Leak-before-break (LBB) is an important concept that could confirm design and integrity evaluation of nuclear power plant piping. For the LBB analysis, the detective leakage rate should be calculated for a through-wall cracked pipes. For this calculation, the crack opening displacement (COD) calculation is essential.

Recently, sodium faster reactor (SFR) which has thin-walled pipes with Rm/t ranged 30–40 was introduced and then the investigation of these thin walled pipes and elbows has received great attention in the LBB evaluation. In this context, the three-dimensional finite element (FE) analyses for thin elbows with circumferential crack under in-plane bending are carried out to investigate the elastic COD values.

Finally, the solution for elastic COD which can cover sufficiently thin elbow is successfully addressed.

Volume Subject Area:
Materials and Fabrication
Topics:
Displacement, Fracture (Materials), Pipes, Design, Finite element analysis, Leakage, Leak-before-break, Nuclear power stations, Sodium, Sodium fast reactors
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