Structural Analysis of an LMFBR Shield Assembly Duct Under Thermo-Mechanical and Seismic Loads

1986 ◽  
Vol 108 (2) ◽  
pp. 151-157
Author(s):  
S. N. Malik ◽  
V. K. Sazawal

This paper describes the stress analysis performed to assess structural adequacy of the Clinch River Breeder Reactor (CRBR) core removable shield assemblies. Removable shield assemblies are located in the peripheral region of the core (between blanket assemblies and the fixed radial shield), and are subjected to severe cross-sectional thermal gradients and seismic loads requiring a relatively complex duct load pad design. For cost-effectiveness, the analysis was conducted in two stages. First, an elasto-plastic seismic stress analysis was performed using a detailed nonlinear finite element model (with gaps) of the load pad configuration. Next, in order to determine the total strain accumulation and the creep-fatigue damage the maximum seismic stresses combined with the “worst” thermal stresses from a single assembly model were used to perform a simplified inelastic analysis using two sets of material properties to bound the changing material conditions during reactor operation. This work demonstrated the necessity and applicability of the two simplified analysis techniques in elevated temperature structural design, i.e., the treatment of time-dependent degradation of material properties due to temperature and nuclear irradiation, and the use of time-independent finite element stress analysis results to perform a simplified creep-fatigue analysis.

Author(s):  
Lizuo Xin ◽  
Valeri Markine ◽  
Ivan Shevtsov

In this paper, the effects of repair welding and grinding, which are currently the main components used in the maintenance of crossings, on the performance of crossings are analyzed. It has been observed that sometimes the welding and grinding activities that directly affect the geometry of the crossings and/or material properties can have negative effects on the performance and ultimately on the service life of the crossings. In this paper, the effect of the changes of geometry has been studied experimentally, while the effect of the changes in the material properties has been analyzed using a numerical model. When grinding the shape of the crossing nose, the resulting profile can deviate from the original one. To analyze the geometry-related effects of welding and grinding, the geometry of crossings (cross-sectional profiles) as well as the corresponding dynamic accelerations due to passing trains are measured before and after the welding and grinding activities. Based on the comparison of the measured accelerations, the performance of the measured crossings has been assessed. Also, a welding repair that is not properly performed can lead to undesirable changes in the material properties of the rails, resulting in defects in rails. The material-related effects of the welding and grinding are studied using the three-dimensional explicit finite element model wherein a wheelset moves over a railway crossing. To understand the microstructure of the welding defect and provide an input for the numerical model, the results of ultrasonic and microscopic analyses of some welded crossings are presented first. Then, a number of the numerical simulations of the crossing with the welding defect are performed to investigate the failure mechanism of the crossing. Furthermore, assessment using the fatigue model (coupled with the finite element model) that accounts for the ratcheting behavior of material by calculating a number of the load cycles to the crack initiation is performed. Finally, conclusions on the effects of changes in geometry and material of the crossings due to repair welding and grinding are given.


2014 ◽  
Vol 1065-1069 ◽  
pp. 19-22
Author(s):  
Zhen Feng Wang ◽  
Ke Sheng Ma

Based on ABAQUS finite element analysis software simulation, the finite element model for dynamic analysis of rigid pile composite foundation and superstructure interaction system is established, which selects the two kinds of models, by simulating the soil dynamic constitutive model, selecting appropriate artificial boundary.The influence of rigid pile composite foundation on balance and imbalance of varying rigidity is analyzed under seismic loads. The result shows that the maximum bending moment and the horizontal displacement of the long pile is much greater than that of the short pile under seismic loads, the long pile of bending moment is larger in the position of stiffness change. By constrast, under the same economic condition, the aseismic performance of of rigid pile composite foundation on balance of varying rigidity is better than that of rigid pile composite foundation on imbalance of varying rigidity.


Author(s):  
Nak-Kyun Cho ◽  
Youngjae Choi ◽  
Haofeng Chen

Abstract Supercritical boiler system has been widely used to increase efficiency of electricity generation in power plant industries. However, the supercritical operating condition can seriously affect structural integrity of power plant components due to high temperature that causes degradation of material properties. Pressure reducing valve is an important component being employed within a main steam line of the supercritical boiler, which occasionally thermal-fatigue failure being reported. This research has investigated creep-cyclic plastic behaviour of the pressure reducing valve under combined thermo-mechanical loading using a numerical direct method known as extended Direct Steady Cyclic Analysis of the Linear Matching Method Framework (LMM eDSCA). Finite element model of the pressure-reducing valve is created based on a practical valve dimension and temperature-dependent material properties are applied for the numerical analysis. The simulation results demonstrate a critical loading component that attributes creep-fatigue failure of the valve. Parametric studies confirm the effects of magnitude of the critical loading component on creep deformation and total deformation per loading cycle. With these comprehensive numerical results, this research provides engineer with an insight into the failure mechanism of the pressure-reducing valve at high temperature.


