Preliminary study for extension and improvement on modeling of primary water stress corrosion cracking at control rod drive mechanism nozzles of pressurized water reactors

Abstract

This study is for to extend, to improve the existing models, and to propose a local approach to assess the primary water stress corrosion cracking in nickel-based components. It is includes a modeling of new data for Alloy 182 and new considerations about initiation and crack growth according a developing method based on EPRI-MRP-115 (2004), and USNRC NUREG/CR-6964 (2008). The experimental data is obtained from CDTN-Brazilian Nuclear Technology Development Center, by tests through slow strain rate test (SSRT) equipments. The model conception assumed is a built diagram which indicates a thermodynamic condition for the occurrence of corrosion submodes in essayed materials, through Pourbaix diagrams, for Nickel Alloys in high temperature primary water. Over them, are superimposed different models, including a semi-empiric-probabilistic one to quantify the primary water stress corrosion cracking susceptibility, and a crack growth model. These constructed models shall be validated with the experimental data. This development aims to extent some of the models obtained to weld metals like the Alloy 182, and to improve the originals obtained according methodologies exposed in above referred reports. These methodologies comprise laboratory testing procedures, data collecting, data screening, modeling procedures, assembling of data from some laboratories in the world, plotting of results, compared analysis and discussion of these results. Preliminary results for Alloy 182 will be presented.