Experimental and Numerical Evaluation of the Vibration Fatigue of Small Bore Pipe in PWR

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the vibration of the small bore pipe in nuclear piping under the fatigue loading due to flow fluctuation. The vibration speeds of the pipe-lines were measured to get the effective velocity which is found larger than the allowable value calculated from EDF evaluation method. To perform the piping vibration assessment and construction, the natural shape and the vibration stress at the socket weld position was evaluated by finite element analysis with ABAQUS. From the linear cumulative damage theory, the fatigue life is predicted with the results that lower than the designation level. According to the position of the maximum vibration speed calculated from FEA simulations, the valve is fixed by the rigid support. The natural frequency and the corresponding mode shape are discussed with much lower vibration velocity and vibration stress.