Structural analysis technology for high-temperature design☆

Abstract Results from an ongoing program devoted to the development of verified high-temperature structural design technology applicable to nuclear reactor systems are described. The major aspects addressed by the program are (1) deformation behavior; (2) failure associated with creep rupture, brittle fracture, fatigue, creep-fatigue interactions, and crack propagation; and (3) the establishment of appropriate design criteria. This paper discusses information developed in the deformation behavior category. The material considered is type 304 stainless steel, and the temperatures range to 1100° F (593° C). In essence, the paper considers the ingredients necessary for predicting relatively high-temperature inelastic deformation behavior of engineering structures under time-varying temperature and load conditions and gives some examples. These examples illustrate the utility and acceptability of the computational methods identified and developed for predicting essential features of complex inelastic behaviors. Conditions and responses that can be encountered under nuclear reactor service conditions and invoked in the examples.