Properties of cast austenitic materials for light water reactors

Primary piping elbows of ligh water reactors are made of cast austeno-ferritic materials (grade CF8 or CF8M) which are susceptible to embrittlement by thermal ageing in service. Ageing kinetics depends on chromium content and on the temperature. The effect of ageing on mechanical properties is determined by the decreasing of Charpy-U energy. It is shown that the rupture of such aged material comes from a combination of cleavage of the ferrite and shearing or ductile tearing of austenite ligaments. The fracture toughness is determined by J-R curves, which exhibit a large scatter related to the solidification macrostructure of the steel. It is shown that J-R curves are independent of the geometry of the specimens.     

Local strain measurements of yarns inside of 3D warp interlock fabric during forming process

The final geometry of 3D warp interlock fabric needs to be check during the 3D forming step to ensure the right locations of warp and weft yarns inside the final structure. Thus, a new monitoring approach has been proposed based on sensor yarns located in the fabric thickness. To ensure the accuracy of measurements, the observation of the surface deformation of the 3D warp interlock fabric has been joined to the sensor yarns measurements. At the end, it has been revealed a good correlation between strain measurement done globally by camera and locally performed by sensor yarns. Additionally, sensor yarns located in the two directions of the 3D warp interlock fabric have revealed a different forming behaviour depending on the architecture and the different slope values of the punch.     

The effect of irradiation on the toughness of pressurized water reactor vessel steels under different service conditions

The different toughness tests performed on two pressure vessel steels with very different upper shelves served to make a number of observations concerning the shifts in the transition temperature due to the effect of irradiation, as well as changes in toughness with temperature in the ductile region.With respect to shifts in the transition temperature, the following was observed: the shift obtained with precracked charpy test specimens was narrower than with the others; the shift obtained with charpy V impact tests was substantially equal to that obtained with CT test specimens — wider in the case of steel A, but slightly narrower in that of steel H.With respect to toughness values in the ductile region: the toughness values obtained using precracked charpy test specimens are significantly higher than those obtained with CT test specimens for static tests; 25and 12.5 mm thick CT test specimens display comparable variations in J_1C and dJ/da, but with wide scattering; the effect of irradiation, if any, is of the same order of magnitude as the scattering of the results — however, a test temperature effect is observed; the variation in toughness with temperature is determined more easily by considering a J value corresponding to a stable crack propagation of 1 mm, so that ; this variation of J_Δal with temperature is substantially the same for both steels, or about −30% at 70 or 80°C, and −50% at 290°C.     

IRRADIATION EMBRITTLEMENT OF A LOW ALLOY STEEL INTERPRETED IN TERMS OF A LOCAL APPROACH OF CLEAVAGE FRACTURE

Abstract— One heat of A 508 steel is investigated in both the unirradiated and the irradiated condition to determine the variation of the fracture toughness with temperature and specimen thickness. CT type specimens with three thicknesses B (12.5, 25 and 50 mm) are used. Two fluence levels (3·10¹⁹ and 8·¹⁹ n/cm²)( E < 1 MeV) are investigated. It is shown that the fracture toughness is a decreasing function of both specimen thickness and temperature. A model developed previously by Beremin is used to interpret the results. Axisymmetric notched specimens are tested to determine the factors used in the statistical approach of cleavage fracture. It is confirmed that the Beremin model is able to account for the large scatter in fracture toughness observed at a given temperature on the unirradiated material. The specimen thickness effect is also reasonably well interpreted by the model. The irradiation embrittlement can be explained by assuming that the cleavage fracture resistance is not modified by irradiation and by taking into account only the variations of yield strength with irradiation and test temperature.     

Automatic correction of background phase offset in 4D-flow of great vessels and of the heart in MRI using a third-order surface model

Magnetic Resonance Materials in Physics, Biology and Medicine - To evaluate an automatic correction method for velocity offset errors in cardiac 4D-flow acquisitions. Velocity offset correction was...     