Author(s):  
Z Abbasi ◽  
F Honarvar

In recent years, Higher Order Modes Cluster (HOMC) guided waves have been considered for ultrasonic testing of plates and pipes. HOMC guided waves consist of higher order Lamb wave modes that travel together as a single nondispersive wave packet. The objective of this paper is to investigate the effect of frequency-thickness value on the contribution of Lamb wave modes in an HOMC guided wave. This is an important issue that has not been thoroughly investigated before. The contribution of each Lamb wave mode in an HOMC guided wave is studied by using a two-dimensional finite element model. The level of contribution of various Lamb wave modes to the wave cluster is verified by using a 2D FFT analysis. The results show that by increasing the frequency-thickness value, the order of contributing modes in the HOMC wave packet increases. The number of modes that comprise a cluster also increases up to a specific frequency-thickness value and then it starts to decrease. Plotting of the cross-sectional displacement patterns along the HOMC guided wave paths confirms the shifting of dominant modes from lower to higher order modes with increase of frequency-thickness value. Experimental measurements conducted on a mild steel plate are used to verify the finite element simulations. The experimental results are found to be in good agreement with simulations and confirm the changes observed in the level of contribution of Lamb wave modes in a wave cluster by changing the frequency-thickness value.


Author(s):  
Sean M. Finley ◽  
J. Harley Astin ◽  
Evan Joyce ◽  
Andrew T. Dailey ◽  
Douglas L. Brockmeyer ◽  
...  

OBJECTIVE The underlying biomechanical differences between the pediatric and adult cervical spine are incompletely understood. Computational spine modeling can address that knowledge gap. Using a computational method known as finite element modeling, the authors describe the creation and evaluation of a complete pediatric cervical spine model. METHODS Using a thin-slice CT scan of the cervical spine from a 5-year-old boy, a 3D model was created for finite element analysis. The material properties and boundary and loading conditions were created and model analysis performed using open-source software. Because the precise material properties of the pediatric cervical spine are not known, a published parametric approach of scaling adult properties by 50%, 25%, and 10% was used. Each scaled finite element model (FEM) underwent two types of simulations for pediatric cadaver testing (axial tension and cardinal ranges of motion [ROMs]) to assess axial stiffness, ROM, and facet joint force (FJF). The authors evaluated the axial stiffness and flexion-extension ROM predicted by the model using previously published experimental measurements obtained from pediatric cadaveric tissues. RESULTS In the axial tension simulation, the model with 50% adult ligamentous and annulus material properties predicted an axial stiffness of 49 N/mm, which corresponded with previously published data from similarly aged cadavers (46.1 ± 9.6 N/mm). In the flexion-extension simulation, the same 50% model predicted an ROM that was within the range of the similarly aged cohort of cadavers. The subaxial FJFs predicted by the model in extension, lateral bending, and axial rotation were in the range of 1–4 N and, as expected, tended to increase as the ligament and disc material properties decreased. CONCLUSIONS A pediatric cervical spine FEM was created that accurately predicts axial tension and flexion-extension ROM when ligamentous and annulus material properties are reduced to 50% of published adult properties. This model shows promise for use in surgical simulation procedures and as a normal comparison for disease-specific FEMs.


2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angelica Campigotto ◽  
Stephane Leahy ◽  
Ayan Choudhury ◽  
Guowei Zhao ◽  
Yongjun Lai

A novel, inexpensive, and easy-to-use strain sensor using polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)  was developed. The sensor consists of a microchannel that is partially filled with a coloured liquid and embedded in a piece of PDMS. A finite element model was developed to optimize the geometry of the microchannel to achieve higher sensitivity. The highest gauge factor that was measured experimentally was 41. The gauge factor was affected by the microchannel’s square cross-sectional area, the number of basic units in the microchannel, and the inlet and outlet configuration. As a case study, the developed strain sensors were used to measure the rotation angle of the wrist and finger joints.


2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 613-625 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Anbarasu ◽  
M Venkatesan

This work reports numerical results concerning the cold-formed steel built-up I-section columns composed of four U-profiles under axial compression. A finite element model is developed by using the software program ABAQUS. The developed model includes geometric, material nonlinearities and geometric imperfections. The finite element model was verified against the experimental results reported in the cold-formed steel built-up open section columns. In the parametric study, the sections are analysed with several cross-sectional dimension ratios and lengths, in order to assess their influence on the buckling behaviour and ultimate strength of cold-formed steel built-up I-section columns. After presenting and discussing the numerical parametric results, the article shows that the current direct strength method in the North American Specification for cold-formed steel compression members design curve fails to predict adequately the ultimate strength of some of the columns analysed and addresses the modification proposed on current direct strength method curves, providing improved predictions of all the numerical ultimate strength available. The proposed method is also assessed by reliability analysis.


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