Mechanized ultrasonic inspection of austenitic pipe systems; Mechanisierte Ultraschallpruefung von austenitischen Rohrleitungen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dressler, K.; Luecking, J.; Medenbach, S. [ABB ZAQ GmbH, Essen (Germany)

1999-08-01

The contribution explains the system of standard testing methods elaborated by ABB ZAQ GmbH for inspection of austenitic plant components. The inspection tasks explained in greater detail are basic materials testing (straight pipes, bends, and pipe specials), and inspection of welds and dissimilar welds. The techniques discussed in detail are those for detection and sizing of defects. (orig./CB) [Deutsch] Das Ziel dieses Beitrages ist die Vorstellung der von der ABB ZAQ GmbH eingesetzten Standardprueftechniken fuer die Pruefung austenitischer Anlagenkomponenten. Im einzelnen wird die Grundwerkstoffpruefung (Rohre, Boegen, Formstuecke), die Schweissnahtpruefung und die Mischnahtpruefung angesprochen. Es werden dabei die Techniken fuer `Detection` und `Sizing` differenziert betrachtet und erlaeutert. (orig.)

Experimental electro-thermal method for nondestructively testing welds in stainless steel pipes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Green, D.R.

1979-01-01

Welds in austenitic stainless steel pipes are notoriously difficult to nondestructively examine using conventional ultrasonic and eddy current methods. Survace irregularities and microscopic variations in magnetic permeability cause false eddy current signal variations. Ultrasonic methods have been developed which use computer processing of the data to overcome some of the problems. Electro-thermal nondestructive testing shows promise for detecting flaws that are difficult to detect using other NDT methods. Results of a project completed to develop and demonstrate the potential of an electro-thermal method for nondestructively testing stainless steel pipe welds are presented. Electro-thermal NDT uses a brief pulse of electrical current injected into the pipe. Defects at any depth within the weld cause small differences in surface electrical current distribution. These cause short-lived transient temperature differences on the pipe's surface that are mapped using an infrared scanning camera. Localized microstructural differences and normal surface roughness in the welds have little effect on the surface temperatures

Stress-free reference for neutron diffraction measurement of residual stress in butt-welded joints of austenitic stainless steel pipes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maekawa, Akira; Takahashi, Tsuneo; Tsuji, Takashi; Suzuki, Hiroshi; Moriai, Atsushi

2012-01-01

Stress-free lattice spacing d_0 has the most influence on reliability of neutron stress measurements made using an angle dispersive method. However, it is hard to evaluate the lattice spacing of welded structures and ductile materials such as stainless steel accurately. In this study, suitable measurement conditions for d_0 of welded pipe joints of austenitic stainless steel were discussed. The d_0 values derived from {311} and {111} reflections, which are often used in austenitic stainless steel for residual stress measurement, were examined. Comparison of the residual strains and stresses evaluated using the obtained d_0 and the finite element analysis showed that the way the d_0 values were chosen affected the measurement accuracy significantly. The stress measurement accuracy was remarkably improved when the {311} reflection was used and the proper d_0 value was chosen in the respective neutron diffraction measurements. For instance, for the axial diffraction measurements using the {311} reflection, it was recommended that only the axial d_0 value of the {311} reflection be used; the measurements using the {111} reflection were less accurate due to the large Young's modulus. Additionally, a lower diffraction angle was judged to be one of the factors leading to a decrease of the strain measurement accuracy. (author)

Ultrasonic inspection of austenitic welds

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tomlinson, J R; Wagg, A R; Whittle, M J [N.D.T. Applications Centre, CEGB, Manchester (United Kingdom)

1980-11-01

The metallurgical structure of austenitic welds is described and contrasted with that found in ferritic welds. It is shown that this structure imparts a marked elastic anisotropy in the ultrasonic propagation parameters. Measurements of variations in the apparent attenuation of sound and deviations in the beam direction are described. The measurements are interpreted in terms of the measured velocity anisotropy. Two applications of the fundamental work are described. In the first it is shown how, by using short pulse compression wave probes, and with major modification of the welding procedure, a stainless steel fillet weld in an AGR boiler can be inspected. In the second application, alternative designs of a transition butt weld have been compared for ease of ultrasonic inspection. The effects of two different welding processes on such an inspection are described. Finally, the paper examines the prospects for future development of inspection and defect-sizing techniques for austenitic welds. (author)

Key quality aspects for a new metallic composite pipe: corrosion testing, welding, weld inspection and manufacturing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Conder, Robert J.; Felton, Peter [Xodus Group Ltd., Aberdeen (United Kingdom); Smith, Richard [Shell Global Solutions Inc., Houston, TX (United States); Burke, Raymond [Pipestream Inc., Houston, TX (United States); Dikstra, Frits; Deleye, Xavier [Applus RTD Ltd., Rotterdam (Netherlands)

2010-07-01

XPipeTM is a new metallic composite pipe. This paper discusses three aspects of this new technology. The first subject is determination of the probability of hydrogen embrittlement by the XPipeTM manufacturing method. Two materials were analyzed in three tests: slow strain rate test, constant load test and notched tensile test. The results showed that the high strength steels used do not appear to be susceptible to hydrogen embrittlement. The second subject of this article is weld inspection. A non-destructive testing method of girth welds is developed to allow inspection of the thin-walled austenitic liner pipe. The results demonstrated that the welds can be inspected using the creeping wave technique. The third subject is quality control systems using the SCADA system, which maintains traceability of the materials and monitors and records all parameters during the production process. This system appears to be efficient in ensuring that the product pipe meets recognized quality standards.

An experience with in-service fabrication and inspection of austenitic stainless steel piping in high temperature sodium system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ravi, S., E-mail: sravi@igcar.gov.in; Laha, K.; Sakthy, S.; Mathew, M.D.; Bhaduri, A.K.

2015-04-01

Highlights: • Procedure for changing 304L SS pipe to 316L SS in sodium loop has been established. • Hot leg made of 304L SS was isolated from existing cold leg made of 316LN SS. • Innovative welding was used in joining the new 316L SS pipe with existing 316LN SS. • The old components of 304L SS piping have been integrated with the new piping. - Abstract: A creep testing facility along with dynamic sodium loop was installed at Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam, India to assess the creep behavior of fast reactor structural materials in flowing sodium. Type 304L austenitic stainless steel was used in the low cross section piping of hot-leg whereas 316LN austenitic stainless steel in the high cross section cold-leg of the sodium loop. The intended service life of the sodium loop was 10 years. The loop has performed successfully in the stipulated time period. To enhance its life time, it has been decided to replace the 304L piping with 316L piping in the hot-leg. There were more than 300 welding joints involved in the integration of cold-leg with the new 316L hot-leg. Continuous argon gas flow was maintained in the loop during welding to avoid contamination of sodium residue with air. Several innovative welding procedures have been adopted for joining the new hot-leg with the existing cold-leg in the presence of sodium residue adopting TIG welding technique. The joints were inspected for 100% X-ray radiography and qualified by performing tensile tests. The components used in the discarded hot-leg were retrieved, cleaned and integrated in the renovated loop. A method of cleaning component of sodium residue has been established. This paper highlights the in-service fabrication and inspection of the renovation.

Remote controlled in-pipe manipulators for milling, welding and EC-testing, for application in BWRS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seeberger, E.K.

2000-01-01

Many pipes in power plants and industrial facilities have piping sections, which are not accessible from the outside or which are difficult to access. Accordingly, remote controlled pipe machining manipulators have been built which enable in-pipe inspection and repair. Since the 1980s, defects have been found at the Inconel welds of the RPV nozzles of boiling water reactors throughout the world. These defects comprise cracks caused by stress corrosion cracking in areas of manual welds made using the weld filler metal Inconel 182. The cracks were found in Inconel-182 buttering at the ferritic nozzles as well as in the welded joints connecting to the fully-austenitic safe ends (Inconel 600 and stainless steel). These welds are not accessible from outside. The ferritic nozzle is cladded with austenitic material on the inside. The adjacent buttering was applied manually using the weld filler metal Inconel 182. The safe end made of Inconel 600 was welded to the nozzle also using Inconel 182 as the filler metal. The repair problems for inside were solved with remote-controlled in-pipe manipulators which enable in-pipe inspection and repair. A complete systems of manipulators has been developed and qualified for application in nuclear power plants. The tasks that must be performed with this set of in-pipe manipulator are as follows: 1st step - Insertion of the milling/ET manipulator into piping to the work location; 2nd step Detection of the transition line with the ferritic measurement probe; 3rd step - Performance of a surface crack examination by eddy current (ET) method; 4th step - Milling of the groove and preparation for weld backlay and, in case of ET indications, elimination of such flaws also by milling. 5th step - Welding of backlay and/or repair weld using the GTA pulsed arc technique; 6th step - After welding it is necessary to prepare the surface for eddy current testing. A final milling inside the pipe is done with the milling manipulator to adjust the

Austenitic stainless steel weld inspection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mech, S.J.; Emmons, J.S.; Michaels, T.E.

