PSI - Issue 72

Sergio Arrieta et al. / Procedia Structural Integrity 72 (2025) 362–369

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1. Introduction The INCEFA-SCALE project, a five-year initiative funded by the European Commission's Horizon 2020 programme, builds upon the research conducted by its predecessor, INCEFA-PUS (2015-2020; INCEFA-PLUS Consortium (2020)). Commencing in October 2020, INCEFA-SCALE aims to advance the understanding and predictive capabilities regarding environmental-assisted fatigue (EAF) in nuclear power plant components, ultimately contributing to improved lifetime prediction. Empirical evidence from nuclear power plant operations (Tice et al. (2018)) indicates a lower incidence of failures attributable to EAF than that predicted by current evaluation methodologies. This discrepancy may arise from challenges associated with extrapolating laboratory-derived material behavior to full-scale component performance. Furthermore, a limitation in available data hinders the accurate transfer of material response across scales, considering both geometric and loading condition variations. The INCEFA-SCALE project aims to address this knowledge deficit. The methodology of the project involves a dual approach: (1) comprehensive analysis of existing test specimens coupled with data mining techniques to enhance understanding of mechanical behavior; and (2) the execution of targeted experiments designed to investigate specific loading condition effects. The project has conducted an analysis of pre-existing experimental data curated within the JRC-managed MatDB database (JRC (2022)). This dataset originates from the INCEFA-PLUS project and supplementary sources, including the USNRC, EPRI, MHI, and the AdFaM project. A four-year experimental program has been designed and implemented. Standardized protocols have been established for experimental data management, testing procedures, and the analysis of tested specimens. The final deliverable of the project will be a guidance document for extrapolating laboratory-derived data to the performance of full-scale components.

Nomenclature AdFaM Advance Fatigue Methodologies Project ASNR

Autorité de Sûreté Nucléaire et de Radioprotection Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas

CEA

CIEMAT

EAF EDF EPRI FEA JRC

Environmentally Assisted Fatigue

Électricité de France

Electric Power Research Institute

Finite Element Analysis

Joint Research Centre – European Comission Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute Kaunas University of Technology

KAERI

KTU

MatDB

Online Materials Database Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Naval Nuclear Laboratory

MHI NNL NPP NRA PWR SEM PSI

Nuclear Power Plant

Nuclear Regulation Authority Paul Scherrer Institute Pressurised Water Reactor Scanning Electron Microscopy US Nuclear Regulatory Commission

USNRC

WP

Work Package