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This erratum corrects errors that appeared in the paper “Surface Bonding Graphene-Based Elastomeric Sensor: Preliminary Characterization of Adhesion Strength” which was published in Proceedings of the ASME 2019 Conference on Smart Materials, Adaptive Structures and Intelligent Systems, ASME 2019 Conference on Smart Materials, Adaptive Structures and Intelligent Systems, (V001T01A002), September 2019, SMASIS2019-5578, doi: 10.1115/SMASIS2019-5578.

Fluid injection is a common practice in the Oil and Gas industry found in many applications such as waterflooding and disposal of produced fluids. Maintaining high injection rates is crucial to guarantee the economic success of these projects; however, there are geomechanical risks and difficulties involved in this process that may threat the viability of fluid injection projects. Near wellbore reduction of permeability due to pore plugging, formation failure, out of zone injection, sand production, and local compaction are challenging the effectiveness of the injection process. Due to these complications, modeling and simulation has been used as an effective tool to assess injectors’ performance, however, different problems have yet be addressed. In this paper, we review some of these challenges and the solutions that have been proposed as a primary step to understand mechanisms affecting well performance.Copyright © 2016 by ASME

Imperfections in a rotor-bearing system may cause undesirable subcritical resonances occurring when the rotating speed of the rotor is a fraction of the natural frequency of the system. These resonances arise partly from rotor imperfections and partly from bearing imperfections. This study demonstrates that the subcritical twice-running-speed vibrations originating from bearing waviness may be investigated by combining a simplified rotor model with a detailed bearing model, using a finite element method. The rotor-bearing system under investigation is a roller test rig consisting of the tube roll of a paper machine supported by spherical roller bearings. The bearing waviness from the second to the fourth orders is emulated as accurately as possible in the finite element model. This is achieved by measuring the waviness of the real bearings and then incorporating the measurement results into a simulation model. The tube roll of the test rig is modeled as a symmetric tube, neglecting the effects of the uneven mass and stiffness distribution of the roll. The contact between the rotor and the bearings is described using nonlinear Hertzian contact theory. The subcritical responses of the system are studied by means of time integration, and the results are converted into the frequency domain using fast Fourier transformation. The results of the analysis are compared with the measurement results for the subcritical responses of the roll. The agreement between the simulation and experimental results of the studied system can be observed even though rotor imperfections are not considered.

A thorough understanding of the auto-ignition process is critical to the success of lean premixed prevapourised (LPP) combustors for future ultra-low NOx emissions gas turbines. A considerable amount of work has been done in the past on auto-ignition delay time (ADT) measurements for various aviation fuels and hydrocarbons. However, little was known about the influence of various possible fuel additives on ADT. A test rig was designed and built by DERA specifically for ADT measurements. It consisted of an injector housing and an instrumented duct where the ignition location could be monitored by fibre optic sensors. It was intended to acquire ADT measurements at 875K, 16bar and 40m/s of mean flow. The test rig and instrumentation were commissioned in January and February 2000. However, instrumentation inside the injector housing was damaged soon after the initial hot run as a result of overheating. Attempts were made to repair the damaged components and to identify the cause of overheating. Unfortunately, the damage to the components was extensive and the cause of overheating could not be diagnosed. In view of the technical risks involved, it was decided to stop further testing with this rig. Although ADT measurements could not be undertaken as planned, useful operating experience was gained from the tests conducted.Copyright © 2001 by ASME

Second Law analysis or exergy analysis is a useful instrument to find ways to improve the efficiency of energy utilization. The method presents the magnitude and locations of true energy losses in an energy system. The pulp and paper industries have a big potential for increasing the energy efficiencies. An integration of a gas turbine with an existing steam turbine plant is one possible way to increase the energy efficiency and the power production. The cogeneration plant analysed in this paper is a hybrid combined plant in which two types of fuels are used. The exhaust gas from a combined cycle gas turbine via a waste heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) is used as preheated combustion air in a supplementary fired steam boiler. Saturated steam from the HRSG is assumed to be superheated in a boiler in which sludge, bark and other types of biomass are being used as fuels. To reduce the waste of energy, a flue gas driven fuel dryer is connected to evaporate some of the moisture in these biomass fuels. The study shows the effect of using a combined cycle instead of a simple steam cycle and the effect of using a fuel dryer. Among the configurations investigated, a plant with both a gas turbine and a fuel dryer yields the highest exergy efficiency and total efficiency. However, the net power efficiency is higher for a plant without a fuel dryer than for one with a fuel dryer.

The CW251B10 Gas Turbine has been in service at the Procter & Gamble Paper Mill located at Mehoopany, Pennsylvania since July 1985, and has exhibited outstanding reliability and availability since that time. It operates continuously at base load supplying both electricity and process air for the plant. This paper reviews the operating history of the gas turbine, and describes some of the problems experienced, together with their solutions.Copyright © 1989 by ASME

Late in the summer of 1967 Southland Paper Mills, Inc. placed in operation a 52,000-kw combined cycle power plant. The plant utilizes two 13,550-kw gas turbines and one 25,000-kw single automatic extraction condensing steam turbine. The power plant furnishes the total power requirements for their new Sheldon mill. This paper presents background data on the mill and describes the power plant in some detail. Flow diagrams are presented and reviewed. Features of the generating equipment and the steam generators are described. Switchgear and load coordination is discussed. The operation and reliability of the plant to date are summarized and the combined cycle in terms of paper mill requirements is evaluated.Copyright © 1969 by ASME

The gas turbine or Brayton cycle offers many advantages over a conventional power plant, especially when installed in a cogeneration mode. These advantages include physically compact packages, high reliability, improved system economics and full operating flexibility to meet variable electrical/steam demand. Until recently, the primary disadvantage of the gas turbine cycle has been that internal burning of dirty fuels caused unacceptable erosion and corrosion of turbine blading. In the simple cycle gas turbine modified for indirect heating, the compressor discharge air passes through the tube side of a heat exchanger before passing on to the turbine. Heat is transferred to the air via the combustion products of alternative fuels passing through the shell side of the heat exchanger. This paper discusses the potential of the indirectly heated gas turbine burning wood in a cogeneration configuration with a back-pressure steam turbine.Copyright © 1980 by ASME

A modern paper machine is equipped with various finishing units e.g. calenders and coating units in order to produce better optical and printing properties. To accomplish these required properties paper is manipulated between two parallel mounted rolls. The contact area of these rolls is called a nip. The rolls are pressed together using hydraulic loading mechanism in order to achieve required pressure to paper web between the rolls. One of the most important nip unit driving parameter is linear load i.e. force per length. To compensate deflections, which are caused by line load and gravity, the rolls are crowned. In cases, where the total nip force surpass the gravity force of the roll the zero load condition exists. In the other words the roll floats freely and bearing clearances can place themselves arbitrary. To prevent misalignment due to bearing clearances and to achieve more accurate line load control a new closing procedure has been developed. The actual line load level is force-controlled while the approach maneuver of the roll is controlled using positioning sensors. Tampere University of Technology (TUT) has built up an experimental set-up to study both vibration phenomena and behavior of polymer roll cover material. This paper presents the equations and experimental results of a new nip closing procedure.

