In the maintenance of in-service pipelines, the use of covered electrodes is usual due to several factors such as the flexibility of welding in hard-to-reach places and its low cost. During in-service welding of pipelines, the line remains in operation, which implies more rigorous temperature gradients that can result in microstructures more susceptible to failure. The objective of this work is to relate the welding current and cooling conditions, commonly used in-service welding, with the oxygen content and the volumetric fraction of microinclusions. In this step, the effect on the oxygen content and the volumetric fraction of microinclusions are analyzed based on experimental results using the technique of factorial experiments. Bead-on-plate samples were welded under two cooling conditions, air and cooling with water, and two nominal welding currents, 86 A and 98 A. The increase in oxygen content was observed with increasing welding current and with the cooling rate. In addition, the higher cooling rate reduced the mean microinclusions size, which can suppress the formation of acicular ferrite and, consequently, reduce the toughness and the ultimate stress limit of weld metal.

In general, low cycle fatigue evaluation of nuclear reactor components requires strain-controlled fatigue test data such as using strain versus life (e-N) curves. Conducting strain-controlled fatigue tests under in-air condition is not an issue. However, controlling strain in a PWR water test is a challenge, since an extensometer cannot be placed in a narrow autoclave (typically used in a high-temperature-pressure PWR-water loop). This is due to lack of space inside an autoclave that houses the test specimen. In addition, installing a contact-type extensometer in the path of a high-pressure flow can be a challenge. These difficulty of using an extensometer in a PWR-water loop led us to use an outside-autoclave displacement sensor which measures the displacement of pull-rod-specimen assembly. However, in our study (based on in-air fatigue test data), we found that a pull-rod-controlled based fatigue test can lead to substantial cyclic hardening/softening resulting substantially different cyclic strain amplitudes and its rates compared to the desired cyclic strain amplitudes and its rates. In this paper, we propose an AI/ML based technique such as using k-Mean clustering technique to improve the pull-rod-control based fatigue test method, such that the gauge-area strain amplitude and rates can reasonably be achieved. In support of this we present the fatigue test results for both 316 SS base and 81/182 dissimilar-metal-weld specimens.

A system was designed for high-pressure accelerated life testing (ALT) of composite materials exposed to saline water solutions or other potentially corrosive media. The system was comprised primarily of a large stainless steel pressure vessel with the capability to perform extended pressure holds of up to 41.3 MPa at temperatures up to 70 °C. Using a nylon fabric-reinforced Buna-N rubber diaphragm as a media isolator and an inert ceramic coating on all wetted surfaces of the vessel, 3.5% saline water solutions were successfully held at test pressures and temperatures for extended periods with no evidence of corrosion or other degradation even after several days of exposure. Pressurization was achieved through a hydraulic pump system, which contained pressure monitoring equipment and valves and was isolated from the saline water by the diaphragm. The temperature of the entire vessel and contents was maintained by complete immersion in a heated, filtered water bath. The efficacy of using an elastomeric diaphragm to transfer large pressures between two near-incompressible fluids without mixing was shown, provided adequate reinforcement in the form of an interwoven fabric was provided to prevent tearing and extrusion from the extreme through-thickness stresses, particularly at clamping locations. Discussion on the effects of temperature, material, thickness, reinforcement, and sealing methods on the effectiveness and repeatability of the system is provided, and a demonstration of an accelerated test on a carbon–fiber composite is also presented.

The Influence of application of the mean strain on the fatigue life was investigated for Type 316 stainless steel in the simulated pressurized water reactor (PWR) primary water environment. Low-cycle fatigue tests were conducted for a constant mean strain by controlling the strain range to be 1.2%. The applied strain rates were 0.4%/s, 0.004%/s, or 0.001%/s. The applied mean strain was 15% in nominal strain. In addition, cold worked specimens were also used for the tests without applying the mean strain. The cold working simulated the application of mean strain without an increase in surface roughness due to the application of plastic deformation. By inducing the cold working at low temperature, the influence of martensitic phase on the fatigue life was also examined. The PWR water environment reduced the fatigue life and the degree of the fatigue life reduction was consistent with the prediction model of the code issued by the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers (JSME) and NUREG/CR-6909 Rev. 1. Increases in the maximum peak stress and stress range caused by cold working did not cause any apparent change in the fatigue life. It was revealed that the 10.5 wt% martensitic phase and the increase in the surface roughness caused by the application of 15% mean strain did not bring about further fatigue life reduction. The current JSME and NUREG/CR-6909 models were applicable for predicting the fatigue in the PWR water environment even when the mean strain or cold working was applied.

At present the available Ramberg-Osgood (R-O) parameters for different metals (e.g. in ASME code and other literature) are static (generally based on a tensile curve). These static R-O parameters cannot accurately model the cyclic plasticity behavior. This work presents the cyclic R-O material hardening parameters for 316 stainless steel similar metal welds. The parameters were estimated under various conditions (in-air at room temperature, 300°C in-air, and in-air at primary water conditions for a pressurized water reactor (PWR)). It is anticipated that the reported results would be useful for computational mechanics based shakedown analysis and fatigue life estimation of PWR components.

Water jet peening (WJP), a surface modification technique, can use the impact pressure induced by shock waves to introduce compressive residual stress in the surface of metal parts, thereby improving the fatigue life of metal parts, especially has broad application prospects in strengthening the concave surface area of metal parts. The impact pressure of the concave surface is different compared with the flat surface due to the effects of geometrical factors on the shock wave released. In this work, a mathematical model for calculating the peak pressure in the initial contact area of the concave surface is developed, and the effects of geometric factors (opening angle of V surface α and spherical radius R) and WJP parameters (jet velocity v and jet diameter d) on the peak pressure are analyzed by using finite element simulation models of WJP on concave V-shaped surface, concave spherical surface, V-groove surface, spherical groove surface, and spherical groove surface established with the coupled Eulerian–Lagrangian (CEL) algorithm of abaqus . A mechanism of impact pressure evaluation of the concave surface is developed to explain the peak pressure results obtained from finite element models. The results show that the peak pressure is mainly determined by α and v, while d does not affect the peak pressure for a concave V-shaped or V-groove surface. The peak pressure is mainly determined by R, v, and d for a concave spherical or spherical groove surface.

This paper theoretically analyzed the design and operating parameters of a pipe-shaped air-cushion surge chamber (PS-ACSC). A mathematical model for a small load disturbance (SLD) in a hydropower plant containing the PS-ACSC was established to analyze the effects of the sensitivity of its initial horizontal area and the air–water volume ratio on the operational stability of the plant. The results showed that the PS-ACSC should occupy a critical horizontal area, and its initial water level and the initial air–water volume ratio should be within a certain range to ensure its own stable operation as well as that of the turbine units. The results of a case study showed that a hydropower plant containing the PS-ACSC is most stable when the initial air–water volume ratio ranges from 2.90:1 to 6.68:1. In addition, a hydropower plant containing the PS-ACSC delivers better performance than a horseshoe-shaped ACSC under the same conditions. This study contributes to the design and operational control of hydropower plants containing the PS-ACSC.

Recently, tube-to-tube wear indications of triangular tube bundle steam generators (SGs) caused by fluidelastic instability (FEI) in the in-plane direction of U-bend region (in-plane FEI) have been reported. Several experiments were conducted to investigate the characteristics of in-plane FEI by our research groups. In a series of experiments, particular characteristics of in-plane FEI were found. For example, there are the critical velocity difference between the in-plane and the out-of-plane directions, the difference between straight tube bundle tests and U-bend tube bundle tests, etc. To explain these characteristics, unsteady fluid force acting on tubes were measured. The experimental investigation was conducted under high temperature and high-pressure steam–water flow conditions close to the SGs. Stability analyses were conducted using the measured unsteady fluid forces as inputs. First, stability analyses were done to simulate straight tube bundle tests. Analysis results agreed well with experiments and it could explain the effect on critical velocity trend by number of flexible tubes and directions of vibration. Second, U-tube stability analyses were performed by applying unsteady fluid force coefficients for each location of U-bend tube finite element method (FEM) model. From the results, mechanisms of in-plane FEI were understood.

In numerical simulations of hydroturbine systems, the fluid in the draft tube keeps alternating between the free surface flow condition and the pressured flow condition. This combination of free surface flow model and pressured flow model has been a focus of researchers. Because of the huge difference in pressure wave speed, the two models differ much in terms of meshing even in the same method. To track the interaction point between free surface flow and pressured flow, a type of interaction point tracking method (IPTM) is proposed, which is based on the method of characteristics. Using a controllable iteration to solve the controlling equations of the boundary conditions, the concrete interaction point can be tracked accurately at each time-step. The method is validated in an actual turbine draft tube and compared with experimentally measured data. The results show that IPTM is equipped with high reliability and offers some advantages compared to the other existing methods.

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.

This paper re-examines the available experimental data to investigate the random excitation forces that affect tube bundles exposed to two-phase cross flow. Much of the experimental data generated over the past four decades have been gathered in an attempt to understand the parametric dependence of the random two-phase forces. The data include air–water, steam–water and various Freons used in a variety of test sections with either strain gages to measure the tube amplitude or force transducers to measure the reaction forces. A review of previous work in this area finds that some authors claim a strong flow regime dependence while others suggest that this dependence is weak. This work takes a detailed look at this discrepancy and finds that a single design guideline does not adequately bound all flow regimes. As a result, two dimensionless upper bounds are proposed.

