A Method for Predicting the Evolution of Crack Growth in Complex Structures – A Potential Application in Simulating Stress Corrosion Cracking

Abstract

Stress corrosion cracking can occur in the Zircaloy sheath surrounding nuclear fuel pellets when a critical combination of iodine concentration and stress levels are present. Linear elastic fracture mechanics can be used to predict crack growth, but in complex situations such as pellet-cladding interaction, or when thermal gradients are applied, the required stress intensity factors are not easily determined. This paper presents a method for using finite element simulations to predict the growth of crack fronts of arbitrary geometry and has a potential application in predicting stress corrosion cracking of nuclear fuel sheathing.