Under normal operating conditions, piping systems in nuclear power plants (NPPs) are subject not only to internal pressure but also to bending loads induced by deadweight and thermal expansion [1]. Bending is thus considered to be an important factor in evaluating the integrity of defective piping components. Local wall-thinning due to flow-accelerated corrosion is a main degradation mechanism of carbon steel piping systems in NPPs [2], and the integrity evaluation of wall-thinned piping components has become an important issue [3]. This study investigated the effects of bending load on the failure pressure of wall-thinned pipe bends under internal pressure. Our previous study experimentally evaluated the bending load effects on the failure pressure of wall-thinned elbows under displacement controlled in-plane bending load [4], but the numbers of experimental data were insufficient to determine the effects of bending load on the failure pressure of wall-thinned pipe bends. Therefore, the present study systematically evaluates the effects of bending load on the failure pressure of wall-thinned pipe bends using parametric finite element analyses.

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