Moisture management of underwear fabrics and linings of firefighter protective clothing assemblies

Thermal comfort of firefighters is strongly dependent on moisture management of clothing layers closest to the skin. This study centers on liquid moisture and moisture vapor transfer across various types of underwear fabrics and innermost layers of the firefighter intervention jacket (linings). Importance of the underwear neighboring layer in liquid moisture and moisture vapor transfer and hence, in thermal comfort of a firefighter is underlined and discussed. Moisture management tester is employed as an efficient tool in evaluating a transfer of liquid moisture not only through individual underwear fabric but also through bi-layers underwear lining. Moisture vapor transfer properties of mono- and bi-layer fabrics were investigated by evaporative dish method. The results show that moisture management performances of tested mono- and bi-layer fabrics are related to their composition and the general physical properties. Composition of both underwear and lining has a crucial impact on liquid moisture transfer through bi-layers. Transfer of moisture vapor is mainly governed by fabric physical properties. Combination of natural and synthetic fibers results in best performing fabrics with regard to the moisture management.     

Engineering Design and Mechanical Property Characterisation of 3D Warp Interlock Woven Fabrics

3D warp interlock fabrics have been used both in composite materials as fibrous reinforcement as well as in protective solutions against impact mainly due to their improved capacity to absorb energy by higher intra-ply resistance to delamination. However, depending on the type of architecture used, the binding warp yarns may provide different types of mechanical behaviour. By the same, the choice of the yarn raw material coupled with the suited 3D warp interlock architecture is still a challenge to solve due to the lack of knowledge on the optimized fabric parameters to be chosen. Thus, to fill this gap, we have designed, produced on same dobby loom and tested different types of 3D warp interlock architectures (O-T 4 3–4 Basket 3–3 and A-T 4 5–4 Twill 6) with different types of raw material (E-glass EC9 900 Tex, para-aramid 336 Tex and flax Tex 500 yarns). Thanks to these tests, it has been highlighted different mechanical behaviours of 3D warp interlock fabrics with the same weave pattern but with different types of yarns (E-glass, flax and para-aramid) both in the warp and weft directions. It has been also revealed that the warp shrinkage of warp yarns inside the woven structure has a major influence on the whole fabric behaviour.     

Experimental Investigation About Stamping Behaviour of 3D Warp Interlock Composite Preforms

Forming of continuous fibre reinforcements and thermoplastic resin commingled prepregs can be performed at room temperature due to its similar textile structure. The “cool” forming stage is better controlled and more economical. The increase of temperature and the resin consolidation phases after the forming can be carried out under the isothermal condition thanks to a closed system. It can avoid the manufacturing defects easily experienced in the non-isothermal thermoforming, in particular the wrinkling [1]. Glass/Polypropylene commingled yarns have been woven inside different three-dimensional (3D) warp interlock fabrics and then formed using a double-curved shape stamping tool. The present study investigates the in-plane and through-thickness behaviour of the 3D warp interlock fibrous reinforcements during forming with a hemispherical punch. Experimental data allow analysing the forming behaviour in the warp and weft directions and on the influence of warp interlock architectures. The results point out that the layer to layer warp interlock preform has a better stamping behaviour, in particular no forming defects and good homogeneity in thickness.     

Measurement of the Appearance and Growth of Tow Buckling Defect in the Frame of Complex Shape Manufacturing Process by Using Fringe Projection Technique

During the manufacturing of composite complex shape parts, defects such as tow buckles characterised by out of plane elevation may appear. The parameters controlling the appearance and growth of the defect are not completely understood and need to be investigated. A device capable of reproducing tow buckles has been used to study the tow buckling phenomenon. Several techniques able to measure out of plane elevations are discussed to detect the appearance and evaluate continuously the growth of the tow buckle in relation to its size and shape. The fringe projection technique was chosen as it gives the best compromise between the size of the defect to measure and its resolution. If the in‐plane bending angle is the main criterion at the origin of the tow buckle appearance and growth, it is not the only one. This work shows that the fabric architecture such as the space between the tows perpendicular to the one showing the buckle is also crucial to control the buckle's appearance and growth. It also shows that the differential bi‐axial loading of the fabric as well as the stiffness of the tows in the three main directions greatly influences the appearance of the defect.