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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Review of proposed failure criteria for ductile materials

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:7142886

In this report, failure criteria for structural components constituting the primary coolant-system boundary of a Liquid Metal Fast Breeder Reactor (LMFBR) are reviewed. Because the materials being considered, mild ferritic steel and austenitic stainless steels, are ductile, especially under LMFBR normal operating and accident conditions, only ductile criteria are considered. The ductile criteria must be used in combination with true stress and strain measures of deformation and internal load. Specific criteria reviewed include maximum stress and strain or plastic instability based on uniaxial tensile-test data and a hole-growth theory based on coalescence of neighboring voids under load. Criteria based only on maximum stress or strain are not recommended for general use because they are not appropriate under general, multiaxial stress conditions. The plastic instability criterion, because it leaves a large unused toughness region before fracture, is recommended where considerable conservatism is warranted. The hole-growth criterion is recognized as being analytically sound; however, it has not been extended to general three-dimensional geometry and multiaxial stress conditions. The theory needs to be substantiated with experimental data for specific materials being considered.

Research Organization:
Los Alamos National Lab., NM (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
W-7405-ENG-36
OSTI ID:
7142886
Report Number(s):
NUREG/CR-3644; LA-10007-MS; ON: DE84011211
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English