Codes & Rules for Gen-IV nuclear system design

Davide Bernardi
ENEA Brasimone

International Workshop on
Innovative Nuclear Reactors cooled by
Heavy liquid metals:
Status and Perspectives
Pisa, April 17th 20th , 2012

OUTLINE

Nuclear design codes

Overview of RCC-MR design rules
 Types of damages
 Criteria levels
 Operating conditions categories
 Breakdown of stresses
 Classification of stresses
 Prevention of P-type damages
 Prevention of S-type damages

Current upgrade of the Code for Gen IV system design
Creep-fatigue tests on P91

Summary

NUCLEAR DESIGN CODES

Main codes for the design of high T (LM) reactor components
RCC-MR (French code) [2007]
ASME Sect. III Div. 1 - Subsection NH (USA code) [2010]
RCC-Mx (French code for research reactors, e.g. JHR) [2008]
RCC-MRx (2010 draft, currently under revision for public edition, next ref. code
for EU GEN IV prototypes, but also ESS, JHR, ITER, TBM,) [2012]
ISDC - IC (ITER Structural Design Criteria for In-Vessel Components) [1997]
Domestic codes (Japan, Russia,) some not available in European languages
In the following, reference will be made mainly to RCC-MR

TYPES OF DAMAGES
P-type damages: damages resulting from constant or monotonic loadings




Excessive deformation (immediate or time-dependent)

Plastic collapse (immediate or time-dependent)
Time-dependent fracture (creep rupture)

S-type damages: damages resulting from cyclic loadings



Progressive deformation (ratchetting)





Progressive deformation (ratchetting) + creep

Fatigue
Fatigue + creep (creep-fatigue interaction)

Buckling: damages resulting from elastic or elastoplastic instability





Load-controlled buckling
Strain-controlled bucking
Time-dependent bucking

Fast fracture: fracture occuring without appreaciable global deformations

(RCC-MR Code does not contain rules for prevention of Fast Fracture)


Ductile tearing

Brittle rupture (fragile or semi-fragile tearing)

CRITERIA LEVELS
Level A: aims at protecting the equipment against P-type and S-type damages
 It garantees the highest level of safety margins against both P-type and S-type damages
throughout the entire life of the component

Level C: aims at protecting the equipment against P-type and buckling damages
 Garantees a relaxed level of safety compared to Level A (no fatigue analysis)
 Small overall deformations can occur if some loading (although satisfying Level C) exceeds
Level A criteria
 In this case, it could be necessary to inspect the component before re-using it
 Number of stress cycles limited to 10

Level D: aims at protecting the equipment against same damages of Level C but with lower safety margins
 Not always possible to put again in service components subjected to loadings limited only by
Level D criteria
ASME code introduces also a Level B criteria for pressure retaining enclosures (this is not provided
in RCC-MR: in this case, regulations in force for pressure-retaining equipment must be applied)

OPERATING CONDITIONS CATEGORIES

1st Category Operating Conditions (SF1) and 2nd Category Operating Conditions (SF2)



normal operations (including normal operating incidents)

Start-up




Shut-down
Criteria level to be met: Level A

3rd Category Operating Conditions (SF3)




Emergency conditions (implying shut-down and appropriate inspection)

Criteria level to be met: at least as severe as Level C

4th Category Operating Conditions (SF4)



Highly improbable conditions but whose consequences are of safety relevance

Criteria level to be met: at least as severe as Level D

Operating conditions and associated level criteria must be specified in the Equipment
Specifications of the component

BREAKDOWN OF STRESSES
Stress tensor ij obtained by elastic analysis

Membrane stress :
+h/2

ij m (xk) = 1/h -h/2 ij (xk) dxk

Bending stress :
+h/2

ij b (xk) = 12 xk /h3 -h/2 ij (xk) xk dxk

Linearized stress :
ij l (xk) = ij m (xk) + ij b (xk)
Non linearized stress (peak stress) :
ij nl (xk) = ij (xk) - ( ij m (xk) + ij b (xk) )

CLASSIFICATION OF STRESSES
Primary stress (P)
Part of the total stress that does not disappear under a small deformation
Ex. : stress due to mechanical loads (e.g. weight, pressure, external loads such as distributed
or concentrated loads,)
Warning: if risk of elastic follow-up exists, it is prudent to consider all the membrane stresses
as primary stresses

Secondary stress (Q)

Part of the total stress that disappears under a small permanent deformation (except the peak stress)
Ex: thermal stresses, strain-controlled stresses (e.g, swelling, ), support displacements,
geometrical discontinuities ,

Peak stress (F)

Part of the total stress due to a geometrical discontinuity, or a non linear stress distribution
Very local stress, that is unable to induce a global deformation of the structure
Only influence on fatigue or creep-fatigue damage
Ex: non linear stress, stress due to a minor discontinuity, local thermal stresses

CLASSIFICATION OF STRESSES
All symbols refer to sets of 6 quantities
representing the stress tensor components
(ex: Pm ijm is the membrane part of the
stress tensor due to primary loads)

