Fatigue crack behaviour of different stainless steels in pressurized water reactor environments

Stainless steels are utilized widely in a number of components of the primary coolant of a pressurized water reactor. Such components may be subjected to cyclic loadings in service which could cause flaws or cracks to grow. Linear-Elastic-Fracture-Mechanics (LEFM) concepts offer a very useful tool to evaluate the crack growth of these flaws, and LEFM methods are presently included in section XI of the ASME boiler and pressure vessel code. In this context, an experimental programme has been conducted in order to: 1. Determine the fatigue crack growth rate curves of different stainless steels for nuclear pressure vessels and pipings in pressurized water reactor environments. 2. Define reference fatigue crack growth rate curves for these materials. (orig./GL)