Transferability of small-specimen data to large-scale component fracture assessment

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The integrity of the piping components of a nuclear reactor is vital to ensure the supply of coolant to the core at all times during the plant life span. One of the inputs to demonstrating integrity is a fracture mechanics assessment to demonstrate defect tolerance. Within the UK, the R6 procedure is the nuclear industry standard for demonstrating such defect tolerance. R6 contains a hierarchy of assessment approaches. A difficulty in ensuring structural integrity using the higher level methods is the demonstration of transferability of fracture parameters determined from specimens to the application at component level. A large number of tests have been performed on reactor grade piping components of the Indian Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) to improve understanding of transferability. The tests consist of straight pipes and elbows, with a variety of cracks and loadings. This project will assess these tests using a range of defect assessment approaches to demonstrate transferability for practical piping components.