Experimental measurements of leak rates and burst pressures for cracked Alloy 600 tubes under steam generator conditions

The objectives of this program are to measure leak rates in steam generator tubes under simulated typical operating and accident conditions and to measure burst pressures of defective tubes at operating temperatures. Concerns about the behavior of tubes with defects in operating steam generators prompted this study. Tubes in the field have developed intergranular stress corrosion cracks (both ID and OD initiated) in straight lengths, U-bend regions, and in tubesheet roll transition areas which have resulted in primary to secondary leakage and resulted in unscheduled outages. This report describes test conditions, material used, and test results