Abstract
The extensive
experimental program performed consisted in the characterisation of the ductile to
brittle transition region with standard and reconstituted specimens using subsized compact
tension and Pre-Cracked Charpy V-notch specimens, under non-irradiated and irradiated
conditions. Experimental results validated the reconstitution technique down to
inserts of 10 mm which allows specimen reorientation and therefore, the comparison of
LT and TL material orientations. The 110 specimens tested in this program allowed the
Master Curve approach to be validated for the base steel of Santa María de Garoña nuclear
power plant. By comparing the results for the compact and Pre-Cracked Charpy V-notch
specimens, the existence of a systematic bias between these two geometries has been analysed.
Although the neutron irradiation effect on the condition studied is predicted to be
very limited (due to the small fluence), the results did allow the irradiation-induced shift
of the ductile to brittle transition temperature to be detected. Comparison between the
directly measured fracture toughness and the conventional semi-empirical approach proposed
by the ASME Code reveals the overconservatism of the latter approach.
Details
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 2495-2511 |
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Journal | Engineering Fracture Mechanics |
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Volume | 76 |
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Issue number | 16 |
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DOIs | |
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Publication status | Published - Nov 2009 |
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