Technical Basis Part 2 for Code Case N-889: Reference Stress Corrosion Crack Growth Rate Curves for Irradiated Austenitic Stainless Steels in Light Water Reactor Environments

Abstract

Abstract A multiyear international data collection, data review, modeling, and implementation project was recently completed, producing stress corrosion crack growth rate (CGR) reference curves for irradiated austenitic stainless steels in light water reactor (LWR) environments that were adopted as ASME B&PV Section XI Code Case N-889. As described in a technical basis Part 1 paper, over 800 CGR data points were collected from six laboratories worldwide, an international expert panel reviewed and ranked the data, and the better-ranked data were used to calibrate empirical models for irradiation-assisted stress corrosion cracking (IASCC) CGR in boiling water reactor (BWR) normal water chemistry (NWC), BWR hydrogen water chemistry (HWC) and pressurized water reactor (PWR) primary water environments. Part 1 also describes the custom fitting process, quality of fit, and comparisons with related literature and data not used for fitting. This technical basis Part 2 paper describes shifting the mean models to the 75th percentile of the calibration data, simplifying to produce the N-889 curves, and comparing with previous reference curves and over 500 data points not used for developing the N-889 curves, including weld, cast, and heat-affected-zone (HAZ) materials, additional wrought laboratory data, and field data from repeated inspection of BWR core shrouds. Part 2 also describes the irradiated yield stress model in Case N-889, compares that model with its calibration data and other data not used for calibration, and presents example calculations using both yield stress and CGR equations.