Damage of ductile plastic materials in nuclear components: Development of an industrial numerical tool

An analysis based on the concept of local approach is suitable to study how harmful a defect in a structure can be (crack, ...). A rheological model has been implemented in the CASTEM 2000 finite element code, for elastoplastic materials with isotropic hardening and damage characteristics. The aim of this paper is to simulate, with the help of this numerical tool, a ductile rupture test on a notched specimen subject to tension. An elastoplastic law for materials with isotropic hardening and damage programmed in the CASTEM 200 code allowed a good description of a ductile rupture test on a notched sample. An experimental determination of the damage parameters is the key to a proper use of the model