1.5 General remarks and context

The detailed fatigue calculation (DFC) is usually carried out after a certain time period of plant operation, every ten years for instance. These analyses are often performed in the framework of the periodic safety inspection (PSI). Loading data of the operational period as well as anticipated loads of future operation are used as essential input parameters. Hence, usage factors are calculated for the current state of the plant and some prognoses are taken into account to get results until the end of life.

The simplified elasto-plastic fatigue analysis based on elastic FE analyses and plasticity correction (fatigue penalty or strain concentration factors Ke) e. g. according to paragraph 7.8.4 of [4] or equally NB 3228.5 of [1] is known to yield often overly conservative results.

In the practical application this may yield high calculated usage factors. As a consequence, the less conservative elasto-plastic fatigue analysis method based on non-linear FE analyses will often be used for fatigue design. This is associated with an increased calculation effort. Computing times for complex geometries and numerous transients may be significant. Under these circumstances the specified transients have to be rearranged in a small set of covering transients, approximately ten, for calculation purposes.

The possible modification of design codes in respect of more severe fatigue curves and particularly the consideration of EAF will significantly influence the code based fatigue design. Of course, these developments are attentively followed and actively accompanied; see "supporting functions" in Figure 1.

The usual workflow of the fatigue analysis of NPP components is shown in Figure 11. The structural analysis might be simplified elasto-plastic or fully elasto-plastic. The transient temperature fields are analyzed for all relevant N model transients according to Figure 11. These transient temperature fields are themselves the input data for the subsequent transient (linear or non-linear) structural mechanical analyses yielding the local stresses and strains required for code-conforming fatigue assessment. Cycle counting is done in accordance with the requirements of the ASME code as implemented in the ANSYS® Classic Post 1 Fatigue module. It is explained in more detail in the following section.