An important step in a pipeline-construction project is confirming that the piping and facilities are adequate for the expected operating pressures via static strength tests. All fluids have mass and internal energy. Fluids under pressure have significantly elevated internal energy. All fluids are compressible to some greater or lesser extent, and the fluid added to raise the pressure of the fluid in the bulk volume adds significant energy. The raw mass of a fluid must be considered when evaluating terrain elements and support elements (i.e., pipe stands and pipe racks). The selection process for a test fluid should always endeavor to minimize the total risk of the entire process. Code-guidance has historically not shown a clear preference for the selection of one particular test medium over another. Some jurisdictions have written regulations that step away from ASME guidance and do show a clear preference for hydrostatic testing over pneumatic testing. This preference manifests itself in several ways, but the primary representation is the requirement in statutes and regulations that a pneumatic test should have an “exclusion zone” around the test to reduce the risk of injury during the test. These documents tend to not have an exclusion-zone requirement for hydrostatic tests. This paper is undertaken to demonstrate the relative risks of liquid versus gaseous test media and presents a background of why pneumatic tests have been singled out by regulators as higher risk and shows why this regulatory preference can result in increasing risk rather than decreasing it.

Most underground water main breaks can be stopped, since the technology is now available to evaluate water system piping failures and determine corrective actions. The problem is defined in terms of several variables: (1) Water hammer is the initiator of nearly all underground water main breaks. (2) In nonacidic soils, fatigue directly causes piping cracks. (3) In acidic soils, water hammer cracks the pipes, and crevice corrosion is accelerated at those crack sites. Additionally, those cracks serve as moisture sources to induce piping surface corrosion due to galvanic corrosion between the soil and the metallic pipe wall. Even so, some failures are solely due to corrosion. (4) Dynamic pipe stresses are significantly larger than stresses caused by static loading, i.e., hoop stresses and strains may be as much as four times the calculated static stress due to water hammer. (5) If dynamic stresses are not considered, calculations incorrectly conclude that water mains will not be damaged. (6) That is, water hammer calculations determine pressure surge magnitudes that are multiples of the operating pressures, where dynamic effects cause fatigue cracks due to the applied pressures and the number of cycles for those pressures to break water mains.

The causes of roof damage found on a large-scale water storage tank were investigated using hydrodynamic analysis. All operation and weather data, such as temperature inside and outside of the storage tank, atmospheric pressure, water level according to time, condensed water check inside pipelines, snowfall, and wind speed, were precisely reviewed. Four potential scenarios were postulated to estimate the vacuum pressure, presumed to be a direct cause of the roof damage to the storage tank. In the scenarios, an energy equation with a friction loss for pipelines and fittings was adopted to compute the pressure differences between the inlet and outlet of the ventilation and overflow pipes. A timewise pressure drop for the condition of fully clogged connected lines during a discharge operation was also carried out. A sequence solution for the unsteady Bernoulli equation to represent the dynamic motion of a water column inside a loop seal was successfully derived. This can predict the vacuum pressure limit inside the storage tank required to drain out the water from the loop seal. The predicted vacuum pressure was compared with the vacuum pressure required to cause the buckling phenomena at the roof support structures. In-depth analysis of each scenario showed that the roof damage of the storage tank developed when the vacuum pressure reached over the estimated vacuum pressure limit. To prevent further roof damage, including the storage tank of the same design at other plant, change of the layout of the air ventilation line was recommended.

The mean stress effect on the fatigue life of type 316 stainless steel was investigated in simulated pressurized water reactor (PWR) primary water and air at 325 °C. The tests in air environment have revealed that the fatigue life was increased with application of the positive mean stress for the same stress amplitude because the strain range was decreased by hardening of material caused by increased maximum peak stress. On the other hand, it has been shown that the fatigue life obtained in simulated PWR primary water was decreased compared with that obtained in air environment even without the mean stress. In this study, type 316 stainless steel specimens were subjected to the fatigue test with and without application of the positive mean stress in high-temperature air and PWR water environments. First, the mean stress effect was discussed for high-temperature air environment. Then, the change in fatigue life in the PWR water environment was evaluated. It was revealed that the change in the fatigue life due to application of the mean stress in the PWR water environment could be explained in the same way as for the air environment. No additional factor was induced by applying the mean stress in the PWR water environment.

