The ductile fracture methodology with a new procedure to obtain structural calibration functions

The structural integrity of nuclear reactor components has to be confirmed under postulated accidents conditions. The severe loading that comes from accident scenarios cause the stress in structures such as pressure vessels and piping exceed the linear elastic limits. The integrity evaluation of the components usually includes a postulated defect so that predictions of its load carrying capacity is generally done with a ductile fracture mechanics approach. Several ductile fracture mechanics approaches have been developed and applied to structural components containing defects. This paper will focus on a particular methodology, the Ductile Fracture Method (DFM). A critical step in this methodology is the determination of the calibration function for the structural component. This work presents and alternative procedure to obtain this function which makes de application of the DFM much simpler and faster. This is an important aspect considering that in many situations a large range of geometries and loading conditions needs to be evaluated, like in the Leak-Before-Break concept application to nuclear piping. (author). 11 refs., 3 figs., 1 tab