Metal Fatigue has been shown to be one of the key contributors to the degradation of aging plant components. Fatigue failures occur when components are subjected to cyclic stresses and strains. This time period can be very short (hours) for high cycle fatigue, or very long (years) for low cycle fatigue. This leads to the development and formation of micro-cracks in the most highly strained locations of the component which subsequently propagate until failure occurs.
SI has been a leader in understanding the important parameters that contribute to fatigue failures and provides practical solutions to prevent these failures. Some typical projects we have been involved in include:
- Development of fatigue management handbooks to
assist plant engineers in identifying locations of potential fatigue damage and in making timely decisions relative to repair of fatigue issues.
- Design of modifications to plant components to extend their fatigue life and prevent premature failures.
- Analysis of reactor vessels, piping, and other components to determine the effects of reactor water environment on fatigue life.
- Determination of fatigue impacts due to cyclic thermal stratification in nuclear reactor piping systems.
- Development of the FatiguePro thermal fatigue monitoring system, which provides real time thermal fatigue usage determination for critical plant components.
- Development of a program to determine the primary factors that contribute to vibration fatigue of socket welded joints , including recommendations for extending the fatigue life of these joints.
- Analysis of cracking and redesign of wind turbines to improve fatigue life.
- Metal fatigue and fracture mechanics training for plant engineers to better their understanding of these complex technical areas.
Related Technical Literature
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Assessment of Environmental Fatigue Rules Using Design Transients in a PWR Plant