Influence of hydrogen content on fracture toughness of CWSR Zr-2.5Nb pressure tube alloy
Author
Summary, in English
In this work, influence of hydrogen and temperature on the fracture toughness parameters of unirradiated, cold worked and stress relieved (CWSR) Zr-2.5Nb pressure tube alloys used in Indian Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor is reported. The fracture toughness tests were carried out using 17 mm width curved compact tension specimens machined from gaseously hydrogen charged tube-sections. Metallography of the samples revealed that hydrides were predominantly oriented along axial-circumferential plane of the tube. Fracture toughness tests were carried out in the temperature range of 30-300 degrees C as per ASTM standard E-1820-06, with the crack length measured using direct current potential drop (DCPD) technique. The fracture toughness parameters (J(Q), J(Max) and dJ/da), were determined. The critical crack length (CCL) for catastrophic failure was determined using a numerical method. It was observed that for a given test temperature, the fracture toughness parameters representing crack initiation (J(Q)) and crack propagation (J(Max), and dJ/da) is practically unaffected by hydrogen content. Also, for given hydrogen content, all the aforementioned fracture toughness parameters increased with temperature to a saturation value. (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Department/s
Publishing year
2013
Language
English
Pages
87-93
Publication/Series
Journal of Nuclear Materials
Volume
432
Issue
1-3
Document type
Journal article
Publisher
Elsevier
Topic
- Materials Engineering
- Mechanical Engineering
Status
Published
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 0022-3115