Study on Incorporation of New Design Fatigue Curves and a New Environmental Fatigue Correction Factor for PWR Environment Into the JSME Environmental Fatigue Evaluation Method

Abstract

Abstract Improved design fatigue curves were developed in the Subcommittee on Design Fatigue Curve in the Atomic Energy Research Committee in the Japan Welding Engineering Society (JWES). Working Group on Design Fatigue Curves (WG DFC) in the JSME has studied the validity and the applicability of the improved design fatigue curves developed in the JWES to incorporate into the JSME Environmental Fatigue Evaluation Method. The authors propose a fatigue analysis method using the design fatigue curves developed in the JWES that are applied revised factors to optimize the environmental fatigue analysis. Also, the Japanese pressurized water reactor (PWR) utility group developed equations of environmental fatigue factors (Fen) for austenitic stainless steel base metal, weld metal and cast stainless steel in PWR environment. The WG DFC has investigated the Fen equations and concluded that the Fen equation of austenitic stainless steel base metal is the most conservative among the three equations and close to NUREG/CR-6909 Rev.1 [24]. The authors propose to use the Fen equation for base metal for austenitic stainless steels for all of the base metal, weld metal and cast stainless steel. In addition, the authors have confirmed that the employment of the proposed Fen equation to the proposed design fatigue curves of austenitic stainless steels accurately predicts the existing environmental fatigue test data of austenitic stainless steels, which were used in the development of the current Fen equation of austenitic stainless steels in PWR environments in the JSME Environmental Fatigue Evaluation Method. Therefore, the proposed Fen equation can be applied to environmental fatigue evaluation for austenitic stainless steels.