1978-01-01

Analytical techniques applied to ultrasonic waveforms obtained from inspection of austenitic stainless steel welds are described. Experimental results obtained from a variety of geometric and defect reflectors are presented. Specifically, frequency analyses parameters, such as simple moments of the power spectrum, cross-correlation techniques, and adaptive learning network analysis, all represent improvements over conventional time domain analysis of ultrasonic waveforms. Results for each of these methods are presented, and the overall inspection difficulties of austenitic stainless steel welds are discussed

Plastic fracture toughness of austenitic welding connection for Ver-1000 nuclear reactor piping of 300-350 mm diameter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vasil'chenko, G.S.; Dragunov, Yu.G.; Kabelevskij, M.G.; Kazantsev, A.G.; Kunavin, S.A.; Merinov, G.N.; Sokov, L.M.

2000-01-01

The outside welding technology for circular welds in a pearlitic tube using austenitic welding wire materials is developed and applied in manufacturing pipelines of CPP and ECC. Mechanical properties and fracture toughness of austenitic welded joints in pearlitic tubes are determined to substantiate by calculation the practicality of the leakage prior to failure concept. The work is accomplished on experimental tube manufactured by hand arc welding. When manufactured the tube is cut into 5 rings. From the rings the tensile specimens are cut for testing at 20 and 350 deg C as well as Charpy V-notch impact specimens and compact specimens ST-1T. It is shown that the materials of the experimental tube meet the standard requirements. Only axial specimens cut across the weld are not in conformity with the requirements for specific elongation [ru

Proceedings of the specialists' meeting on reliability of the ultrasonic inspection of austenitic materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1980-07-01

The contributions of this meeting addressed several topics: the fundamentals of ultrasonic examination of austenitic materials (effect of anisotropy on propagation, improvement of ultrasonic testing to thick bimetallic welds, aspects of the ultrasonic testing of austenitic steel structures, utilization of a Fisher linear discriminant function in intergranular stress corrosion cracking or IGSCC detection, case of coarse grain austenitic welds, efforts of the Argonne National Laboratory), instruments and methods (longitudinal wave ultrasonic inspection, Grass echo suppression technique during the ultrasonic inspection of fuel cladding tubes, inspections of fillet and butt welds, improvement by signal averaging techniques, multiple bearing angle crack detector for cladded pipes examinations, flow-to-grain echo enhancement by split-spectrum processing, ultrasonic imaging techniques, ultrasonic inspection of pipe weldments for IGSCC), industrial practice (ultrasonic testing techniques for fabrication and in-service inspection, experiences in ultrasonic examination of austenitic steel components, experience and practice on nuclear piping in Spain, detection of underclad defects, sizing of cracks perpendicular to stainless overlay), and reliability (survey of ultrasonic testing in austenitic weld material, examination of electron beam welds, factors affecting the reliability of ultrasonic examination, detectability of IGSCC, ultrasonic inspection reliability for primary piping systems)

Proceedings of the specialists' meeting on reliability of the ultrasonic inspection of austenitic materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1980-01-01

The contributions of this meeting addressed several topics: the fundamentals of ultrasonic examination of austenitic materials (effect of anisotropy on propagation, improvement of ultrasonic testing to thick bimetallic welds, aspects of the ultrasonic testing of austenitic steel structures, utilization of a Fisher linear discriminant function in intergranular stress corrosion cracking or IGSCC detection, case of coarse grain austenitic welds, efforts of the Argonne National Laboratory), instruments and methods (longitudinal wave ultrasonic inspection, Grass echo suppression technique during the ultrasonic inspection of fuel cladding tubes, inspections of fillet and butt welds, improvement by signal averaging techniques, multiple bearing angle crack detector for cladded pipes examinations, flow-to-grain echo enhancement by split-spectrum processing, ultrasonic imaging techniques, ultrasonic inspection of pipe weldments for IGSCC), industrial practice (ultrasonic testing techniques for fabrication and in-service inspection, experiences in ultrasonic examination of austenitic steel components, experience and practice on nuclear piping in Spain, detection of underclad defects, sizing of cracks perpendicular to stainless overlay), and reliability (survey of ultrasonic testing in austenitic weld material, examination of electron beam welds, factors affecting the reliability of ultrasonic examination, detectability of IGSCC, ultrasonic inspection reliability for primary piping systems)

Hot ductility testing and weld simulation tests

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weber, G.; Schick, M.

1999-01-01

The objective of the project was to enhance the insight into the causes of intergranular cracks detected in austenitic circumferential welds at BWR pipes. The susceptibility of a variety of austenitic pipe materials to hot cracking during welding and in-service intergranular crack corrosion was examined. The assumption was cracking in the root area of the HAZ of a multiple-layer weld. Hot-ductility tests and weld simulation tests specifically designed for the project were performed with the austenitic LWR pipe materials 1.4553 (X6 CrNiNb 18 10 S), 1.4550 (X10 CrNiNb 18 9), 1.4533 (X6 CrNiTi 18 9, two weld pools), and a non-stabilized TP 304 (X5 CrNi 18 10). (orig./CB) [de

Orbital welding technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoeschen, W.

2003-01-01

The TIG (Tungsten-inert gas) orbital welding technique is applied in all areas of pipe welding. The process is mainly used for austenitic and ferritic materials but also for materials like aluminium, nickel, and titanium alloys are commonly welded according to this technique. Thin-walled as well as thick-walled pipes are welded economically. The application of orbital welding is of particular interest in the area of maintenance of thick-walled pipes that is described in this article. (orig.) [de

Welding metallurgy of austenitic stainless steels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ibrahim, A.N.

1983-01-01

Austenitic stainless steels welds are commonly found in nuclear reactor systems. The macrostructure and the transformation of delta -phase into γ - phase which occur during rapid solidification of such welds are discussed. Finally, several types of defects which are derived from the welding operation, particularly defects of crack type, are also discussed in brief. (author)

Leak before break analysis for cracking at multiple weld locations in BWR recirculation piping

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zahoor, A.; Gamble, R.

1984-01-01

Periodically over the past decade, intergranular stress corrosion cracking (IGSCC) has been found in austenitic stainless steel piping at Boiling Water Reactor facilities. The effect of IGSCC on piping integrity has been evaluated previously in various BWR Owners Group and NRC studies. In these studies, the analyses were performed assuming the presence of a crack at a single weld location in the pipe run. The purpose of this investigation was to compare the leak rate and potential for unstable crack extension associated with a throughwall crack for the following two conditions in a BWR recirculation system: (1) the recirculation piping contains part through cracks at multiple weld locations and a single throughwall crack, and (2) the piping contains only a throughwall crack at one weld location. Two type BWRs were evaluated; namely, the ring header and five individual loop designs. The results from the analyses indicate that the potential for unstable crack extension at large bending loads, and leak rate at normal operation are not affected by the presence of part through cracks at multiple weld locations. The differences in the respective calculated L/sub eff/ and leak rates for the single and multiply cracked conditions are less than 2%

Ultrasonic inspection of austenitic welds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baikie, B.L.; Wagg, A.R.; Whittle, M.J.; Yapp, D.

1976-01-01

The ultrasonic examination of austenitic stainless steel weld metal has always been regarded as a difficult proposition because of the large and variable ultrasonic attenuations and back scattering obtained from apparently similar weld deposits. The work to be described shows how the existence of a fibre texture within each weld deposit (as a result of epitaxial growth through successive weld beads) produces a systematic variation in the ultrasonic attenuation coefficient and the velocity of sound, depending upon the angle between the ultrasonic beam and the fibre axis. Development work has shown that it is possible to adjust the welding parameters to ensure that the crystallographic texture within each weld is compatible with improved ultrasonic transmission. The application of the results to the inspection of a specific weld in type 316 weld metal is described

46 CFR 154.660 - Pipe welding.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Pipe welding. 154.660 Section 154.660 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) CERTAIN BULK DANGEROUS CARGOES SAFETY STANDARDS FOR... § 154.660 Pipe welding. (a) Pipe welding must meet Part 57 of this chapter. (b) Longitudinal butt welds...

Automatic welding machine for piping

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoshida, Kazuhiro; Koyama, Takaichi; Iizuka, Tomio; Ito, Yoshitoshi; Takami, Katsumi.

1978-01-01

A remotely controlled automatic special welding machine for piping was developed. This machine is utilized for long distance pipe lines, chemical plants, thermal power generating plants and nuclear power plants effectively from the viewpoint of good quality control, reduction of labor and good controllability. The function of this welding machine is to inspect the shape and dimensions of edge preparation before welding work by the sense of touch, to detect the temperature of melt pool, inspect the bead form by the sense of touch, and check the welding state by ITV during welding work, and to grind the bead surface and inspect the weld metal by ultrasonic test automatically after welding work. The construction of this welding system, the main specification of the apparatus, the welding procedure in detail, the electrical source of this welding machine, the cooling system, the structure and handling of guide ring, the central control system and the operating characteristics are explained. The working procedure and the effect by using this welding machine, and the application to nuclear power plants and the other industrial field are outlined. The HIDIC 08 is used as the controlling computer. This welding machine is useful for welding SUS piping as well as carbon steel piping. (Nakai, Y.)

