An improved model for predicting the shearing process of stainless steel thin-walled tubes in the closed fuel cycle

Abstract

As a crucial component of the spent fuel, the stainless steel thin-walled tube would be cut into segments with dozens of millimeters in length during the closed fuel cycle. The high ductility and malleability of the stainless steel material bring great challenges to shear tools. Thus, it is worthwhile to investigate the tube shearing process. However, currently, few research has involved the tube shearing process and no readily available model could be employed to predict accurately the tube shearing. To study the shearing process of tubes, an improved Gurson-Tvergaard-Needleman model was proposed to investigate the shearing process of tubes. The results show that the predicted shear forces match well with the experimental data. Moreover, the tube shearing process could be simplified into two cases in the closed fuel cycle, i.e. shearing tubes without a support block (case I) and shearing tubes with a support block (case II). By comparing the shearing process and damage evolution between the case I and case II, it is concluded that the support block plays a significant role in the shearing process and accelerates the damage evolution.