A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis was performed to investigate the hydraulic response of the flow field inside the pressurized water reactor (PWR) steam generator (SG) secondary side and the connected part of main feed water pipe to an abrupt main feed water line break (FWLB) accident. To realistically analyze the transient flow field situation, the flow field was assumed to be occupied initially by highly compressed subcooled water except that the upper part of the SG secondary side where steam occupied as in the practical case and the break was assumed to occur at the circumferential weld line between the feed water nozzle and the main feed water pipe. This would result in a subcooled water flashing flow from the SG through the short-broken pipe end to the surrounding atmosphere, which was numerically simulated in this study. Typical results of the prediction in terms of the fluid transient velocity and pressure were illustrated and discussed. To examine the physical validity of the present numerical simulation of the subcooled water flashing flow, the transient mass flow rates predicted in this study were compared with the other previous numerical predictions based on the subcooled water nonflashing (no phase change) flow or saturated water flashing flow assumptions and the prediction by a simple analysis method.

An experimental program was carried out by subjecting normal square finned tube arrays to gradually increasing water cross flows. In all, total six tube arrays were tested—three having pitch ratio 2.1 and remaining three of pitch ratio 2.6. Under each category, three arrays tested were: plain array, coarse finned array, and fine finned array. The objective of the research was to determine the fluid velocity at which each of the six arrays becomes fluidelastically unstable. The experiments were started with tests on plain arrays to establish them as a datum case by comparing their test results with published results on plain arrays having lower pitch ratios. This was then followed by testing of finned arrays to study the effect of fins on the instability threshold. The tubes were subjected to a gradually increasing flow rate of water from 10 m 3 /h to the point where instability was reached. The results of the present work are compared with author's earlier published results for parallel triangular arrays in water. The research outcomes help to study the effect of pitch ratio, tube array pattern, and fin density on the instability threshold. The results show that instability is delayed due to the addition of the fins. It is also concluded that normal square arrays should be preferred over parallel triangular arrays to avoid fluidelastic vibrations. The vortex shedding behavior studied for all the arrays shows that small peaks before fluidelastic instability are due to vortex shedding.

The syringe in a subcutaneous auto-injector may be subjected to internal pressure transients due to the normal operation of the injection mechanism. These transients are similar to transients in fluid-filled pipelines observed during water hammer events. In this paper, the effect of an air gap in the syringe and a converging section is studied experimentally and numerically in a model system which consists of a fluid-filled metal tube that is impulsively loaded with a projectile to simulate the action of the auto-injector mechanism operation. The air between the buffer and the water results in a complex interaction between the projectile and the buffer. Also, there are tension waves inside the tube due to the presence of a free surface and the motion of the buffer, and this causes distributed cavitation which, in turn, gives rise to steepening of the pressure waves. The converging section can amplify the pressure waves if the wave front is sharp, and it can enhance the collapse of bubbles. Pressures as high as 50 MPa have been measured at the apex of the cone with impact velocities of 5.5 m/s.

Water hydraulics relief valves are essential components of hydraulic systems. These valves maintain the desired pressure and thereby prevent other components from being damaged. During operation of the relief valve, the water flow often cavitates in the valve port owing to the rapid decline in pressure, affecting the stability and safety of the hydraulic system. To improve relief valve performance, an optimal design of the valve was determined. Using a computational fluid dynamics approach, the effects of the valve core design and the nonsmooth groove structure of the valve seat on the jet flow structure were modeled and tested. The anti-cavitation structure was optimized parametrically, and the ideal valve port structure was determined. Tests were conducted to compare cavitation in the water hydraulics relief valve with and without the anti-cavitation structures. Results of these tests showed evident enhancement of cavitation performance.

The transmissivity of metal-metal sealing joints is investigated experimentally and compared to predictions obtained by modeling. The focus is laid upon a wavy surface contacting a flat rigid part, representative of a seat-to-plug contact in an internal sealing valve encountered in nuclear power plants for instance. Experimental transmissivities are obtained from water leak-rate and pressure drop measurements carried out on a model ring-shape sample seat holding a controlled wavy defect and pressed against a rigid flat plug with a controlled normal load. The sample seat surface is manufactured by face turning a tubular part under radial stress and waviness is obtained after elastic relaxation. Modeling is performed on a three-dimensional finite element model of the assembly, composed of the plug, the sample seat, and its holder. The upper sample seat surface, in which topography is recorded by confocal microscopy, is reconstructed using a modal decomposition on the basis of vibrational eigenmodes. Its lower surface, in contact with the holder, is considered as perfectly flat or with its own defects. The contact aperture field between the seat and the plug is computed for a given normal load and is used to solve the incompressible Reynolds equation with a boundary element method, yielding the transmissivity. Predicted transmissivities reveal to be in good agreement with experimental data at low clamping loads and are overestimated for larger ones. Defects on the lower surface of the seat are shown to have a significant impact on the seat-to plug contact transmissivity.