Recent studies on the welding of austenitic stainless steel piping for BWR service

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Childs, W.J.

1986-01-01

The incidence of intergranular stress corrosion cracking (IGSCC) in stainless steel piping in BWR power plants has led to the development of various countermeasures. Replacement of the susceptible Type 304 stainless steel with Type 316 nuclear grade stainless steel has been done by a number of plants. In order to minimize radiation exposure to welding personnel, automatic GTA welding has been used wherever possible when we make the field welds. Studies have shown that the residual stresses in the welded butt joints are affected by the welding process, weld joint design and welding procedures. A new weld joint design has been developed which minimizes the volume of deposited metal while providing adequate access for welding. It also minimizes axial and radial shrinkage and the resulting residual stresses. Other countermeasures, which have been used, include stress modifications such as induction heating stress improvement (IHSI) and last pass heat sink welding (LPHSW). It has been shown that these remedies must be process adjusted to account for the welding process employed. In some cases where UT cracking indication have been detected or where through wall cracking has occurred, weld surfacing has been used to extend life. A further approach to preventing IGSCC in the weld HAZ has been through improvement of the water chemistry by injecting hydrogen to reduce the oxygen level and by keeping the impurity level low

The stress rupture properties of austenitic steel weld metals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wood, D.S.

Elevated temperature stress rupture data on Mo containing and Mo free austenitic weld metals have been collected from French, Dutch, German and UK sources and the results analysed. The stress rupture strength of Mo containing weld metal is significantly higher than that of Mo free weld metal. At 10,000h the rupture strength of Mo containing weld metal is higher than that of Type 316 steel whereas the Mo free weld metal is about 20% lower than that of Type 304 steel. Austenitic weld metal can give low stress rupture ductility values. It is concluded that there are insufficient data to permit reliable extrapolations to long times and it is recommended that long term tests are performed to overcome this situation

75 FR 973 - Certain Welded Stainless Steel Pipes From the Republic of Korea: Preliminary Results of...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-07

... to welded austenitic stainless steel pipes. The HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and... with sections 772(d)(1) and (2) of the Act, we also deducted, where applicable, those selling expenses associated with economic activities occurring in the United States, including U.S. direct selling expenses (i...

Numerical weld modeling - a method for calculating weld-induced residual stresses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fricke, S.; Keim, E.; Schmidt, J.

2001-01-01

In the past, weld-induced residual stresses caused damage to numerous (power) plant parts, components and systems (Erve, M., Wesseling, U., Kilian, R., Hardt, R., Bruemmer, G., Maier, V., Ilg, U., 1994. Cracking in Stabilized Austenitic Stainless Steel Piping of German Boiling Water Reactors - Characteristic Features and Root Causes. 20. MPA-Seminar 1994, vol. 2, paper 29, pp.29.1-29.21). In the case of BWR nuclear power plants, this damage can be caused by the mechanism of intergranular stress corrosion cracking in austenitic piping or the core shroud in the reactor pressure vessel and is triggered chiefly by weld-induced residual stresses. One solution of this problem that has been used in the past involves experimental measurements of residual stresses in conjunction with weld optimization testing. However, the experimental analysis of all relevant parameters is an extremely tedious process. Numerical simulation using the finite element method (FEM) not only supplements this method but, in view of modern computer capacities, is also an equally valid alternative in its own right. This paper will demonstrate that the technique developed for numerical simulation of the welding process has not only been properly verified and validated on austenitic pipe welds, but that it also permits making selective statements on improvements to the welding process. For instance, numerical simulation can provide information on the starting point of welding for every weld bead, the effect of interpass cooling as far as a possible sensitization of the heat affected zone (HAZ) is concerned, the effect of gap width on the resultant weld residual stresses, or the effect of the 'last pass heat sink welding' (welding of the final passes while simultaneously cooling the inner surface with water) producing compressive stresses in the root area of a circumferential weld in an austenitic pipe. The computer program FERESA (finite element residual stress analysis) was based on a commercially

Pulsed TIG welding of pipes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Killing, U.

1989-01-01

The present study investigates into the effects of impulse welding parameters on weld geometry in the joint welding of thin-walled sheets and pipes (d=2.5 mm), and it uses random samples of thick-walled sheets and pipes (d=10 mm), in fixed positions. (orig./MM) [de

Effect of Austenitic and Austeno-Ferritic Electrodes on 2205 Duplex and 316L Austenitic Stainless Steel Dissimilar Welds

Science.gov (United States)

Verma, Jagesvar; Taiwade, Ravindra V.

2016-11-01

This study addresses the effect of different types of austenitic and austeno-ferritic electrodes (E309L, E309LMo and E2209) on the relationship between weldability, microstructure, mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of shielded metal arc welded duplex/austenitic (2205/316L) stainless steel dissimilar joints using the combined techniques of optical, scanning electron microscope, energy-dispersive spectrometer and electrochemical. The results indicated that the change in electrode composition led to microstructural variations in the welds with the development of different complex phases such as vermicular ferrite, lathy ferrite, widmanstatten and intragranular austenite. Mechanical properties of welded joints were diverged based on compositions and solidification modes; it was observed that ferritic mode solidified weld dominated property wise. However, the pitting corrosion resistance of all welds showed different behavior in chloride solution; moreover, weld with E2209 was superior, whereas E309L exhibited lower resistance. Higher degree of sensitization was observed in E2209 weld, while lesser in E309L weld. Optimum ferrite content was achieved in all welds.

Ultrasonic inspection of austenitic welds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baikie, B.L.; Wagg, A.R.; Whittle, M.J.; Yapp, D.

1976-01-01

Optical and X-ray metallography combined with ultrasonic testing by compression waves was used for inspection of stainless steel weld metal produced by three different welding techniques. X-ray diffraction showed that each weld possessed a characteristic fibre textured structure which was shown by optical microscopy to be parallel to columnar grain boundaries. Metallographic evidence suggested that the development of fibre texture is due to the mechanism of competitive growth. From observations made as a result of optical metallographic examination the orientation of the fibre axis could be predicted if the weld geometry and welding procedure were known. Ultrasonic velocity and attenuation measurements as a continuous function of grain orientation, made on cylinders machined from weld samples, showed that attenuation was strongly orientation dependent. It was concluded that the sensitivity of ultrasonic inspection to small defects is unlikely to be as high for austenitic welds as for ferritic even when transmission is improved by modifying the welding procedure to improve the ultrasonic transmission. (U.K.)

Application of Leak Before Break concept in 316LN austenitic steel pipes welded using 316L

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cunto, Gabriel Giannini de

2017-01-01

This work presents a study of application of the Leak Before Break (LBB) concept, usually applied in nuclear power plants, in a pipe made from steel AISI type 316LN welded a coated electrode AISI type 316L. LBB concept is a criterion based on fracture mechanics analysis to show that a crack leak, present in a pipe, can be detected by leak detection systems, before this crack reaches a critical size that results in pipe fail. In the studied pipe, tensile tests and Ramberg-Osgood analyses were performed, as well as fracture toughness tests for obtaining the material resistance curve J-R. The tests were performed considering the base metal, weld and heat affected zone (HAZ), at the same operating temperatures of a nuclear power plant. For the mechanical properties found in these tests, load limit analyses were performed in order to determine the size of a crack which could cause a detectable leakage and the critical crack size, considering failure by plastic collapse. For the critical crack size found in the weld, which is the region that presented the lowest toughness, Integral J and tearing modulus T analyses were performed, considering failure by tearing instability. Results show a well-defined behavior between the base metal, HAZ and weld zones, where the base metal has a high toughness behavior, the weld has a low toughness behavior and the HAZ showed intermediate mechanical properties between the base metal and the weld. Using the PICEP software, the leak rate curves versus crack size and also the critical crack size were determined by considering load limit analysis. It was observed that after a certain crack size, the leak rate in base metal is much higher than for the HAZ and the weld, considering the same crack length. This occurs because in the base metal crack, it is expected that the crack grows in a more rounded form due to its higher toughness. The lowest critical crack size was found for the base metal presenting circumferential cracks. For the

Quantitative evaluation of ultrasonic wave propagation in inhomogeneous anisotropic austenitic welds using 3D ray tracing method. Numerical and experimental validation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kolkoori, Sanjeevareddy

