Simplified J estimation methods for cracked cylinders under combined thermal and mechanical loading

In the field of non-linear fracture mechanics, a lot of work has been done on structures submitted to mechanical loadings. However, for thermal loadin gs and particularly for thermal shocks, only few results are available. The aim of this paper is to present the main results of a complete set of fini te element (FE) computations, conducted by CEA, EDF and FRAMATOME, on crack ed cylinders submitted to combined mechanical and thermal loads. The intera ction between these two types of loads is analysed in the cases of austenit ic and ferritic structures. Moreover, these results are compared to the pre dictions obtained by simplified engineering methods (R6 procedure and two F rench approaches) in order to improve them. Their domain of validity is als o discussed. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.