Lm : local membrane stress due mechanical loading and associated to geometrical or load
discontinuities. Added to primary stresses for prudence (risk of elastic follow-up)
PL = Pm + Lm : local primary membrane stress

PREVENTION OF P-TYPE DAMAGE

- NEGLIGIBLE creep
creep::
The following conditions must be satisfied:
1. General primary membrane stress intensity
2. Local primary membrane stress intensity:

3. Primary membrane + bending stress intensity:

where the stress intensities are calculated from the corresponding stress tensor components using either
the Tresca method or Von Mises method and Sm (m) is the allowable limit calculated as a function of the
mean temperature m for different materials:

PREVENTION OF P-TYPE DAMAGE

- NOT NEGLIGIBLE creep
creep::

creep stress curves

Creep usage fraction

where Tj is the maximum allowable time

obtained from the characteristic creep
stress curves St for the time interval tj with
maximum temperature j and max stress j
The following conditions for the creep usage fraction must be checked for compliance with Level A and C
criteria:
1)

for the general primary membrane stress

2)

for the local primary membrane stress + primary bending stress

Coefficients and take into account the effect of creep on the primary stresses and are given
in the Code for specified geometries and stress ratios

PREVENTION OF S-TYPE DAMAGE:

RATCHETTING
Conditions to prevent P-type damages must be firstly satisfied, then check:

- NEGLIGIBLE creep
creep::

Efficiency diagram

For the typical operating period calculate :

(secondary stress range)

Secondary ratio for the primary membrane stress:

Secondary ratio for the sum of primary stresses:

Calculate efficiency indexes v1 and v2 from the efficiency diagram

Calculate effective primary membrane stress intensity:
Calculate effective stress intensity for the sum of primary stresses :
Verify the allowable limits (Level A criteria)

- NOT NEGLIGIBLE creep

creep::
When creep is not negligible the procedure is the same except that Pb is multiplied by the
coefficient and specified allowable limits for accumulated plastic+creep strains must be checked

PREVENTION OF S-TYPE DAMAGE:

RATCHETTING
Alternative rule: 3Sm rule
For the typical operating period for which compliance with Level A is required, the following limit must be
checked at all points of the structure:

Note that since typically: Sm = 2/3 Rp0.2

3 Sm 2Rp0.2 (justification from Bree diagram)

ASME code considers only the 3Sm rule for prevention of progressive deformations

PREVENTION OF S-TYPE DAMAGE:

FATIGUE
- NEGLIGIBLE creep
Fatigue usage fraction must be less than 1 at all points of the structure and for all cycles j requiring
compliance with Level A criteria:

<1
where the maximum number Nj of allowable strain cycles is obtained from the fatigue curves at the
maximum temperature j

due to strain concentration

PREVENTION OF S-TYPE DAMAGE:

FATIGUE (Creep
Creep--Fatigue)
Fatigue)
Creep-fatigue interaction diagram

- NOT NEGLIGIBLE creep

Fatigue usage fraction (Level A compliance)

Calculated as for the case

with negligible creep

Creep strain accumulated in

one cycle calculated by creep
laws considering an effective
stress k to be calculated from
a combination of P, S, Ks
(symmetrization coefficient)
Secondary stress range

Max primary stress

intensity during the
holding time

Symmetrization coefficient
(given by the Code)

Creep rupture usage fraction (Level A compliance)

with

CREEP-FATIGUE TESTS ON P91

(ENEA Brasimone MATTER project)
Objective: to check the extent of applicability and the degree of conservativism of the
creep-fatigue interaction diagram of RCC-MR for P91 material

Creep rupture
usage fraction (W)

Creep-fatigue specimen

Pure creep tests

NOT allowable area

Expected
experimental
points for
creep-fatigue
tests

Pure fatigue tests

Allowable area
Fatigue usage
fraction (V)

CREEP-FATIGUE TESTS ON P91

(ENEA Brasimone MATTER project)
The creep-fatigue tests will be carried out in
agreement with standard ASTM E 2714-09
Test conditions:
 material: P91
 environment: air
tests under strain control
 symmetric alternate stress
 total deformations applied: > 1% (2 levels)
 hold-time (10-30 minutes range) at tensile and compression (TBC) peaks
 temperature > 500C.
Example of creep-fatigue cycle with hold time in tensile

0
t
-0

SUMMARY

A short overview of the RCC-MR design rules has been presented,

focusing on the methodologies used to prevent different types of
damages (P-type, S-type)

Needs of updates concerning in particular creep-fatigue interaction
diagram for 9Cr-1Mo F/M steels (P91) have been described

Experimental creep-fatigue tests to be carried out in the frame of the
MATTER project and aimed at obtaining creep-fatigue data for P91
under different operating conditions are planned in order to improve
the extent of applicability and the degree of conservativism of the
existing interaction diagram given in the Code

Thank you for your attention