2014-01-01

Austenitic welds and dissimilar welds are extensively used in primary circuit pipes and pressure vessels in nuclear power plants, chemical industries and fossil fuelled power plants because of their high fracture toughness, resistance to corrosion and creep at elevated temperatures. However, cracks may initiate in these weld materials during fabrication process or stress operations in service. Thus, it is very important to evaluate the structural integrity of these materials using highly reliable non-destructive testing (NDT) methods. Ultrasonic non-destructive inspection of austenitic welds and dissimilar weld components is complicated because of anisotropic columnar grain structure leading to beam splitting and beam deflection. Simulation tools play an important role in developing advanced reliable ultrasonic testing (UT) techniques and optimizing experimental parameters for inspection of austenitic welds and dissimilar weld components. The main aim of the thesis is to develop a 3D ray tracing model for quantitative evaluation of ultrasonic wave propagation in an inhomogeneous anisotropic austenitic weld material. Inhomogenity in the anisotropic weld material is represented by discretizing into several homogeneous layers. According to ray tracing model, ultrasonic ray paths are traced during its energy propagation through various discretized layers of the material and at each interface the problem of reflection and transmission is solved. The influence of anisotropy on ultrasonic reflection and transmission behaviour in an anisotropic austenitic weld material are quantitatively analyzed in three dimensions. The ultrasonic beam directivity in columnar grained austenitic steel material is determined three dimensionally using Lamb's reciprocity theorem. The developed ray tracing model evaluates the transducer excited ultrasonic fields accurately by taking into account the directivity of the transducer, divergence of the ray bundle, density of rays and phase

Quantitative evaluation of ultrasonic wave propagation in inhomogeneous anisotropic austenitic welds using 3D ray tracing method. Numerical and experimental validation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kolkoori, Sanjeevareddy

2014-07-01

Austenitic welds and dissimilar welds are extensively used in primary circuit pipes and pressure vessels in nuclear power plants, chemical industries and fossil fuelled power plants because of their high fracture toughness, resistance to corrosion and creep at elevated temperatures. However, cracks may initiate in these weld materials during fabrication process or stress operations in service. Thus, it is very important to evaluate the structural integrity of these materials using highly reliable non-destructive testing (NDT) methods. Ultrasonic non-destructive inspection of austenitic welds and dissimilar weld components is complicated because of anisotropic columnar grain structure leading to beam splitting and beam deflection. Simulation tools play an important role in developing advanced reliable ultrasonic testing (UT) techniques and optimizing experimental parameters for inspection of austenitic welds and dissimilar weld components. The main aim of the thesis is to develop a 3D ray tracing model for quantitative evaluation of ultrasonic wave propagation in an inhomogeneous anisotropic austenitic weld material. Inhomogenity in the anisotropic weld material is represented by discretizing into several homogeneous layers. According to ray tracing model, ultrasonic ray paths are traced during its energy propagation through various discretized layers of the material and at each interface the problem of reflection and transmission is solved. The influence of anisotropy on ultrasonic reflection and transmission behaviour in an anisotropic austenitic weld material are quantitatively analyzed in three dimensions. The ultrasonic beam directivity in columnar grained austenitic steel material is determined three dimensionally using Lamb's reciprocity theorem. The developed ray tracing model evaluates the transducer excited ultrasonic fields accurately by taking into account the directivity of the transducer, divergence of the ray bundle, density of rays and phase

Crack Resistance of Welded Joints of Pipe Steels of Strength Class K60 of Different Alloying Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Tabatchikova, T. I.; Tereshchenko, N. A.; Yakovleva, I. L.; Makovetskii, A. N.; Shander, S. V.

2018-03-01

The crack resistance of welded joints of pipe steels of strength class K60 and different alloying systems is studied. The parameter of the crack tip opening displacement (CTOD) is shown to be dependent on the size of the austenite grains and on the morphology of bainite in the superheated region of the heat-affected zone of the weld. The crack resistance is shown to be controllable due to optimization of the alloying system.

Inspection of austenitic welds with ultrasonic phased array technology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Garcia, A.; Fernandez, F. [Tecnatom (Spain); Dutruc, R.; Ferriere, R. [Metalscan (France)

2011-07-01

This series of slides presents the use of ultrasonic phased array technology in the inspection of austenitic welds. The inspection from outside surface (the inspection is performed in contact using wedges to couple the probe to the outer surface of the component) shows that longitudinal wave is the most adequate for perpendicular scans and transversal ultrasonic wave is the most adequate for parallel scans. Detection and length sizing are performed optimally in perpendicular scans. The inspection from inside surface shows: -) Good results in the detection of defects (Sizing has met the requirements imposed by the Authority of the Russian Federation); -) The new design of the mechanical equipment and of the numerous ultrasonic beams refracted by the array probes has increased the volume inspected. The design of the mechanical equipment has also allowed new areas to be inspected (example a piping weld that was not accessible from the outer surface; -) The ultrasonic procedure and Inspection System developed have been validated by the Authority of the Russian Federation. Phase array technique supplies solutions to solve accessibility concerns and improve the ultrasonic inspections of nuclear components

Welding Penetration Control of Fixed Pipe in TIG Welding Using Fuzzy Inference System

Science.gov (United States)

Baskoro, Ario Sunar; Kabutomori, Masashi; Suga, Yasuo

This paper presents a study on welding penetration control of fixed pipe in Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) welding using fuzzy inference system. The welding penetration control is essential to the production quality welds with a specified geometry. For pipe welding using constant arc current and welding speed, the bead width becomes wider as the circumferential welding of small diameter pipes progresses. Having welded pipe in fixed position, obviously, the excessive arc current yields burn through of metals; in contrary, insufficient arc current produces imperfect welding. In order to avoid these errors and to obtain the uniform weld bead over the entire circumference of the pipe, the welding conditions should be controlled as the welding proceeds. This research studies the intelligent welding process of aluminum alloy pipe 6063S-T5 in fixed position using the AC welding machine. The monitoring system used a charge-coupled device (CCD) camera to monitor backside image of molten pool. The captured image was processed to recognize the edge of molten pool by image processing algorithm. Simulation of welding control using fuzzy inference system was constructed to simulate the welding control process. The simulation result shows that fuzzy controller was suitable for controlling the welding speed and appropriate to be implemented into the welding system. A series of experiments was conducted to evaluate the performance of the fuzzy controller. The experimental results show the effectiveness of the control system that is confirmed by sound welds.

Welding of austenitic stainless steel with a high molybdenum content

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liljas, A.; Holmberg, B.

1984-01-01

Welding of austenitic steel is discussed. Welding tests of AVESTA 250 SMO (six percent Mo) are reported. Welding without special additives can make the joints susceptible for corrosion in aggressive environments, e.g. sea water. (L.E.)

Butt-welding technology for double walled Polyethylene pipe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Bo-Young; Kim, Jae-Seong; Lee, Sang-Yul; Kim, Yeong K.

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► We developed a butt welding apparatus for doubled walled Polyethylene pipe. ► We design the welding process by analyzing thermal behaviors of the material. ► We performed the welding and tested the welded structural performances. ► We also applied the same technology to PVC pipes. ► We verified the butt welding was successful and effective for the pipes with irregular sections. -- Abstract: In this study, mechanical analyses of a butt welding technology for joining Polyethylene pipe are presented. The pipe had unique structure with double wall, and its section topology was not flat. For an effective repair of leakage and replacements of the pipe, the butt welding technology was developed and tested. For the material characterizations, thermodynamic analyses such as thermal gravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry were performed. Based on the test results, the process temperature and time were determined to ensure safe joining of the pipes using a hot plate apparatus. The welding process was carefully monitored by measuring the temperature. Then, the joined pipes were tested by various methods to evaluate the quality. The analyses results showed the detail process mechanism during the joining process, and the test results demonstrated the successful application of the technology to the sewage pipe repairs.

FFTF report: FFTF piping installation and welding techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gilles, J.

1975-01-01

The main sodium piping with a diameter of 16'' or 28 '' is being installed at the FFTF construction site starting in December 1974. The supplier and authority demarcations are: Combustion Engineering supplies the reactor vessel, guard vessel and adjoining pipes and uses the machine welding equipment ''Dimetrics''; for the piping system of the primary and secondary loops the pipes manufactured by Rollmet at HUICO, Pasco, were delivered and prefabricated there, as far as compatible with the installation. ''Astroarc'' welding machines are used by Bechtel for the piping prefabrication in the weld laboratory as well as on site at the construction site. Technical welding problems occurring during the course of the installation at the construction site and several during this time are described. At present 6 weld seams in the reactor and 14 weld seams in the secondary loop are accepted. The requirement exists to carry out as many welds as possible automatically, in order to produce sodium pipe welds of high technical quality and which are reproducible. The welding equipment is described

Development of bore tools for pipe welding and cutting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oka, Kiyoshi; Ito, Akira; Takiguchi, Yuji

1998-01-01

In the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), in-vessel components replacement and maintenance requires that connected cooling pipes be cut and removed beforehand and that new components be installed to which cooling pipes must be rewelded. All welding must be inspected for soundness after completion. These tasks require a new task concept for ensuring shielded areas and access from narrow ports. Thus, it became necessary to develop autonomous locomotion welding and cutting tools for branch and main pipes to weld pipes by in-pipe access; a system was proposed that cut and welded branch and main pipes after passing inside pipe curves, and elemental technologies developed. This paper introduces current development in tools for welding and cutting branch pipes and other tools for welding and cutting the main pipe. (author)

Development of bore tools for pipe welding and cutting

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oka, Kiyoshi; Ito, Akira; Takiguchi, Yuji [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan). Tokai Research Establishment

1998-04-01

In the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), in-vessel components replacement and maintenance requires that connected cooling pipes be cut and removed beforehand and that new components be installed to which cooling pipes must be rewelded. All welding must be inspected for soundness after completion. These tasks require a new task concept for ensuring shielded areas and access from narrow ports. Thus, it became necessary to develop autonomous locomotion welding and cutting tools for branch and main pipes to weld pipes by in-pipe access; a system was proposed that cut and welded branch and main pipes after passing inside pipe curves, and elemental technologies developed. This paper introduces current development in tools for welding and cutting branch pipes and other tools for welding and cutting the main pipe. (author)

Modelling grain-scattered ultrasound in austenitic stainless-steel welds: A hybrid model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nowers, O.; Duxbury, D. J.; Velichko, A.; Drinkwater, B. W.

