In situ fatigue-crack-propagation experiment

An in-reactor fatigue experiment was conducted in the Oak Ridge Research Reactor to determine the effects of dynamic irradiation on fatigue crack propagation. Eight 20% cold-worked 316 stainless steel specimens were precracked to various initial crack lengths, linked together to form a chain, and inserted into a specially designed in-reactor fatigue machine. Test conditions included a maximum temperature of 4600C, an environment of sodium, a frequency of 1 cycle/min, and a stress ratio of 0.10. Results indicated that (1) no effects of dynamic irradiation were observed for a fluence of 1.5 x 1021 n/cm2 (E > 0.1 MeV); and (2) crack growth rates in elevated temperature sodium were a factor of 3 to 4 lower than in room temperature air