Structural analysis of electrosleeved tubes under severe accident transients

Abstract

A flow stress model was developed for predicting failure of electrosleeved PWR steam generator tubing under severe accident transients. The electrosleeve, which is nanocrystalline pure nickel, loses its strength at temperatures greater than 400°C during severe accidents because of grain growth. A grain growth model and the Hall–Petch relationship were used to calculate the loss of flow stress as a function of time and temperature during the accident. Available tensile test data, as well as high-temperature failure tests, on notched electrosleeved tube specimens were used to derive the basic parameters of the failure model. The model was used to predict the failure temperatures of electrosleeved tubes with throughwall and part-throughwall axial cracks in the parent tube during a postulated severe accident transient.