Numerical analysis of the blanking process of Inconel 718 sheets for nuclear fuel spacer grids
Rafael Oliveira Santos1; Luciano Pessanha Moreira1; Marcelo Costa Cardoso2
1 Universidade Federal Fluminense; 2 UFF
doi:10.20906/CPS/COB-2015-0359
Resumo
Spacer grid assembly supporting the nuclear fuel rods is an important concern in the design of structural components of a Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR). The spacer grid is composed by springs and dimples which are formed from a strip sheet by means of blanking and stamping process. In particular, the blanking process may produce forming defects such as scratches, cracks and cavities. These defects are typically induced by the formation of burrs and slivers resulting from the shearing process owing to the clearance between the punch and the die or else tooling wear. In this work, blanking process parameters, namely, the punch velocity and punch-die clearance, as well as the tooling geometry are numerically evaluated by means of a plane-strain finite element model in order to evaluate the quality of the sheared edges of Inconel 718 strips.
Palavras-chave: Spacer grids; Blanking process; Inconel 718; Damage; Finite Element Modelling