Abstract
This paper is concerned with roundrobin analyses of probabilistic fracture mechanics (PFM) problems of aged structures and materials using seven codes.Analyzed here is a plate with a semi-elliptical surface crack subjected to multiple cyclic tensile and bending stresses. A depth and an aspect ratio of the surface crack are assumed to be probabilistic variables. Probability calculations are performed by using Importance Sampling or Stratified Sampling Monte Carlo methods. Material properties are chosen from the Marshall report, ASME Code Section XI and the experiments of the LE-subcommittee of JWES (Japan Welding Engineering Society), while loadings are determined referring to design loading conditions of pressurized water reactors (PWR).At first, one unique problem which is named Fundamental Problem is analyzed by all the codes to examine accuracy of PFM analyses. Secondly discussions are made on aging effects of fracture toughness, which are caused due to thermal aging and neutron irradiation, on failure probabilities. Finally life extension simulations based on the PFM analysis are presented.
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