Effects of LWR environments on fatigue life of carbon and low-alloy steels

SME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code provides construction of nuclear power plant components. Figure I-90 Appendix I to Section III of the Code specifies fatigue design curves for structural materials. While effects of environments are not explicitly addressed by the design curves, test data suggest that the Code fatigue curves may not always be adequate in coolant environments. This paper reports the results of recent fatigue tests that examine the effects of steel type, strain rate, dissolved oxygen level, strain range, loading waveform, and surface morphology on the fatigue life of A 106-Gr B carbon steel and A533-Gr B low-alloy steel in water.