Environmentally assisted cracking in light water reactors.

Abstract

The following documents In the NUREG series are available for purchase from the Government Printing Office:formal NRC staff and contractor reports, NRC-sponsored conference proceedings, international agreement reports, grantee reports, and NRC booklets and brochures. Also available a r e regulatory guides, NRC regula- Fatigue tests were conducted on ferritic steels in water that contained various concentrations of dissolved oxygen (DO) to determine whether a slow strain rate applied during different portions of a tensileloading cycle are equally effective in decreasing fatigue life. Crack-growth-rate tests were conducted on compact-tension specimens from several heats of Alloys 600 and 690 in simulated LWR environments. Effects of fluoride-ion contamination on susceptibility to intergranular cracking of high-and commercial-purity Type 304 SS specimens from controlblade absorber tubes irradiated in boiling water reactors were determined in slow-strain-ratetensile tests at 288OC. Microchemical changes in the specimens were studied by Auger electron spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy to determine whether trace impurity elements may contribute to IASCC of these materials.