A hydraulic fracture test was performed on an actual reactor made of 1/2 Mo steel cladded with type 405 stainless steel, which had been used for many years. The reactor contained transverse cracks in the circumferencial weld joint at the inner surface and three types of artificial defects. The maximum depth of existing cracks and artificial defects was 12mm and 46mm, respectively. When hydraulic pressure reached about 4 times the design pressure, the reactor fractured starting at an unexpected surface crack (2.9 mm in depth, 21 mm in length) near the inside corner of the bottom nozzle which was overlaid with type 405 stainless steel. This surface crack was not detected before the hydraulic test. Strain and COD measurements were conducted during the test. A fracture analysis was made on the flaws. Reliability and the fracture behavior of the actual reactor were discussed.

Subject
External surfaces, Materials, Reactors, Nozzles, Stress cracking, Flaws, Internal surfaces, Hydraulic equipment, Steel, Fracture, Cracks, Toughness, Residual stress
© 1984 Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP). All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of AMPP. Positions and opinions advanced in this work are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of AMPP. Responsibility for the content of the work lies solely with the author(s).
1984
Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP)
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