Mechanical behaviour of SFR materials: proposition of fatigue weld joint coefficient for MOD9CR-1MO

Mod 9Cr-1Mo steel (T91) is a candidate material for steam generator of SFR (Sodium Fast Reactors). In order to validate this choice, it is necessary, firstly to verify that it is able to withstand the planned environmental and operating conditions, and secondly to check if it is covered by the existing design codes, concerning its procurement, fabrication, welding, examination methods and mechanical design rules. A large R and D program on mod9Cr-1Mo steel has been undertaken at CEA in order to characterize the behavior of this material and of its welded junctions. In this program, the role of the Laboratory for structural Integrity and Standards (LISN) is to develop high temperature defect assessment procedures under fatigue and creep loadings. In this frame, complementary studies are conducted in order to validate the existing methods (developed for the fast reactors) and to get new experimental data on Mod9Cr-1Mo steel. In particular, some new experiments are conducted on specimen with a weld joint and compared with classical experiments on base metal specimen. These results associated with finite element modeling allow to propose a weld joint coefficient at 550 degrees C for the Mod9Cr1Mo steel. (authors)