Statistical Evaluation of Fracture Characteristics of RPV Steels in the Ductile-Brittle Transition Temperature Region

Statistical Evaluation of Fracture Characteristics of RPV Steels in the Ductile-Brittle Transition Temperature Region

The statistical analysis method was applied to the evaluation of fracture toughness in the ductile-brittle transition temperature region. Because cleavage fracture in steel is of a statistical nature, fracture toughness data or values show a similar statistical trend. Using the three-parameter Weibull distribution, a fracture toughness vs. temperature curve (K-curve) was directly generated from a set of fracture toughness data at a selected temperature. Charpy V-notch impact energy was also used to obtain the K-curve by a $K_{IC}$ -CVN (Charpy V-notch energy) correlation. Furthermore, this method was applied to evaluate the neutron irradiation embrittlement of reactor pressure vessel (RPV) steel. Most of the fracture toughness data were within the 95% confidence limits. The prediction of a transition temperature shift by statistical analysis was compared with that from the experimental data.