Ductile fracture mechanical analyses of thermal shock experiments

Fast cooling of reactor components under operation conditions is called thermal shock. The emergency cooling of a hot reactor pressure vessel with cold water may be an example. The resulting temperature gradients through the wall cause large thermal stresses, which may determine the behaviour of possible cracks in the component. The consequences of thermal shock depend strongly on the temperature difference between the coolant and the wall, the type of crack, the material toughness varying in time through the wall with temperature respectively, residual stresses and the superposition of thermal shock with other loadings, e.g. pressure transients.