“…Furthermore, test I conditions of most of these simplified accelerated studies of DHC are characterized by several other aspects, i.e., unirradiated hydrided specimens, Mode I compact-tension specimens, little or no residual stress in the specimens, negligible driving force for hydrogen diffusion due to temperature gradient, and short test duration (i.e., typically less than several days versus 10-20 years for DHC in CANDU pressure tubes, and long-term for SNF cladding in a waste repository). Based on laboratory studies of this type, a threshold stress-intensity factor KIH of 5.5-8.0 MPamln was reported for CANDU pressure tube materials (Simpson and Puls 1979;Puls et al 1982;Shi and Puls 1996).…”