Lamellar atomically-thin sheets such as graphene (and its bulk equivalent graphite) and molybdenum disulfide have emerged as excellent solid lubricants at the macro scale and show great promise as protective coatings for nanoscopic applications. In this study, the failure mechanisms of graphene under sliding are examined using atomistic simulations. An atomic tip is slid over a graphene membrane that is adhered to a semi-infinite substrate. The impact of sliding velocity and substrate rigidity on the wear and frictional behavior of graphene is studied. In addition, the interplay of adhesive and abrasive wear on the graphene coating is also examined. The preliminary results indicate that graphene has excellent potential as a nanoscale due to its atomically-thin configuration and high load carrying capacity.Copyright © 2012 by ASME

On rare occasions, a portion of an uncut fiber will exit the discharge chute of a consumer hammer mill type chipper/shredder and remain at rest with its inboard portion in the neighborhood of the rotating elements. Disturbing the fiber may cause it to commit to the rotating flails and be pulled instantaneously back into the machine. A number of investigators have postulated that an operator who grasps a fiber that subsequently experiences this pull-in phenomenon cannot release it fast enough to avoid being dragged into the flails. This hypothesis is discredited by both analytical and experimental analyses.

High temperature gas cooled reactor (HTGR) which is one of generation IV reactor has been widely given attention in many countries since the sixties of the last century because of its inherent safety and high efficiency. Currently, the HTGR commonly uses regenerative Brayton cycle. However, as reactor outlet temperature (ROT) rising, regenerative Brayton cycle has a higher reactor inlet temperature (RIT) than 500°C and is limited by reactor materials. Combined cycle of HTGR not only can solve the problem of high RIT, but also can get a higher cycle efficiency than 50%. In this paper an accurate model of combined cycle consisting of topping Brayton cycle, bottoming Rankine cycle and heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) was established. In terms of new model of combined cycle, this paper analyzed the main properties of simple combined cycle. And put forward two optimization schemes improving the cycle efficiency of combined cycle.Copyright © 2016 by ASME

With the increasing demands of versatile and long-lasting requirements of deep space missions, space nuclear reactor (SNR) power system is becoming the most potential energy source compared to conventional solar-battery and chemical energy in the future large-scale and long-life space missions. Since the very first successful launch of SNR system (SNAP-10A) in 1965, the United States, the Soviet Union / Russia, the European Union, Japan, Brazil and China have proposed various technical routes and schemes for SNR technologies over the past few decades. This paper presents a historical review of several key technologies (i.e., space nuclear reactor system and thermoelectric conversion system), especially focus on technical progress for recent decade and discusses on-going development activities. The paper also presents a forecast of potential future space applications of these key technologies.

The work in this paper relates to an improved tube to tubesheet joint in a shell and tube type heat exchanger that have dissimilar metallurgies of tube and tubesheet. This improved tube to tubesheet joint configuration will not only impart reliability and strength to the mechanical integrity of the joint but also reduce the costs of the manufacturing without compromising the functional performance of the exchanger. In a shell and tube heat exchanger, generally the material of tubes may be similar to the tubesheet or of a higher corrosion resistant grade in comparison to that of the tubesheet. Conventionally, shell and tube heat exchangers that involve dissimilar materials of tube and tubesheet are either: i. Tubes welded directly to the tubesheet with matching grade weld metal or ii. The tubesheets are clad / weld overlaid with the higher corrosion resistant material or material similar to the tube material For purpose of this study, we have considered the material of tube as stainless steel type 304L and that of tubesheet as carbon steel. The above case 1 wherein the SS-304L tubes are directly welded to the CS tubesheet, may have the following advantages: i. Manufacturing time is less. ii. Tubes are attached to the base metal and hence free from defects of weld overlay or cladding, if any. In case 2, wherein the SS-304L tubes are welded to the SS-304L clad / weld overlaid portion of tubesheet, the advantages are: i. Welding takes place between two austenitic stainless steel grades, hence PWHT is not required. ii. The tube to tubesheet joint and adjacent material is of austenitic stainless steel grade, hence has better corrosion resistance. The main objective of the work done and reported in this paper is to combine the advantages of the above two cases thereby: i. Reducing the cost of manufacturing ii. Increasing the mechanical reliability of the tube to tubesheet joint. Extensive trials were carried out on sample tube to tube sheet joints, the results and conclusions of which are reported in this paper.

Bolted joints in gas turbines are used commonly to connect the parts of dissimilar materials to facilitate assembly, dis-assembly, and also to achieve modularity for advanced aero engines. In gas turbine engine, there are many rotating and stationary parts that are subjected to an extreme working environment. Bolted joints should have sufficient strength to support the mating parts such as safety critical fan/turbine discs, drums, and shaft assembly. Bolted joints are designed to avoid flange separation and slippage. This paper attempts to understand the challenges faced in designing a typical fan disc rotor plain flange type bolted assembly and structural integrity aspects under various thermo-mechanical operating loads. The understanding of stiffness of the bolt and joint members is necessary to evaluate the performance of the joint assembly. Based on literature, different approaches are used for estimating member stiffness to compare with finite element results. The effect of external loads such as thermo-mechanical loads on pretension behavior of bolted joint is studied with the help of standard commercial software platform ANSYS. Bolted joint preload loss has been assessed via the standard analytical method and validated with 3D finite element approach. This paper enables designer a quick understanding of rotor bolted joint behavior for finalization of gas turbine rotor layout, before going into complex and time consuming 3D finite element modelling and nonlinear stress analysis.

Nowadays, nuclear power plant (NPP) has become one of the most important energy sources to generate electricity in the world. Steam generator (SG) is a heat exchanger included in primary system of NPP. Alloy 600 MA is widely used for SG tube material and this is well-known as weakness of stress corrosion cracking. In recent year, according to increase the number of long-term operation NPP, many axial surface flaws have been found on SG tube during an in-service inspection. Therefore, many researches have been carried out to maintain structural integrity of SG tube. Commonly, flaw shape needs to be idealized to calculate a burst pressure because detected flaw shape is complicated. In this paper, validation of EPRI’s weakest sub-crack model, one of the well-known flaw idealization rule, is conducted through finite element (FE) analysis. For this, three actual flaws are assumed and these are idealized by using four flaw shape idealization methods; semi-elliptical crack model, rectangular crack model, maximum length with effective depth crack model and weakest sub-crack model. Burst pressure of each model is calculated and compared with burst pressure of actual shape crack model. As a result, if actual flaw is idealized by weakest sub-crack model, it is expected that conservative and efficient structural integrity assessment will be possible.

With strong bearing capacity, good corrosion resistance, excellent wear resistance, light weight and easy transportation and installation, Plastic pipe reinforced by cross helically wound steel wires (PSP) is widely used in oil industry, coal chemical industry, slurry transportation engineering, and sea (river) bottom water projects. Due to the PSP at middle-high pressure, an effective and reliable method of connection between pipes is particularly important. Heat-fusion weld and electro-fusion weld are usually used in middle-high PSP connections, or adding steel plate reinforcement at present. The pipe welded-joint failure is the main failure mode at service stage, causing the damage of pipelines and fluid leakage. Ultrasonic phased array inspection, which is one of the non-destructive inspection methods, is mainly used in pipe welded-joints inspection. A higher attenuation coefficient of polyolefin materials and the interference of steel mesh skeleton among PSP can cause great impact to the ultrasonic inspection; It’s worse if a steel plate is added. In order to put forward a kind of method can better detect the connection joint, this paper examines a new method of ultrasonic phased array inspection in PSP welded-joints based on customized probe, focus law and scanning mode which overcomes the difficulties found in other usual non-destructive inspection measures.Copyright © 2015 by ASME

At least 10 girth weld incidents in newly constructed pipelines are known to have occurred in North America. More than 30 girth weld incidents in newly constructed pipes have been identified worldwide. A review of the North American incidents identified a few main contributing factors: (1) weld strength undermatching, (2) heat-affected zone (HAZ) softening, and (3) elevated stresses/strains from normal settlement and other loads. Weld bevel geometries of manual welding processes that favor plastic straining along the softened HAZ and low strength root passes were also compounding contributing factors. Prior publications focused on the industry practices that led to the formation of those contributing factors. This paper covers the enhanced linepipe specifications and improved welding practice that aim to reduce the risk of similar girth weld incidents, thus leading to more resilient pipelines. The enhanced linepipe specifications include interim recommendations that aim to limit the upper-bound longitudinal strength for a given pipe grade and reduce the linepipe steels’ susceptibility to HAZ softening. The implementation of the interim recommendations is assisted by allowing alternative hoop tensile tests. The improved welding practice includes (1) the selection of welding procedures, including consumables, that minimizes the likelihood of weld strength undermatching and reduces the propensity for HAZ softening and (2) welding procedure qualification tests and requirements for the production of strain-resistant girth welds. The recommendations covered in this paper principally target new pipeline construction projects but are also applicable to pipe replacement projects. It is expected that pipeline operators would incorporate the recommendations in their internal procedures and work with welding contractors to execute the recommendations. The improved linepipe specifications and welding practice are expected to increase the resilience of pipelines subjected to realistic construction and in-service loads. The implementation of the recommendations requires changes to some long-standing industry practices and can only occur with collaborative efforts from all stakeholders.

The heavy duty diesel (HDD) engine market continues to strive for improvements in engine efficiency and durability which places ever increasing development demands on the power cylinder unit. One of the methods being developed to help meet these demands is coated cylinder bore technology. By applying a coating to the inner diameter surface of a cylinder liner the wear on the liner can be significantly reduced. The reduction in liner wear is not however the only advantage that this technology can offer. Liner coatings can also offer corrosion protection, reductions in wear on the running surface of the rings, improved scuff resistance, and enable improvements in the efficiency of the engine. New piston ring technologies will be valuable in maximizing these advantages and their contribution will be detailed. The system must be properly designed to take full advantage of all of these opportunities. In this paper both the advantages and difficulties coated liners present will be explored by evaluating the impact on the liner, rings and the fuel consumption. This paper will additionally provide details regarding the different liner coating technologies being developed today. To support these recommendations the system’s performance characteristics will be demonstrated through rig testing and engine performance measurements.Copyright © 2014 by ASME

Current nondestructive examination (NDE) technology detection capabilities limit our ability to detect stress corrosion cracking (SCC) damage until it has progressed significantly. This work describes the continued development of an in-situ monitoring technique to detect and characterize mechanical damage caused by SCC, allowing the detection of the incipient stages of damage to components/piping. The application of this study is to prevent failures in the primary cooling loop piping in nuclear plants. The main benefit to the industry will be improved safety and component lifetime assessment with fewer inspections. The technique utilizes high resolution fiber optic strain gages mounted on the pipe outside diameter (OD). This technique has successfully detected changes in the residual stress profile caused by a crack propagating from the pipe inside diameter (ID). The gages have a resolution of less than 1 με. It has been shown experimentally for different crack geometries that the gages can readily detect the changes of approximately 10 to 60 με caused on the OD of the pipe due to crack initiation on the ID. This paper focuses on the latest in the development of the technology. Details of the previous work in this effort may be found in [1–3]. A short summary is provided in this paper. The main recent development was the full scale accelerated SCC cracking in boiling magnesium chloride (MgCl2) experiment. In conjunction with experimentation, both 2D and 3D finite element (FEA) models with thermal and mechanical analyses have been developed to simulate the changes in residual stresses in a welded pipe section as a SCC crack progresses.

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident shows that it is necessary to study potential severe accidents and corresponding mitigation measures for the spent fuel pool (SFP) of a nuclear power plant (NPP). This paper presents a study on the consequences of loss of heat removal accident in the spent fuel pool of a typical pressurized water reactor using the Modular Accident Analysis Program (MAAP5) code. Analysis of uncompensated loss of water due to the loss of heat removal with initial pool water level of 12.2 m (designated as a reference case) has been performed. The analyses cover a broad spectrum of severe accident in the spent fuel pool. Those consequences such as overheating of uncovered fuel assemblies, oxidation of zirconium and hydrogen generation, loss of intactness of fuel rod claddings, and release of radioactive fission product are also analyzed in this paper. Furthermore, as important mitigation measures, the effects of makeup water in SFP on the accident progressions have also been investigated based on the events of spent fuels uncovery. The results showed that spent fuels could be completely submerged and severe accident might be avoided if SFP makeup water system provided water with a mass flow rate higher than evaporation rate defined in the reference case. Although spent fuel assemblies partly exposed due to a mass flow rate of makeup water smaller than the average evaporation rate, continuous steam cooling and radiation heat transfer might maintain the spent fuels coolability as the actual evaporation was balanced by the makeup in a period of time of the order of several days. However, larger makeup rate should be guaranteed to ensure long-term safety of SFP.Copyright © 2014 by ASME

Accident at Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant significantly affected the nuclear industry at time when everybody was expecting the so called nuclear renaissance. There is no question that the accident has at least slowed it down. Research into this accident is taking place all over the world. In this paper we present the findings of research on Fukushima nuclear power plant accident in relation to the Czech Republic. The paper focuses on the analysis of human performance during the accident. Lessons learned from the accident and main human errors are presented. First the brief factors affecting the human performance are discussed. They are followed by the short description of activities on units 1–3. The key human errors in the accident mitigation are then identified. On unit 1 the main error is wrong understanding and operation of isolation condenser. On unit 2 the main errors were unsuccessful depressurization with subsequent delay of coolant injection. On unit 3 the main error is the shutdown of high pressure cooling injection system without first confirming that different means of cooling are available. These errors lead to fuel damage. On unit 1 the fuel damage was probably impossible to prevent, however on unit 2 and 3 it could be probably prevented. The lessons learned for the Czech Republic were presented. They can be summarizes as follows: be sure that plant personnel can and knows how to monitor and operate the crucial plant components, be sure that the procedures on how to fulfill the critical safety functions are available in the symptomatic manner for situations when there is no power available at the plant, train personnel for these situations and have sufficient human resource available for these situations.Copyright © 2014 by ASME

The Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan caused a significant impact on the nuclear power industry and public attitudes towards nuclear energy. The decreased public acceptance and the regulatory authorities’ stricter requirements of nuclear safety lead to the popularity of advanced safety technologies in scientific research and engineering projects. The demand for highly qualified human resources increases by the gradual recovery of the nuclear power field in China. In order to meet this demand, a series of course innovations are taken at Tsinghua University. Focusing on the course “Nuclear Power Plant Systems and Equipment,” the paper discusses the innovations of the course stimulated by the current industry trends and demands. A brief introduction to the special commissioned-student program at Tsinghua University is given. The paper investigates the meaning and function of the course in the frame of the curriculum plan for nuclear engineering students at Tsinghua University. The personal career plan, the industry outlook, and even the public attitudes contribute to senior students’ attitudes and demands for the course, which is tied closely to the effect of teaching. The paper addresses that the objective of the innovations is to develop a course fixing different students’ demands and help them build their ability to solve practical engineering problems in their future professional careers. The selection of teaching contents and the teaching strategy are discussed. This course takes Westinghouse AP1000 as the major point. And the nuclear power plant systems are taught in a divided way. One is the operation system, and the other is the safety system. This separation is based on the different functions and roles of these two parts and could have advantages in teaching effect. The paper explains the critical points of the systems and innovations of how to deal with course difficulties. There is a corresponding part of the safety system, and this part gets more challenges due to the industry trends. Lectures, group discussions, homework, and presentation projects are discussed. Besides, the paper considers possible efforts for further development of nuclear engineering courses.

Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIPing) has been used by Rolls-Royce to successfully manufacture nuclear plant components such as valves, piping, and pump casings; the majority of these components being manufactured from stainless steels, typically 316L. There are also considered to be potentially significant benefits to be gained by manufacturing large nuclear plant pressure vessels via the HIP process, such vessels commonly being manufactured from Low Alloy Steel (LAS) materials such as ASME SA-508. The benefits would include cost and lead-time reductions, which are particularly pertinent in relation to the competiveness of the power generation market and future nuclear power plant construction. Such vessels are a major cost and are critical path items of the primary plant. Also, material quality improvements and improved inspectability are possible via the HIP process. Welding vessel sections together using Thick-Section Electron Beam Welding (TSEBW) shows significant promise in reducing welding time and the provision of high quality welds, further reducing vessel cost and lead-time. There is also the potential with the use of TSEBW, to reduce weld inspection requirements with the weld being effectively the same as the parent material, i.e. no weld filler material is used. This paper presents an overview of the pioneering work conducted and planned by Rolls-Royce to develop a method of manufacture to combine HIPing and TSEBW to produce nuclear plant pressure vessels. Staged development is covered, starting with small billet manufacture for the purposes of material testing and examination, followed by vessel demonstrators for the purposes of proving the method of manufacture and to provide justification data, e.g. examination, pressure and thermal cyclic test data. In order to provide a balanced perspective, the paper also identifies the key challenges — risks, and capability development requirements necessary to deliver this method of manufacture.

Since 1982 the nuclear industry has employed weld overlay repairs to address intergranular stress corrosion cracking (IGSCC) in boiling water reactors (BWR) and primary water stress corrosion cracking (PWSCC) in pressurized water reactors (PWR). The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) has created several documents to provide rules and guidelines for weld overlay repair of nuclear components that have experienced stress corrosion cracking (SCC). These documents include ASME Code Case N-504-4 and ASME Section XI, Nonmandatory Appendix Q which specifically address weld overlay repair of stainless steel components. Recently, stainless steel components that have experienced thermal fatigue cracking at the inner diameter surfaces have been repaired with structural weld overlays (SWOL) using the methodology of Code Cases N-504-4 and N-740-2. The SWOL is a good choice for repair of thermal fatigue cracks in piping because it provides structural reinforcement to the affected location and places the inside diameter (ID) surface into compression preventing, or significantly reducing, further flaw growth. However, the rules of Case N-504-4 and N-740 were not specifically written to address thermal fatigue cracking as the primary cause and may not adequately address design, analysis and examination requirements when thermal fatigue is the active mechanism because it is very different in nature than SCC. For example, SCC is driven by a combination of environment, steady state operating stresses, residual stresses from welding and fabrication processes, and operating temperature, whereas thermal fatigue is driven by thermal stress cycles resulting from fluid thermal cycling or stratification. The source of the thermal events that result in cracking may not be as well understood or predictable as SCC degradation. In addition, weld overlays applied to address SCC are constructed of SCC resistant material but are not resistant to thermal fatigue. Therefore, ASME Section XI recognized that alternative rules were needed for repair of piping damaged by thermal fatigue. This paper provides a technical basis for weld overlay repair of components that have experienced thermal fatigue cracking. It addresses design, analysis and examination requirements considering the nature of thermal fatigue in nuclear piping systems. The Code Case was originally drafted based on the industry accepted rules of Case N-504-4 and Appendix Q but includes appropriate modifications needed to address thermal fatigue cracking. These modifications include removing restrictions such as the delta ferrite limit for PWRs that is only applicable to address SCC in BWR environments, and enhancements to the examination requirements to ensure that the repaired location is adequately monitored throughout the remaining service life of the plant. The purpose of this paper is to document the technical basis for Code Case N-894, which is currently still under development by ASME Section XI.

There is increased interest in the application of compact heat exchangers (CHXs) for nuclear service given their high thermal efficiency and compactness. CHXs are fabricated by joining a stack of etched plates with dense microchannels through diffusion bonding. Diffusion bonding material has basic mechanical properties that differ from a base material, requiring appropriate mechanical properties and allowable stresses for design. Existing nuclear code ASME Section III, Division 5 does not address diffusion bonded materials . Hence, there is a need to develop material properties and allowable stresses of diffusion bonded materials and weldments. In this paper, one candidate material, Alloy 800H, was selected for diffusion bonding trials. Preliminary results obtained from a series of tensile and creep tests suggest that the diffusion bonded material is weaker than the base metal 800H. These experimental data are used in determining recommended allowable stresses of the diffusion bonded 800H material. In this paper, tables of the strength reduction factors for various allowable stresses which includes Smt, So, St, Sy and Su for diffusion bonded Alloy 800H are presented. These reduction factors are applicable to CHX design. The Larson Miller Parameter (LMP) is used to extrapolate short term creep tests to longer creep life and lower temperatures, and estimate the onset of tertiary creep strain.

ISO 4409 is the most important international standard for measuring the efficiency of hydraulic pumps and motors, the latest edition being 4409:2007. The standard describes methods for determining the steady-state performance in terms of overall efficiency. It also defines equations for calculating the volumetric efficiency of pumps and motors. The hydro-mechanical efficiency is only defined for motors, not for pumps. This paper analyses the efficiency and losses of pumps and motors in an alternative way. The preference is on loss analysis instead of efficiencies. Especially the effects of the bulk modulus are considered in a different and more inclusive manner. The new methodology results in a higher total loss for motor and a lower total loss for pumps than the current ISO 4409 standard. Furthermore, it results in significant changes of the hydro-mechanical and volumetric losses. The differences between the new methodology and ISO 4409 become larger for high load pressures. The new methodology demands knowledge about the minimum volume of the displacement chamber. The ratio between this volume and the full displacement of a single displacement chamber strongly influences the hydro-mechanical and volumetric losses of the pump or motor. The new methodology is valid for all positive displacement hydrostatic pumps and motors. The volumetric efficiency, as defined in ISO 4409, can still be used as a flow rate factor, but should not be regarded as an energy conversion efficiency. The importance of adopting the proposed methodology is further demonstrated by analyzing and comparing the measurement data about a fixed displacement pump and motor, showing the differences in the loss analysis by means of ISO 4409 and the new equations. The methodology, observations and validation results presented in this paper are significant and can pave the road for improving the current ISO 4409:2007 standard, which would ultimately benefit the industry.

This paper presents a summary on the ongoing research and development of a solid-state piezoelectric composite rotor design for use in rotary systems. The paper focuses on the theoretical analysis of a two-bladed rotor with varying parameters such as flight speed, blade pitch angle, and rotational speed. XROTOR, a blade element method based software, is used for analysis. The two-dimensional aerodynamic characteristics are acquired from the previous research on a Macro-Fiber Composite actuated simply supported thin airfoil. A set of simulations are conducted to determine the best geometric configuration, so the piezoelectric increase in thrust is maximized. The proposed hub-rotor system has the potential to be implemented in unmanned-aerial-vehicles such as single-rotor, tandem-rotor, multi-copter, and ducted-fan rotorcraft, or other rotating systems such as wind turbines, turbine engines, and marine propellers. This paper presents a summary of previous findings on a solid-state rotor prototype, and a new investigation on the theoretical aerodynamic behavior.

Individual engineering design projects face different challenges depending on their scale. Instead of dealing with problems of complex multidisciplinary systems, small scale design must overcome issues of limited resources. The philosophy of agile software development has been highly successful in addressing similar issues in the software engineering realm over the past two decades. Through the design and prototyping of a low-budget desktop stereolithography printer, the application of agile principles to engineering design process is explored. The printer’s design is discussed in detail to provide examples of successes and failures when these agile principles are put into practice. The paper concludes with a discussion of how agile principles could be leveraged in engineering design. The approach taken in this paper is more of a longitudinal study of a single design process over a twelve-month period as opposed to rigorous experiments that engage multiple users in short design scenarios. Nonetheless, this case study demonstrates how the application of agile principles can inform, improve, and complement traditional engineering design processes.

A typical Fluid Catalytic Cracking Unit (FCCU) generates high temperature flue gas in the process of regenerating the catalyst. This flue gas is diverted to a stack after removal of catalyst fines and excess heat using a Waste Heat Recovery Unit (WHRU) or CO boiler. This flue gas line is a large diameter (1.2 m /2 m) piping and is a combination of Hot Wall (bare SS304H piping with external insulation) upstream of Orifice Chamber and Cold Wall (Carbon steel piping with internal refractory lining) for the downstream side. In a major revamp project, large portion of flue gas line was replaced with some dimensional and design changes. A crack was noticed at the SS304H side of hot wall to cold wall transition joint downstream of Orifice Chamber after approximately 2 years in operation. The line operates around 700 °C and 0.15 Bar(g) at the location of the crack. The initial crack was measured to be approximately 250 mm to 300 mm and grew to a full circumference crack in a short time resulting in minor flue gas leaking with catalyst fines. This paper discusses the details on how the issue was addressed on site and a temporary repair (i.e. welding of a box on high temperature piping) was carried out online safely, while the unit remained in operation. Further, the paper presents the root cause assessment and design modifications implemented for hot wall to cold wall transition joint during a scheduled turnaround.

Test facilities capable of simulating relevant operational environments for validating novel concepts are indispensable for advancing the state-of-the-art in turbomachinery sealing technology. A test rig suitable for demonstrating full-scale rotor-stator sealing concepts under operational environments relevant for a variety of turbomachinery gas paths was designed and commissioned at GE’s Seals Test Facility. The test rig, called the Advanced Seals Test Rig (or ASTR), can simulate conditions that include a range of rotor speeds, fluid pressures and temperatures, from steady state operating conditions of high pressure turbines of aircraft engines to sections of steam turbines. The present paper provides a system level description of the test rig. The main test section of the rig is housed within the centerpiece of a stamped pressure vessel. A drive train penetrates the pressure vessel and consists of an integral saddle mounted rotor. A motor connected to a high-speed gearbox through couplings on each end permits rotation of the test rotor. The test rotor is supported by two bearing pedestals. The paper describes these rig subsystems with focus on novel features for ease of operation. Key instrumentation and operating procedures that enable the rig to operate safely are also described. Key drivers of the rig design, such as test requirements, rotordynamics, mechanical design, ergonomics, safety and test productivity are outlined. Mechanical design considerations include strict requirements for thermal and pressure deformation under demanding conditions of pressure and temperature. Commissioning of the rig included phases of fabrication, installation, shakeout, calibration and benchmarking. Key learnings from the rig design and commissioning process, as well as operations, are summarized.

The paper is part of the European research program JABACO (2015–2018), on the optimization of design and construction of offshore jacket platforms for supporting large wind turbines (5–10 MW) in water depths ranging from 30m to 80m. In particular, the paper describes an experimental investigation on the high-cycle fatigue performance of welded tubular connections, subjected to in-plane bending loading. Experimental results from seven (7) X-joint specimens are presented. The specimens were manufactured with 18-inch-diameter tubes and a brace-to-chord-diameter ratio equal to 1. Furthermore, the brace-to-chord-thickness ratio is equal 0.6, and the brace-chord angle is 90-degrees. The specimens are made of regular carbon steel grade 355, and have been fabricated using two different welding techniques: (a) manual (semi-automatic) welding (5 specimens); and (b) robot (automatic) welding (2 specimens). The comparison of the fatigue design life of those welding methods is a major objective of the present study. Prior to testing, numerical simulations have been performed to determine the critical locations around the weld toe, for proper instrumentation of the tubular specimens in terms of strain gage locations. This research work aims at a critical evaluation of available design standards, towards the development of more reliable design tools and reduction of the construction cost of the platform.

The Direct Current Potential Drop (DCPD) method is a common method used to detect the initiation of cracks, measure crack growth rates and monitor crack propagation. The method records total measurement of crack propagation, and can be used without visual accessibility, being suitable for special environments like high temperature, high pressure and sour service. Due to the discontinuity represented by the presence of a crack, when electric current flows through the component the crack size can be measured indirectly by the change of the electrical field. The potential difference can be related to crack size through experimental, analytical or numerical calibration curves. Analytical solutions are only limited to a small number of simpler geometries and homogeneous material. For clad and lined pipe, the clad/liner is stainless steel or nickel base alloys but the base pipe is carbon steel. The conductivities of the different materials are different. For lined pipe a small gap exists between liner and base pipe, this may change the electrical field around the root of girth weld. In this paper, finite element analyses are performed to generate the numerical calibration curves for the fatigue crack growth rate testing in sour service environment for clad and lined pipe girth welds. The method developed and described in this paper measures the fatigue crack growth rate for the crack located at the weld root which is in direct contact with the operating environment.

