Determination of CANDU End Fitting Jacking Limits Using Elastic–Plastic Finite Element Analysisn1

Abstract

In one CANDU reactor unit in Ontario, the west end fitting is designed to connect to the end shield via a stop collar. The outboard end of the stop collar is welded to an attachment ring, which shrink-fits on the end fitting body. The east side end fitting is supported by inboard and outboard journal rings resting on their respective bearing sleeves, which allow the “free” axial movement of the channel. In support of some maintenance activities, the west end fitting is required to be jacked to get certain clearance for accommodating the operating tools. The previous elastic calculation got the jacking limit of 8.89 mm, which did not provide enough clearance for tooling. In this paper, an elastic–plastic finite element analysis following ASME B&PV code Section III, Division 1, Subsection NB is performed to increase the jacking limit. The finite element analysis is carried out using ANSYS and validated by an ABAQUS model. In the elastic–plastic finite element analysis, the following effects are considered: strain hardening of stop collar material, stress concentration in stop collar weld, notch effect on stress concentration, and fatigue in stop collar. Cyclic jacking loads as displacement controlled loading are applied in the analysis. Considering the time to the end of unit life, the maximum anticipated end fitting jacking cycles are eight. The higher jacking limit is achieved with an acceptable plastic deformation and fatigue damage at the stop collar, which is the weakest part during the end fitting jacking. The results show that the end fitting can be jacked at west side end-face with 29.7 mm for 1–3 cycles, 29.2 mm for 4 cycles, 26.2 mm for 5 cycles, 24.1 mm for 6 cycles, 21.6 mm for 7 cycles, and 20.3 mm for 8 cycles. The jacking limits achieved in this paper provide enough clearance for the required maintenance operations.