Molecular Dynamics Simulation of Crack Propagation for Leak Before Break (LBB)

Leak before break(LBB) is an important analysis method for insuring the structure safety and reliability of nuclear reactor. Now LBB technology is widely used in nuclear power plant design. It has a good development in foreign countries, but domestic research is relatively little. The study of crack propagation is core of LBB analysis. In this paper the Molecular dynamics simulations of crack propagation for material of pipes in China Experimental Fast Reactor(CEFR) were studied. The temperature on the flaw in the top of the model has a significant effect, and the position of the flaw would affect the damage form and the damage position of material analyzing the deformation of models. For the same model, temperature has a significant effect on crack propagation process. The analysis of this paper has a guiding role for the LBB analysis of pipes from microcosmic angle.