The present-day stage of nuclear-power engineering development raises sharply a number of complicated questions regarding the guarantee of safety operation of nuclear power-generating units of operating and designed Nuclear Power Plant (NPP). The most important of these unsolved technological problems were considered in [1] on the base of analysis of ways of operation reliability improvement for Nuclear Power Installations (NPI) with WWER and RBMK reactors. In connection with the priorities formulated in [1], in papers [2–6] the main aspects of approaches available for solution of most complex problem are considered: the development of methods of early identification of initial phases of emergency operation regimes in such nuclear power-generating units which are critically important for NPI trouble-free operation. It is necessary to stress, that reliable identification of the anomalies mentioned, especially of thermal-hydraulic nature ones in core region of nuclear reactor, must be provided under conditions when such operating troubles can not yet be detected by the issued supervisory instruments of NPI. Taking into account the requirement to prospective diagnostic provision of NPP equipment, in papers [2–5] are underlined that at present time the development of effective methods of anomalies identification in NPI equipment and development of mathematical software support on base of these methods for computer-aided diagnostic systems on base of AI conceptions in structure of hardware of operator support tools of new generation NPP are considered as the main condition which determine the development of diagnostic means with mentioned functional possibilities.Copyright © 2013 by ASME

SuperCritical Water-cooled nuclear Reactor (SCWR) is one of the six nuclear-reactor concepts being developed under the Generation IV International Forum (GIF) initiative. A generic 1200-MWel pressure-channel SCWR operates at a pressure of 25 MPa with coolant inlet and outlet temperatures of 350°C and 625°C, respectively. High coolant outlet temperature allows for high thermal efficiencies within the range of 45–50%. On the other hand, the high operating temperature of SCWR in turn results in high fuel centerline and sheath temperatures. Hence, it is necessary to determine a power distribution inside a core of a reactor in order to ensure that a fuel and a fuel-bundle design comply with their corresponding temperature limits. The main objective of this paper is to determine a power distribution inside the core of a generic SCWR by using a lattice code DRAGON and a diffusion code DONJON. As a result of these calculations, heat-flux profiles in all fuel channels were determined. Consequently, the heat-flux profile in a channel with the maximum thermal power was used as an input into a thermalhydraulic code, which was developed in MATLAB in order to calculate a fuel centerline temperature of UO2 and UC nuclear fuels and a sheath temperature of a new fuel-bundle design. Results of this analysis showed that the fuel centerline temperature of the UC fuel was significantly lower than that of the UO2. This paper also proposes four energy groups for further neutronic studies related to SCWRs.

This paper reports the results of experiments and finite element simulations on the structural response of piping systems to internal detonation loading. Specifically, the work described in this paper focuses on the forces that are produced at tee-junctions that lead to axial and bending structural responses of the piping system. Detonation experiments were conducted in a 2-in. (50 mm) diameter schedule 40 piping system that was fabricated using 304 stainless steel and welded to ASME B31.3 standards. The 4.1 m (162-in.) long piping system included one tee and was supported using custom brackets and cantilever beams fastened to steel plates that were bolted to the laboratory walls. Nearly-ideal detonations were used in a 30/70 H2-N2O mixture at 1 atm initial pressure and 300 K. Pressure and hoop, axial, and support strains were measured using a high-speed (1 MHz) digital data acquisition system and calibrated signal conditioners. It was concluded that detonations propagate through the run of a 90° tee with relatively little disturbance in either direction. The detonation load increases by approximately a factor of 2 when the detonation enters through the branch. The deflections of the cantilever beam supports and the hoop and axial pipe strains could be adequately predicted by finite element simulations. The support loads are adequately predicted as long as the supports are constrained to the piping. This paper shows that with relatively simple models, quantitative predictions of tee forces can be made for the purposes of design or safety analysis of piping systems subject to internal detonations.

The paper describes an innovative RADAR-based methodology to monitor vibrations in pipes and structures. RADARs sense vibrations from zero to thousands of kHz with a spatial sensitivity that goes down to a few micrometers in the best cases and they never saturates even for very large motions. Furthermore, they do it remotely, say tens of meters. The paper provides a critical analysis of performance of such technique and a cross-validation with both controlled vibration in laboratories and measures from accelerometers in campaigns in compression gas stations.Copyright © 2013 by ASME

The Generation IV International Forum (GIF) is intended to encourage the world’s leading nuclear countries to develop nuclear energy systems that can supply future energy demands. There are six nuclear reactor concepts under research and development as part of the GIF. The SuperCritical Water-cooled Reactor (SCWR) is one of these six nuclear-reactor concepts. The proposed SCWRs operate at high temperatures and pressures at around 625°C and 25 MPa, respectively. These high operating parameters are essential in order to achieve a thermal efficiency of around 45–50%, which is significantly higher than those of the current conventional nuclear power plant (NPPs) which operate at a thermal efficiency in the range of 30–35%. The SCWRs high operating temperatures and pressures impose many challenges. One of these challenges is the heating of the fuel to temperatures that can cause fuel melting. The main objective of this paper is to conduct a sensitivity analysis in order to determine the factors mostly affecting the fuel centerline temperature. In this process, different thermal conductivity fuels such as Mixed Oxide Fuel (MOX), Uranium Oxide + Beryllium Oxide (UO2+BeO), and Uranium Carbide (UC) will be examined enclosed in a 54-element fuel bundle. Other factors such as the sheath material and the Heat Transfer Coefficient (HTC) might also affect the fuel centerline temperature. The HTC will be increased by a multiple of two and the fuel centerline temperature will be calculated. Therefore, in this paper the HTC, bulk-fluid, sheath and fuel centerline temperature will be calculated along the heated length of a generic SCWR fuel channel at an average channel thermal power of 8.5 MWth.

Process improvement and plant optimization are common initiatives among Utilities and Independent Power Producers (IPP). This paper intends to outline the value and challenges with obtaining data to support these initiatives and provide for good business decisions. Typical information, such as performance acceptance tests and heat balance design data is essential when evaluating plant performance. Normal, on-going operating data at full load conditions is also needed when making decisions regarding plant improvements. However, obtaining all the necessary data is not always possible and with the current market conditions, conducting performance tests may not be economical. When faced with a known performance deficiency, determining the root cause and options for performance recovery can be difficult in any situation. When design data is hard to come by and operating data difficult to obtain, making an informed decision can be more of an art than a science. An example of the decision process used to upgrade the capacity for a gas turbine combined cycle facility is explained in detail in this paper. The results of the process show that even with limited available data for the facility, improvements in performance can be achieved.

In order to research the performance of Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) with 1/3 MOX fuel in the initial cycle, this paper serves Qinshan II reactor core as the reference core to design suitable MOX assemblies and study relevant core properties. The analyses documented within use assembly cross section calculation code CASMO-4 and core calculation code SIMULATE-3 studied by Studsvik. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that the Qinshan II reactor is capable of complying with the requirement for MOX fuel utilization without significant changes to the design of the plant. Several impacts on key physics parameters and safety analysis assumptions, introduced by MOX, are discussing in the paper.Copyright © 2012 by ASME

The Atucha II nuclear power plant is a pressurized heavy water reactor being constructed in Argentina. Nuclear power plants must be designed to maintain their integrity and performance of safety functions for a bounding set of normal operational events as well as abnormal events that might occur during the lifetime of the plant. Seismic fracture mechanics evaluations for the Atucha II plant showed that even with a seismic event with the amplitudes corresponding to an event with a probability of 10−6 per year, that a double-ended guillotine break (DEGB) was pragmatically impossible due to the incredibly high leakage rates and total loss of make-up water inventory. The critical circumferential through-wall flaw size for this case is 94-percent of the circumference. These analyses are performed by placing cracked-pipe-elements into a complete model of the primary cooling system including the reactor pressure vessel, pumps, and steam generators as summarized in the paper. This paper summarizes these results and further shows how much higher the applied accelerations would have to be to cause a DEGB for an initial circumferential through-wall crack that was 33 percent (about 120°) around the circumference. This flaw length would also be easily detected by leakage and loss of make-up water inventory. These analyses showed that the applied seismic peak-ground accelerations had to exceed 25 g’s for the case of this through-wall-crack to become a DEGB during a single seismic loading event. This is a factor of 80 times higher than the 10−6 seismic event accelerations, or 240 times higher than the SSE accelerations. This suggests there is a huge safety margin for beyond design basis seismic events and Atucha II plant rupture is pragmatically impossible. These surprising results are discussed and could be potentially applicable to other nuclear power plants as well.

It is well known that the electrical-power generation is the key factor for advances in any other industries, agriculture and level of living. In general, electrical energy can be produced by: 1) non-renewable sources such as coal, natural gas, oil, and nuclear; and 2) renewable sources such as hydro, wind, solar, biomass, geothermal and marine. However, the main sources for electrical-energy production are: 1) thermal - primary coal and secondary natural gas; 2) nuclear and 3) hydro. The rest of the sources might have visible impact just in some countries. Therefore, thermal and nuclear electrical-energy production as the major source is considered in the paper. From thermodynamics it is well known that higher thermal efficiencies correspond to higher temperatures and pressures. Therefore, modern SuperCritical (SC)-pressure coal-fired power plants have thermal efficiencies within 43–50% and even slightly above. Steam-generator outlet temperatures or steam-turbine inlet temperatures have reached a level of about 625°C (and even higher) at pressures of 25–30 (35–38) MPa. This is the largest application of SC pressures in industry. In spite of advances in coal-fired power-plants they are still considered as not environmental friendly due to producing a lot of carbon-dioxide emissions as a result of combustion process plus ash, slag and even acid rains. The most efficient modern thermal-power plants with thermal efficiencies within a range of 50–60%, are so-called, combined-cycle power plants, which use natural gas as a fuel. Natural gas is considered as a clean fossil fuel compared to coal and oil, but still due to combustion process emits a lot of carbon dioxide when it used for electrical generation. Therefore, a new reliable and environmental friendly source for the electrical-energy generation should be considered. Nuclear power is also a non-renewable source as the fossil fuels, but nuclear resources can be used for significantly longer time than some fossil fuels plus nuclear power does not emit carbon dioxide into atmosphere. Currently, this source of energy is considered as the most viable one for electrical generation for the next 50–100 years. Current, i.e., Generation II and III, Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) consist of water-cooled reactors NPPs with the thermal efficiency of 30–35% (vast majority of reactors); subcritical carbon-dioxide-cooled reactors NPPs with the thermal efficiency up to 42% and liquid-sodium-cooled reactor NPP with the thermal efficiency of 40%. Therefore, the current fleet of NPPs, especially, water-cooled NPPs, are not very competitive compared to modern thermal power plants. Therefore, next generation or Generation-IV reactors with new parameters (NPPs with the thermal efficiency of 43–50% and even higher for all types of reactors) are currently under development worldwide. Generation-IV nuclear-reactor concept such as SuperCritical Water-cooled Reactor (SCWR) is intended to operate with direct or in-direct SC-“steam” Rankine cycle. Lead-cooled Fast Reactor (LFR) can be connected to SC-“steam” Rankine cycle or SC CO2 Brayton cycle through heat exchangers. In general, other Generation IV reactor concepts can be connected to either one or another cycle through heat exchangers. Therefore, this paper discusses various aspects of application of SC fluids in power engineering.

Codified fitness for service methods such as API 579 or BS 7910 require consideration of residual stresses in fracture assessments, and guidance is given for upper bound residual stress distributions in common weld geometries. However, these distributions are not appropriate for some welding processes currently or historically used in the manufacture of linepipe, such as high frequency induction welding or flash butt welding. In addition, some linepipe manufacturing routes generate large plastic strains which result in high residual forming stresses, or mechanically relax residual stresses generated in earlier stages of production. This paper first reviews the code recommendations for the effects of plastic strains and stresses from high level pressure testing on residuals stresses. The paper then briefly describes the major methods of producing carbon steel linepipe and provides recommended residual stress levels for the seam weld and parent material of linepipe using the code recommendations. These are based on assumed uniform residual stresses combined with mechanical stress relaxation due to manufacturing steps such as cold expansion and hydrostatic testing. The recommendations are compared with measured residual stress levels from the open literature. Proposals are given for reduced residual stress levels when assessing axial cracks in carbon steel linepipe.

Additive manufacturing (AM) also known as 3D printing is defined as a bottom-up layer on layer process of joining materials to make objects from 3D CAD models. Of particular interest in this paper is a powder bed fusion technique, namely Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) method to sinter metal powders. The advantages of metal 3D printing, e.g. high strength-to-density ratio, rapid prototyping, etc. are the motivations to employ this new disruptive technology in the marine sector, besides its current applications in medical, defense, aerospace, and automotive industries. The current study is part of a series of collaborative work initiated by Marine Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence (MAMCE) in which the bending strain capacity of two welded linepipes at the most critical failure point of SCR (i.e. touch-down zone) was examined. This paper comprises two main sections; in the first part a continuum finite element model was developed to simulate welding induced residual stresses and the results were calibrated with existing data in published literature; and the last part is dedicated to examination of bending strain capacity of the welded pipe. The methodology is used for two different model; a conventional stainless steel pipe; and a hybrid (i.e. Maraging steel-stainless steel) riser made using 3D metal printing technique in existence of welding induced residual stresses (i.e. section one). A comparison between the hybrid SCR model and conventional carbon steel one under similar conditions was presented providing valuable perspective over bending performance of each kind. The major outcomes of this paper are the residual stress pattern and bending moment-curvature graphs for both types of the pipe configurations, which comparatively demonstrate the significance of the type of manufacturing (AM and conventional methods), and existence of welding residual stress and internal pressure on bending behavior of SCR.

The GMAW process using two wires is an alternative to a coating process when high productivity is desired. The potential variants emerging from this process are GMAW cold wire and GMAW double wire. One of the greatest difficulties is the setting of its parameters, which duplication compared to conventional GMAW and also act in a dependent manner. A greater understanding of the technology applied to coatings on turbines in various positions is critical to master the process and its variables for enhancing industrial applications. This study involves an experimental evaluation to verify the influence of some variables on the profile of cord and wear resistance. This paper proposes making deposits with weld metal AWS 308LSi stainless steel and alloys of cobalt (Stellite 6 and 21) plates in carbon steel SAE 1020 in the flat positions. The wear characterization in the lining is used to determine the hardness and surface topography. It is concluded that cobalt alloys have superior resistance to erosive damage, with emphasis on Stellite 21 with respect to erosion and Stellite 6 with respect to cavitation. Mixtures of austenitic stainless steel and cobalt alloys have intermediate wear values. Therefore, it is essential to study welding processes with multiple wires, as proposed in this paper, to determine the optimal combination of alloys for resistance to cavitation-erosion phenomena.

Comparatively slow growth in power storage and generation makes power-efficient designs desirable for legged robot systems. One important cause of power losses in robotic systems is the mechanical antagonism phenomenon, i.e. one or more motors being used as brakes while the others exert positive energy. This two-part paper first develops a rigorous understanding of mechanical antagonism in multiactuator robotic limbs. We show that, for a 6-DoF robot arm, there exist 4096 distinct regions in the force-velocity space of the end effector (the regions are distinguishable by the sign of the actuator powers). Only sixty-four of these regions correspond with operating points where all actuators exert positive power into the system. In the second part of the paper, we formulate a convex optimization problem which minimizes mechanical antagonism in redundant manipulators. We solve the optimization problem which becomes the derivation for a new, power-optimal, pseudoinverse for non-square Jacobians. In fact, two such pseudoinverses are derived: one for statically determinate systems, such as serial manipulators, and one for statically indeterminate systems, such as parallel manipulators.

People with visual disability need assistance in reading and writing by converting text to braille. Braille allows tactile display of the information for the visually impaired. Refreshable braille displays are commonly available in developed countries for a high price with the number of cells the display contains being the most influential factor on that price. Low-income blind individuals from developing countries cannot afford an expensive refreshable braille display, which in turn limits their access to digital information. The purpose to this paper is to explore design options for reducing the cost of refreshable braille displays. The paper begins with a summary of currently available refreshable braille displays on the market and their features. Next, the design requirements are explored for developing a low-cost device for visually impaired users in the developing countries. The paper also explains the state-of-the-art technologies for actuating the braille dots that may reduce the cost of the device. Finally, the recommendations for reducing the cost of these displays are presented.

Threaded closures for pressure vessels have been in use for decades. Much work has been done to develop safe threaded closures. Threaded closures are very advantageous when there is a need for opening the vessel at intervals for maintenance purposes. Heat Exchangers are a typical application where there is a need for opening the vessel to get good access to the inside and outside of the tubes for mechanical cleaning, thus maintaining heat transfer efficiency. These are known as Screw Plug Heat Exchangers and are basically U-tube heat exchangers. The tube side normally operates at high pressure and temperature and is closed by a threaded end closure. Two problems are often encountered in screw plug heat exchangers. These are: 1. Leakage through the gasket at the tubesheet causing intermixing of shell side and tube side fluids, which is unacceptable 2. Jamming of the threaded plug due to deformation of channel barrel In an earlier paper (PVP2016-63137) these problems were studied for a vessel designed to ASME Section VIII Div. 1. It was found that leakage through the tubesheet gasket could be eliminated by changing the gasket to a grooved metal gasket with covering layers as defined in ASME B16.20. Preventing leakage from the tubesheet gasket is extremely necessary to get the ultra-low sulphur requirements for clean fuel. In the work reported in this paper, a procedure for obtaining leak-free performance on a vessel designed to ASME Section VIII Div. 2 was developed and verified using a prototype. Code formulae for calculation of thickness of various parts normally consider only the need to limit the component stress to be within allowable limits defined in the Code. Allowable stresses for Section VIII Div. 2 construction may be about 18 % higher than the allowable stress for Section VIII Div. 1 construction at design temperature, thereby allowing thinner sections for the same design conditions. As the thinner sections would deform more, the likelihood of jamming of the end cover could be more severe in ASME Section VIII Div. 2 constructions. Hence this study was additionally undertaken to verify the adequacy of the earlier proposed design methodology, i.e., use of an additional steel ring shrunk fit to the end of the channel to prevent flaring of the channel and jamming of screw threads, for Section VIII Div. 2 constructions.

This paper presents a finite element analysis (FEA) based approach to perform crack growth evaluation of remnant cracks in a mockup with a partial arc excavate and weld repair (EWR). The partial arc EWR is a mitigation option to address stress corrosion cracking (SCC) in nuclear power plant piping systems. The mockup is a dissimilar metal weld (DMW) consisting of an SA-508 Class 3 low alloy steel forging buttered with Alloy 182 welded to a Type 316L stainless steel plate with Alloy 82/182 weld metal. This material configuration represents a typical DMW of original construction in a pressurized water reactor (PWR). To create a representative partial arc EWR application, the outer half of the DMW is excavated and repaired with Alloy 52M weld metal. The crack growth evaluation process presented herein represents an advanced method to evaluate the Alloy 82/182 remnant crack growth as required by ASME Code Case N-847 for implementing a partial arc EWR, which is currently being considered via letter ballot at ASME BPV Standards Committee XI. After the repair, any crack that remains in the Alloy 82/182 remnant and underneath the EWR needs to be evaluated for stress corrosion cracking (SCC) to assess its potential to grow beyond the EWR coverage area. Conventional fracture mechanics approach may not be suitable to evaluate such a remnant crack because of its close proximity to multiple materials of different mechanical properties and unconventional crack shape. In the crack growth evaluation, a crack that is reminiscent of a circumferential crack in a pipe, and a crack that is reminiscent of a laminar crack in a pipe are evaluated to predict the time for each of them to grow beyond the partial arc EWR coverage arc length. It is expected that the approach, analysis steps, calculation procedures presented in this paper will be applicable to analyzing a pipe geometry using realistic residual stresses and operating stresses for an EWR.

The standard practice recommended for high pressure vessels, having heavy walls, requires the implementation of weld joint preparation with narrow gap technique; this generally calls for a ‘two beads per layer’ sequence alongside the use of the submerged arc welding process. This process provides a high quality and uniformed weld joint whilst also reducing the residual stresses after welding. In refinery equipment that are subjected to high pressures and are exposed to hydrogen environment, high strength materials such as 2 1/4 Cr 1 Mo 1/4 V are commonly used. A recent study conducted on this material, and the process of submerged arc welding with narrow gap technique ‘two beads per layer,’ had identified a potential issue in complying with ASME Code specified creep resistance properties. In another setting, with regards to the properties of toughness in weld joints, other possible inconsistencies, in the narrow gap weld joint, between the weld centerline and center bead, were found. In order to overcome the deficiencies stated above, an innovative welding technology is presented in this paper which is based on the preparation of a narrower groove than the commonly used narrow gap technique. Such groove has been designed to implement the ‘single bead per layer’ approach. This paper illustrates that the use of this new technique results in improved quality of weld seams as applied in heavy wall high pressure vessels used in creep regime. The welding process considered is that of tandem submerged arc welding with two wires. The mechanical characteristics and results obtained by comparing the two techniques ‘two beads per layer’, and the new innovative one ‘single bead per layer’ will be evidenced and discussed.