Fatigue of Reactor Components

Fatigue is a primary degradation mechanism affecting nuclear power plant components worldwide. The effective management of fatigue is important to the continued safe operation of plant components during present operation and as plants consider long-term operation. This third conference will again bring together international experts to discuss significant fatigue issues that affect nuclear plant operations. Technical presentations and group discussions are anticipated in the following areas:

• Reactor water environmental effects on fatigue design (S/N) and crack growth (da/dN);
• Thermal fatigue resulting from unsteady thermal stratification;
• Thermal fatigue field experience and load evaluation through mock-ups;
• Fatigue damage analysis;
• Fatigue monitoring, in-service inspection (ISI), and mitigation actions;
• Vibration fatigue;
• High-cycle fatigue;
• Fatigue-related codes and standards activities;
• Non-destructive evaluation of fatigue cracks.

The first conference in this series was held in Napa, California, in 2000 and was attended by approximately 90 fatigue experts, representing 12 countries. The second conference was held in Snowbird, Utah, in 2002 and provided an excellent forum for the discussion of component fatigue issues.

Target audience

Utility and plant managers, system engineers, materials engineers, structural integrity engineers, licensing engineers, maintenance/ repair engineers, and researchers will benefit from attending this conference.

Technical programme

Approximately 40 technical papers are anticipated from international fatigue experts. Key topic areas will include thermal fatigue and the impact of reactor water environment on fatigue life. Advances in the area of fatigue monitoring/ evaluation and non-destructive testing/evaluation methods applicable to fatigue will be discussed. A panel discussion on relevant fatigue technical issues is also scheduled, and active discussion will be encouraged from all participants.

Related links

Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations (CSNI)

Consejo de Seguridad Nuclear

Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission