The instability criterion for a circumferential through-wall crack in a bend in a stainless steel piping system: the effects of bend profile and bend angle

Motivated by the problem of intergranular stress corrosion cracking of Type 304 stainless steel in Boiling Water Nuclear Reactor piping systems, the paper examines the stability of a circumferential through-wall crack in a bend in a piping system that is subjected to simulated accident loading conditions. The instability criterion is expressed in terms of the material tearing modulus TMAT and the applied tearing modulus TAPP (or the effective pipe length LEFF). The main thrust of the paper is the modelling of the bend profile and an assessment of the effect of bend angle on the instability criterion. (author)