2015-01-01

The ultrasonic inspection of austenitic stainless steel welds can be challenging due to their coarse grain structure, charaterised by preferentially oriented, elongated grains. The anisotropy of the weld is manifested as both a ‘steering’ of the beam and the back-scatter of energy due to the macroscopic granular structure of the weld. However, the influence of weld properties, such as mean grain size and orientation distribution, on the magnitude of scattered ultrasound is not well understood. A hybrid model has been developed to allow the study of grain-scatter effects in austenitic welds. An efficient 2D Finite Element (FE) method is used to calculate the complete scattering response from a single elliptical austenitic grain of arbitrary length and width as a function of the specific inspection frequency. A grain allocation model of the weld is presented to approximate the characteristic structures observed in austenitic welds and the complete scattering behaviour of each grain calculated. This model is incorporated into a semi-analytical framework for a single-element inspection of a typical weld in immersion. Experimental validation evidence is demonstrated indicating excellent qualitative agreement of SNR as a function of frequency and a minimum SNR difference of 2 dB at a centre frequency of 2.25 MHz. Additionally, an example Monte-Carlo study is presented detailing the variation of SNR as a function of the anisotropy distribution of the weld, and the application of confidence analysis to inform inspection development

The tensile properties of austenitic steel weld metals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wood, D.S.

1985-01-01

Elevated temperature tensile data on Mo containing and Mo free austenitic weld metals have been collected from French, German and UK sources and the results analysed. In the as welded condition the proof strength is significantly higher than that of wrought material and Mo containing weld metal is stronger than Mo free weld metal. The differences in UTS values are not so marked, and on average at temperatures above 400 0 the weld metal UTS is slightly lower than that of wrought material. The ductility of weld metal is significantly lower than that for wrought material. 7 refs, 2 tables, 20 figs

Significance of residual stress on fatigue properties of welded pipes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ohta, A.; Maeda, Y.; Kanao, M.

1984-01-01

The mean stress effect on the fatigue properties of two kinds of welded pipes was investigated in cantilever bending. The fatigue strength changed with the mean stress on fillet welded pipes, but did not change on butt welded pipes. The fatigue crack initiated from the toe of weld on the outer surface of fillet welded pipes and from the undercut on the inner surface of butt welded pipes. The measurement of the fatigue crack propagation rate and the residual stress distribution through the thickness of pipe revealed that the difference in the fatigue properties between fillet and butt welded pipes arose from the weld-induced residual stress, tension on the inner surface and compression on the outer surface. It is suggested that the production of compressive residual stress along the inner surface would be an effective means for improving the fatigue strength of butt welded pipes. (author)

Low ductility creep failure in austenitic weld metals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thomas, R.G.

Creep tests have been carried out for times of up to approx. 22,000 hrs on three austenitic weld metals of nominal composition 17Cr-8Ni-2Mo, 19Cr-12Ni-3Mo+Nb and 17Cr-10Ni-2Mo. The two former deposits were designed to produce delta-ferrite contents in the range 3-9% while the latter was designed to be fully austenitic. The common feature of all three weld metals was that they all gave very low strains at failure, typically approx. 1%. The microstructures of the failed creep specimens have been studied using optical and electron microscopy and the precipitate structures related to the occurrence of low creep strains. Creep deformation and fracture mechanisms in austenitic materials in general have been reviewed and this has been used as a basis for discussion of the observations of the present work. Finally, some of the factors that can be controlled to improve long-term creep ductility have been appraised

Corrosion of an austenite and ferrite stainless steel weld

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

BRANIMIR N. GRGUR

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Dissimilar metal connections are prone to frequent failures. These failures are attributed to the difference in the mechanical properties across the weld, the coefficients of thermal expansion of the two types of steels and the resulting creep at the interface. For the weld analyzed in this research, it was shown that corrosion measurements can be used for a proper evaluation of the quality of weld material and for the prediction of whether or not the material, after the applied welding process, can be in service without failures. It was found that the corrosion of the weld analyzed in this research resulted from the simultaneous activity of different types of corrosion. In this study, electrochemical techniques including polarization and metallographic analysis were used to analyze the corrosion of a weld material of ferrite and austenitic stainless steels. Based on surface, chemical and electrochemical analyses, it was concluded that corrosion occurrence was the result of the simultaneous activity of contact corrosion (ferrite and austenitic material conjuction, stress corrosion (originating from deformed ferrite structure and inter-granular corrosion (due to chromium carbide precipitation. The value of corrosion potential of –0.53 V shows that this weld, after the thermal treatment, is not able to repassivate a protective oxide film.

Ultrasonic testing of austenitic welds and its dependency on the welding process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tabatabaeipour, S.M.; Honarvar, F.

2009-01-01

This paper describes the ultrasonic testing of austenitic welds prepared by two different welding processes. The tests were carried out by the ultrasonic Time-of-Flight Diffraction (ToFD) technique. Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW) and Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW) are the welding processes used for preparing the specimens. Identical artificial defects were implanted in both welds during the welding process. Both specimens were examined by the ToFD technique under similar conditions. Metallographic images were also obtained from the cross sectional plane of both the SMA and GTA welds. These images show that the grain orientation in the two welded specimens are different. D-scan images obtained by the ToFD technique from these welds indicates that inspecting the specimens prepared by the SMAW process is easier than the one made by the GTAW process. The results also show that the D-scan images cannot reveal the small vertical drilled holes implanted in the specimens. (author)

Manufacture and characterization of austenitic steel welded joints

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Simoni, O.; Boerman, D.J.; Krischer, W.

1990-01-01

This paper describes the results of the first phase of the project, i.e. manufacturing and characterization of welded austenitic steel and the test matrix adopted to test the mechanical resistance of the welding. Five different welding methods have been tested and characterized in comparison to the parent material. The reference material was an AISI 316 L type steel close to the French Superphenix composition. The results of the mechanical testing and the relative comparison of the five welding methods are described in separate papers of the same session. As a general conclusion, the vacuum electron-beam welding proved to have better properties than the other weld methods and to attain in most cases the properties of the parent material. (author)

Influence of structure on static cracking resistance and fracture of welded joints of pipe steels of strength class K60

Science.gov (United States)

Tereshchenko, N. A.; Tabatchikova, T. I.; Yakovleva, I. L.; Makovetskii, A. N.; Shander, S. V.

2017-07-01

The static cracking resistance of a number of welded joints made from pipe steels of K60 strength class has been determined. It has been established that the deformation parameter CTOD varies significantly at identical parameters of weldability of steels. The character of fracture has been investigated and the zone of local brittleness of welded joints has been studied. It has been shown that the ability of a metal to resist cracking is determined by the austenite grain size and by the bainite morphology in the region of overheating in the heat-affected zone of a welded joint.

The improvement of ultrasonic characteristics in weld metal of austenitic stainless steel using magnetic stirring method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arakawa, T.; Tomisawa, Y.

1988-01-01

The magnetic stirring welding process was tested to save the difficulty of ultrasonic testing of austenitic stainless steel overlayed welds, due to grain refinement of weld solidification structure. The testing involved stirring the molten pool with Lorenz force induced by the interaction of welding current and alternative magnetic field applied from the outside magnetic coil. This report summarizes improvement of ultrasonic characteristic in austenitic stainless steel overlayed welds caused by magnetic stirring welding process

Simulation of Temperature Field in HDPE Pipe Thermal Welding

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

LIU Li-jun

2017-04-01

Full Text Available For high density polyethylene pipe connection，welding technology is the key of the high density engineering plastic pressure pipe safety. And the temperature distribution in the welding process has a very important influence on the welding quality. Polyethylene pipe weld joints of one dimensional unsteady overall heat transfer model is established by MARC software and simulates temperature field and stress field distribution of the welding process，and the thermocouple temperature automatic acquisition system of welding temperature field changes were detected，and compared by simulation and experiment .The results show that，at the end of the heating，the temperature of the pipe does not reach the maximum，but reached the maximum at 300 s，which indicates that the latent heat of phase change in the process of pressure welding. In the process of pressure welding， the axial stress of the pipe is gradually changed from tensile stress to compressive stress.

Laser-GMA Hybrid Pipe Welding System

Science.gov (United States)

2007-11-01

Investigation of varying laser power. The welded pipe is shown, with close -ups of the rootside reinforcement and macro sections...68 Figure 44. Investigation of varying laser stand-off. The welded pipe is shown, along with close -ups of backside...conventional beveled joints. With appropriate joint configuration and preparation, deep keyhole penetration provided by the laser and additional filler

Remote controlled in-pipe manipulators for dye-penetrant inspection and grinding of weld roots inside of pipes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seeberger, E.K.

2000-01-01

Technical plants which have to satisfy stringent safety criteria must be continuously kept in line with the state of art. This applies in particular to nuclear power plants. The quality of piping in nuclear power plants has been improved quite considerably in recent years. By virtue of the very high quality requirements fulfilled in the manufacture of medium-carrying and pressure-retaining piping, one of the focal aspects of in-service inspections is the medium wetted inside of the piping. A remote controlled pipe crawler has been developed to allow to perform dye penetrant testing of weld roots inside piping (ID ≥ 150 mm). The light crawler has been designed such that it can be inserted into the piping via valves (gate valves, check valves,...) with their internals removed. Once in the piping, all crawler movements are remotely controlled (horizontal and vertical pipes incl. the elbows). If indications are found these discontinuities are ground according to a qualified procedure using a special grinding head attached to the crawler with complete extraction of all grinding residues. The in-pipe grinding is a special qualified three (3) step performance that ensures no residual tensile stress (less than 50 N/mm 2 ) in the finish machined austenitic material surface. The in-pipe inspection system, qualified according to both the specifications of the German Nuclear Safety Standards Commission (KTA) and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), has already been used successfully in nuclear power plants on many occasions. (author)

Residual stresses associated with welds in austenitic steel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fidler, R.

1978-01-01

Two exploratory welds have been made with AISI 316 austenitic steel and Armex GT electrodes by the manual metal-arc process, and residual stress measurements made in the as-welded condition and after various periods of stress relief. The results show that substantial stress relief occurs at temperatures of 850 0 and 750 0 C after 1 hr, but is not complete. The stress distributions are compared with those obtained from ferritic welds and the effect of differences in thermal expansion coefficients is examined using finite element analysis. (author)

Fatigue strength of socket welded pipe joint

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iida, K.; Matsuda, F.; Sato, M.; Higuchi, M.; Nakagawa, A.

1994-01-01

Fully reversed four point bending fatigue tests were carried out of small diameter socket welded joints made of carbon steels. Experimental parameters are pipe diameter, thickness of pipe and socket wall, throat depth and shape of fillet welds, slip-on and diametral gaps in the socket welding, lack of penetration at the root of fillet welds, and peening of fillet welds. In most cases a fatigue crack started from the root of the fillet, but in the case of higher stress amplitude, it tended to start from the toe of fillet. The standard socket welded joint of 50 mm diameter showed relatively low fatigue strength, 46 MPa in stress amplitude at the 10 7 cycles failure life. This value corresponds to about 1/5 of that of the smoothed base metal specimens in axial fatigue. The fatigue strength showed decrease with increasing pipe diameter, and increase with increasing the thickness of pipe and socket wall. The effects of throat depth and shape of fillet welds on fatigue strength were not significant. Contrary to the expectation, the fatigue strength of the socket welded joint without slip-on gap is higher than that of the joint with the normal gap. A lack of penetration at the root deleteriously reduced fatigue strength, showing 14 MPa in stress amplitude at the 10 7 cycles failure life for the 50 mm diameter socket joint. (orig.)

Sensitization development in austenitic stainless steel piping

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bruemmer, S.M.; Page, R.E.; Atteridge, D.G.

1984-10-01

Pacific Northwest Laboratory and the Division of Engineering Technology of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission are conducting a program to determine a method for evaluating welded and rapair-welded stainless steel piping for light-water reactor service. Validated models, based on experimental data, are being developed to predict the degree of sensitization (DOS) and the intergranular stress corrosion cracking (IGSCC) susceptibility in the heat-affected zone (HAZ) of the SS weldments. The cumulative effects of material composition, past fabrication procedures, past service exposure, weldment thermomechanical (TM) history, and projected post-repair component life are being considered. This program will measure and model the development of HAZ TM history and resultant sensitized microstructure in welded and repair-welded piping. An empirical correlation between a material's DOS and its susceptibility to SCC will be determined using slow strain rate tensile tests. Mill heat chemistries and processing/fabrication records already required in the nuclear industry will be used as input for initial DOS predictions

On the shakedown analysis of welded pipes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Tianbai; Chen Haofeng; Chen Weihang; Ure, James

2011-01-01

This paper presents the shakedown analysis of welded pipes subjected to a constant internal pressure and a varying thermal load. The Linear Matching Method (LMM) is applied to investigate the upper and lower bound shakedown limits of the pipes. Individual effects of i) geometry of weld metal, ii) ratio of inner radius to wall thickness and iii) all material properties of Weld Metal (WM), Heat Affected Zone (HAZ) and Parent Material (PM) on shakedown limits are investigated. The ranges of these variables are chosen to cover the majority of common pipe configurations. Corresponding individual influence functions on the shakedown limits are generated. These are then combined to allow the creation of a safety shakedown envelope, which can be used for the design of any welded pipes within the specified ranges. The effect of temperature-dependent yield stress (in PM, HAZ and WM) on these shakedown limits is also investigated.

Optimization and verification of ultrasonic testability of acoustically anisotropic materials on austenitic and dissimilar welds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pudovikov, Sergey

2013-01-01

Austenitic and dissimilar welds with respect to the ultrasonic testing (UT) methods are considered normally as ''difficult-to-test'' objects. During the solidification process in such welds a distinct dendrite microstructure evolves, which is coarse-grained, anisotropic and inhomogeneous simultaneously. The reliability of available ultrasonic methods on austenitic welds depends significantly on the selected UT-parameters as well as on the inspection personnel experience. In the present dissertation, an ultrasonic testing method was developed, which allows the flaw detection and evaluation in acoustically anisotropic inhomogeneous materials, especially in austenitic and dissimilar welds with a quantitative statement to the defect size, type, and location. The principle of synthetic focusing with taking into account the material anisotropy and inhomogeneity along with two- and three-dimensional visualization provides a reliable and quantitative assessment of the inspection results in acoustically anisotropic inhomogeneous test objects. Among others, an iterative algorithm for the determination of unknown elastic properties of inhomogeneous anisotropic materials has been developed. It allows practical application of the developed UT method, since the anisotropy of most of austenitic and dissimilar welds (especially of hand-welded joints) in practice is usually unknown. The functionality of the developed inspection technique has been validated by many experiments on welded austenitic specimens having artificial and natural defects. For the practical application of the new ultrasonic technique different testing strategies are proposed, which can be used depending on the current inspection task.

Microstructural features of dissimilar welds between 316LN austenitic stainless steel and alloy 800

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sireesha, M.; Sundaresan, S.

2000-01-01

For joining type 316LN austenitic stainless steel to modified 9Cr-1Mo steel for power plant application, a trimetallic configuration using an insert piece (such as alloy 800) of intermediate thermal coefficient of expansion (CTE) has been sometimes suggested for bridging the wide gap in CTE between the two steels. Two joints are thus involved and this paper is concerned with the weld between 316LN and alloy 800. These welds were produced using three types of filler materials: austenitic stainless steels corresponding to 316,16Cr-8Ni-2Mo, and the nickel-base Inconel 182 1 . The weld fusion zones and the interfaces with the base materials were characterised in detail using light and transmission electron microscopy. The 316 and Inconel 182 weld metals solidified dendritically, while the 16-8-2(16%Cr-8%Ni-2%Mo) weld metal showed a predominantly cellular substructure. The Inconel weld metal contained a large number of inclusions when deposited from flux-coated electrodes, but was relatively inclusion-free under inert gas-shielded welding. Long-term elevated-temperature aging of the weld metals resulted in embrittling sigma phase precipitation in the austenitic stainless steel weld metals, but the nickel-base welds showed no visible precipitation, demonstrating their superior metallurgical stability for high-temperature service. (orig.)

Orbital friction stir welding of aluminium pipes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Engelhard, G.; Hillers, T.

2002-01-01

Friction stir welding (FSW) was originally developed for flat plates. This contribution shows how it can be applied to the welding of aluminium pipes. Pipes made of AlMG 3 (EN5754), AlMg 4.5Mn (EN5083) and AlMgSi 0.5 (EN6106) with dimensions of Da 600 and 520 x 10-8 mm were welded. The FSW orbital system comprises an annular cage with integrated FSW head, a hydraulic system, and a control unit. The welds were tested successfully according to EN 288. The mechanical and technical properties of the welds were somewhat better than with the TIG orbital process, and welding times were about 40 percent shorter [de

Automated ultrasonic pipe weld inspection. Part 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Karl Deutsch, W.A.; Schulte, P.; Joswig, M.; Kattwinkel, R.

2006-01-01

This article contains a brief overview on automated ultrasonic welded inspection for various pipe types. Some inspection steps might by carried out with portable test equipment (e.g. pipe and test), but the weld inspection in all internationally relevant specification must be automated. The pipe geometry, the production process, and the pipe usage determine the number of required probes. Recent updates for some test specifications enforce a large number of ultrasonic probes, e.g. the Shell standard. Since seamless pipes are sometimes replaced by ERW pipes and LSAW pipes (in both cases to save production cost), the inspection methods change gradually between the various pipe types. Each testing system is unique and shows its specialties which have to be discussed by supplier, testing system user and final customer of the pipe. (author)

Mechanical behaviour of dissimilar metal welds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Escaravage, C.

1990-01-01

This report addresses the problems of dissimilar metal welds connecting an austenitic stainless steel component to a ferritic steel component. In LMFBRs such welds appear at the junction of the austenitic stainless steel vessel with the ferritic steel roof and in sodium and water or steam pipes. The latter are exposed to high temperatures in the creep range. A wide range of austenitic stainless steels and ferritic steels (carbon steels, low allow steels and alloy steels) are covered; the study encompasses more than 20 different weld metals (austenitic stainless steels and nickel base alloys). The report begins with a presentation of the materials, geometries and welding procedures treated in the study, followed by a review of service experience from examinations of dissimilar metal welds after elevated temperature service, in particular failed welds. Results of laboratory tests performed for reproducing service failures are then discussed. A further section is devoted to a review of test results on fatigue behaviour and impact toughness for dissimilar metal welded joints when creep is not significant. Finally, the problem of residual life assessment is addressed. A set of recommendations concludes the report. They concern the material selection, welding procedure, life prediction and testing of dissimilar metal welds. 84 refs

Effect of Dynamic Reheating Controlled by the Weaving Width on the Microstructure of GTA Bead-On-Pipe Weld Metal of 25% Cr Super Duplex Stainless Steel

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hee-Joon Sung

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW with three different heat inputs controlled by the weaving width was performed to understand their effects on the microstructural changes during bead-on-pipe welding of super duplex stainless steel. The microstructure of the weld metals was categorized into three different types of zones: non-reheated, reheated type, and reheating-free zone. Even though single-pass welding with different weaving widths was employed, a reheated microstructure was detected, which has been previously observed with multiple pass welding. This phenomenon was called “dynamic reheating”, because it was produced by the weaving operation during welding regardless of the weaving width. The categorized area fraction varied with the weaving width change. Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD results at the edge (the area near the fusion line of the low-heat-input condition indicated a higher austenite volume fraction and a lower Cr2N fraction than that of the medium heat input condition. Thus, it described an inverse relationship, because higher heat input provided a lower austenite fraction. In addition, it was observed clearly that the austenite fraction at the medium heat input condition was dramatically increased by reheating, while the Cr2N fraction was reduced. Regardless of the weaving width, reheating contributed to the increase of the austenite fraction, further reducing the Cr2N quantity. The edge areas in the map showed an inverse relationship in the reheated area fraction between low heat input and medium heat input. For this reason, the austenite fraction on the weld metal was determined not only by the heat input, but also by the amount of reheating.

Residual stress measurements in coil, linepipe and girth welded pipe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Law, M.; Prask, H.; Luzin, V.; Gnaeupel-Herold, T.

2006-01-01

Residual stresses in gas pipelines come from forming operations in producing the coil and pipe, seam welding the pipe, and girth welding pipes together to form a gas pipeline. Welding is used extensively in gas pipelines, the welds are made without post weld heat treatment. The three normal stresses were measured by neutron diffraction for three types of sample: coil, unwelded rings cut from the pipe made from this coil, and girth welded rings cut from linepipe. All three specimens came from three thicknesses of manufacture (5.4, 6.4, and 7.1 mm). The welds are manual metal arc cellulosic electrode welds made in X70 linepipe, these were measured at 5 through-thickness positions at 19 locations (from the center of the weld up to 35 mm away from the weld) with a spatial resolution of 1 mm 3 . The coil and unwelded rings were measured at the same five through-thickness positions

Laser-GMA Hybrid Pipe Welding System

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Reutzel, Edward W; Kern, Ludwig; Sullivan, Michael J; Tressler, Jay F; Avalos, Juan

2007-01-01

The combination of laser welding with conventional gas metal arc welding technology offers substantial increases in production rate of joining pipe through single-pass joining compared to multi-pass...

Pulsed magnetic welding application of fast breeder austenitic pins plugging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gallizzi, H.; Colombe, G.

1986-11-01

For specific nuclear needs, we had to develop pulsed magnetic welding on high resistivity coefficient alloys as austenitic steels. The magnetic force produced by an explosive inductor is transmitted on weld pieces by the use of an aluminium driver. A theoretical work carried out permitted to compare pulsed magnetic welding with explosive welding. With specific recordings, it was possible to study electrical and magnetical behavior during the active welding phase. By means of these informations, we are able to specify and to realize, with the financial help of ANVAR organization, a low impedance high velocity generator permitting to weld with a non destructible inductor. 6 refs [fr

Effect of the weld groove shape and pass number on residual stresses in butt-welded pipes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sattari-Far, I.; Farahani, M.R.

2009-01-01

This study used finite element techniques to analyze the thermo-mechanical behaviour and residual stresses in butt-welded pipes. The residual stresses were also measured in some welds by using the Hole-Drilling method. The results of the finite element analysis were compared with experimentally measured data to evaluate the accuracy of the finite element modelling. Based on this study, a finite element modelling procedure with reasonable accuracy was developed. The developed FE modelling was used to study the effects of weld groove shape and weld pass number on welding residual stresses in butt-welded pipes. The hoop and axial residual stresses in pipe joints of 6 and 10 mm thickness of different groove shapes and pass number were studied. It is shown that these two parameters may have significant effects on magnitude and distribution of residual stresses in welded pipes.

Development of new Z-factors for the evaluation of the circumferential surface crack in nuclear pipes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, Y.H.; Chung, Y.K.; Park, Y.W.; Lee, J.B.

1997-01-01

The purpose of this study is to develop new Z-factors to evaluate the behavior of a circumferential surface crack in nuclear pipe. Z-factor is a load multiplier used in the Z-factor method, which is one of the ASME Code Sec. XI's recommendations for the estimation of a surface crack in nuclear pipe. It has been reported that the load carrying capacities predicted from the current ASME Code Z-factors, are not well in agreement with the experimental results for nuclear pipes with a surface crack. In this study, new Z-factors for ferritic base metal, ferritic submerged arc welding (SAW) weld metal, austenitic base metal, and austenitic SAW weld metal are obtained by use of the surface crack for thin pipe (SC.TNP) method based on GE/EPRI method. The desirability of both the SC.TNP method and the new Z-factors is examined using the results from 48 pipe fracture experiments for nuclear pipes with a circumferential surface crack. The results show that the SC.TNP method is good for describing the circumferential surface crack behavior and the new Z-factors are well in agreement with the measured Z-factors for both ferritic and austenitic pipes. (orig.)

Welding repair of a dissimilar weld and respective consequences for other German plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brummer, G.; Dauwel, W.; Wesseling, U.; Ilg, U.; Lauer, P.; Widera, M.; Wachter, O.

2002-01-01

During a regular refueling outage in a German nuclear power plant in year 2000, additional non-destructive examinations have been performed on request of the Authority, to fulfill some recommendations of the independent experts with regard to the retrospective application of the Basic Safety Concept for the ferritic main coolant piping of this plant. During these inspections, indications were found in a dissimilar weld between one of the fifteen MCL (main coolant lines) nozzles and the ECC (emergency core cooling) system piping. By means of on-site metallography and laboratory investigations on three boat samples taken from this weld, it could be shown that the indications were due to hot cracking in the surface layer of the weld. In the course of these investigations, at three locations at the circumference of the weld, dis-bonding defects were found between the ferritic base metal of the nozzle and the austenitic weld butter, which has been applied to join the nozzle to the austenitic safe-end. According to the results of the extensive investigations, the dis-bonding occurred during the manufacturing process after stress-relief heat-treatment of the buttering during the welding of the austenitic safe-end to the butter material. There was no evidence for any crack growth during operation of the plant. Due to the large size of the boat-samples, a weld repair was mandatory. This repair has been performed using the so-called temper-bead technique as specified in the ASME Code, without subsequent stress relief heat treatment, using an advanced automatic orbital TIG welding process. The welding has been successfully performed without the need of further repair work. For those dissimilar welds, all other plants, except one, had used Inconel welding material for buttering the ferritic nozzle instead of stainless steel welding metal. For metallurgical reasons, dis-bonding along the fusion line for Inconel buttered dissimilar welds is unlikely to occur. Nevertheless all

Evaluation of residual stress on pipe welded joints using laser interferometry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chang, Ho Seob; Na, Man Gyun; Kim, Koung Suk [Chosun University, Gwangju (Korea, Republic of)

2014-02-15

Residual stresses that occur during the welding process, are the main cause of failure and defects in welded structures. This paper, presents the use of an electronic processing laser speckle interferometer to measure the residual stress of a welded pipe for a nuclear power plant. A tensile testing machine was used to evaluate a welded pipe that failed in compression. The inform plane deformation and modulus of elasticity of the base metal and welds were measured using an interferometer. Varying the load on the welded pipe had a larger effect on the deformation of the base metal the other properties of the base metal and welds. The elastic moduli of the base metal and weld of the welded pipe were 202.46 and 212.14 GPa, respectively, the residual stress was measured to be 6.29 MPa.

Modeling of residual stress mitigation in austenitic stainless steel pipe girth weldment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, M.; Atteridge, D.G.; Anderson, W.E.; West, S.L.

1994-01-01

This study provides numerical procedures to model 40-cm-diameter, schedule 40, Type 304L stainless steel pipe girth welding and a newly proposed post-weld treatment. The treatment can be used to accomplish the goal of imparting compressive residual stresses at the inner surface of a pipe girth weldment to prevent/retard the intergranular stress corrosion cracking (IGSCC) of the piping system in nuclear reactors. This new post-weld treatment for mitigating residual stresses is cooling stress improvement (CSI). The concept of CSI is to establish and maintain a certain temperature gradient across the pipe wall thickness to change the final stress state. Thus, this process involves sub-zero low temperature cooling of the inner pipe surface of a completed girth weldment, while simultaneously keeping the outer pipe surface at a slightly elevated temperature with the help of a certain heating method. Analyses to obtain quantitative results on pipe girth welding and CSI by using a thermo-elastic-plastic finite element model are described in this paper. Results demonstrate the potential effectiveness of CSI for introducing compressive residual stresses to prevent/retard IGSCC. Because of the symmetric nature of CSI, it shows great potential for industrial application

Residual stress measurement in 304 stainless steel weld overlay pipes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yen, H.J.; Lin, M.C.C.; Chen, L.J.

1996-01-01

Welding overlay repair (WOR) is commonly employed to rebuild piping systems suffering from intergranular stress corrosion cracking (IGSCC). To understand the effects of this repair, it is necessary to investigate the distribution of residual stresses in the welding pipe. The overlay welding technique must induce compressive residual stress at the inner surface of the welded pipe to prevent IGSCC. To understand the bulk residual stress distribution, the stress profile as a function of location within wall is examined. In this study the full destructive residual stress measurement technique -- a cutting and sectioning method -- is used to determine the residual stress distribution. The sample is type 304 stainless steel weld overlay pipe with an outside diameter of 267 mm. A pipe segment is cut from the circular pipe; then a thin layer is removed axially from the inner to the outer surfaces until further sectioning is impractical. The total residual stress is calculated by adding the stress relieved by cutting the section away to the stress relieved by axially sectioning. The axial and hoop residual stresses are compressive at the inner surface of the weld overlay pipe. Compressive stress exists not only at the surface but is also distributed over most of the pipe's cross section. On the one hand, the maximum compressive hoop residual stress appears at the pipe's inner surface. The thermal-mechanical induced crack closure from significant compressive residual stress is discussed. This crack closure can thus prevent IGSCC very effectively

Development of remote pipe welding tool for divertor cassettes in JT-60SA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hayashi, Takao, E-mail: hayashi.takao@jaea.go.jp [Fusion Research and Development Directorate, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Naka (Japan); Sakurai, Shinji; Sakasai, Akira; Shibanuma, Kiyoshi [Fusion Research and Development Directorate, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Naka (Japan); Kono, Wataru; Ohnawa, Toshio; Matsukage, Takeshi [Toshiba Corporation, Yokohama, Kanagawa (Japan)

2015-12-15

Highlights: • Remote pipe welding tool accessing from inside of the pipe has been newly developed. • Cooling pipe with a jut on the edge expands the acceptable welding gap up to 0.5 mm. • Positioning accuracy of the laser beam is realized to be less than ±0.1 mm. • We have achieved robust welding for an angular misalignment of 0.5°. - Abstract: Remote pipe welding tool accessing from inside of the pipe has been newly developed for JT-60SA. Remote handling (RH) system is necessary for the maintenance and repair of the divertor cassette in JT-60SA. Because the space around the cooling pipe connected with the divertor cassette is very limited, the cooling pipe is to be remotely cut and welded from inside for the maintenance. A laser welding method was employed to perform circumferential welding by rotating the focusing mirror inside the pipe. However, the grooves of connection pipes are not precisely aligned for welding. The most critical issue is therefore to develop a reliable welding tool for pipe connection without a defect such as undercut weld due to a gap caused by angular and axial misalignments of grooves. In addition, an angular misalignment between two pipes due to inclination of pipe has to be taken into account for the positioning of the laser beam during welding. In this paper, the followings are proposed to solve the above issues: (1) Cooling pipe connected with the divertor is machined to have a jut on the edge so as to expand the acceptable welding gap up to 0.5 mm by filling the gap with welded jut. (2) Positioning accuracy of the laser beam for reliable welding is realized to be less than ±0.1 mm along the circumferential target for welding by a position control mechanism provided in the tool even in the case of up to angular misalignment of 0.5° between connection pipes. Based on the above proposals, we have achieved robust welding for a large gap up to 0.5 mm as well as the maximum angular misalignment of 0.5° between connection pipes

Repair welding of cracked steam turbine blades using austenitic and martensitic stainless-steel consumables

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bhaduri, A.K.; Gill, T.P.S.; Albert, S.K.; Shanmugam, K.; Iyer, D.R.

2001-01-01

The procedure for repair welding of cracked steam turbine blades made of martensitic stainless steels has been developed using the gas tungsten arc welding process. Weld repair procedures were developed using both ER 316L austenitic and ER 410 martensitic stainless-steel filler wire. The overall development of the repair welding procedure included selection of welding consumables (for austenitic filler metal), optimisation of post-weld heat treatment parameters, selection of suitable method for local pre-heating and post-weld heat treatment (PWHT) of the blades, determination of mechanical properties of weldments in as-welded and PWHT conditions, and microsturctural examination. After various trials using different procedures, the procedure of local PWHT (and preheating when using martensitic stainless-steel filler wire) using electrical resistance heating on the top surface of the weldment and monitoring the temperature by placing a thermocouple at the bottom of the weld was found to give the most satisfactory results. These procedures have been developed and/or applied for repair welding of cracked blades in steam turbines

Plastic collapse moment for pipe repaired with weld overlay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Yinsheng; Hasegawa, Kunio; Shibuya, Akira; Deardorff, Arthur

2009-01-01

The Weld Overlay has been used in several countries as an effective method to repair the stress corrosion cracks in nuclear power plant piping. However, the method to evaluate the plastic collapse stress for the pipe repaired with Weld Overlay has not been proposed and the limit load criterion for single uniform material has been used to design its structure by now. In this paper, the equations to evaluate the plastic collapse moment for the pipe repaired with Weld Overlay have been derived considering two layer materials. Moreover, several numerical examples are given to show the validity of Weld Overlay. The equations given in this paper are simple to use like the limit load criterion showed in present standards such as JSME Rules on Fitness-for-Service for Nuclear Power Plants or ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code Section XI, and they can not only be used to evaluate the fracture of the pipe, but also be applied to design the weld structure. (author)

Effect of heat treatment on carbon steel pipe welds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohamad Harun.

1987-01-01

The heat treatment to improve the altered properties of carbon steel pipe welds is described. Pipe critical components in oil, gasification and nuclear reactor plants require adequate room temperature toughness and high strength at both room and moderately elevated temperatures. Microstructure and microhardness across the welds were changed markedly by the welding process and heat treatment. The presentation of hardness fluctuation in the welds can produce premature failure. A number of heat treatments are suggested to improve the properties of the welds. (author) 8 figs., 5 refs

Environmental Degradation of Dissimilar Austenitic 316L and Duplex 2205 Stainless Steels Welded Joints

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Topolska S.

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The paper describes structure and properties of dissimilar stainless steels welded joints between duplex 2205 and austenitic 316L steels. Investigations were focused on environmentally assisted cracking of welded joints. The susceptibility to stress corrosion cracking (SCC and hydrogen embrittlement was determined in slow strain rate tests (SSRT with the strain rate of 2.2 × 10−6 s−1. Chloride-inducted SCC was determined in the 35% boiling water solution of MgCl2 environment at 125°C. Hydrogen assisted SCC tests were performed in synthetic sea water under cathodic polarization condition. It was shown that place of the lowest resistance to chloride stress corrosion cracking is heat affected zone at duplex steel side of dissimilar joins. That phenomenon was connected with undesirable structure of HAZ comprising of large fractions of ferrite grains with acicular austenite phase. Hydrogen assisted SCC tests showed significant reduction in ductility of duplex 2205 steel while austenitic 316L steel remains almost immune to degradation processes. SSR tests of dissimilar welded joints revealed a fracture in the area of austenitic steel.

Microstructure characterization in the weld joint of a high nickel austenitic alloy and Cr18-Ni8 stainless steel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wu, