用反应堆组件的同构性,对单根组件或局部组件的网格数据进行坐标空间变换,自动生成全堆芯结构大规模网格文件,实现全堆芯百亿网格的剖分。采用共轭梯度法对具有正定特征的大规模稀疏刚度矩阵线性方程组进行高效数值求解,实现精细化分析获知全堆芯组件的应力应变空间分布状态。另外,采用数据预取和数据对齐的并行优化方法,使求解器计算性能提高了30%以上。模拟结果展示了该方法的可行性和正确性,并在计算核心数从9 504扩展至615 168时,对具有102亿网格规模的中国实验快堆（CEFR）全堆芯静力学问题进行计算,并行弱可扩展性达到53%。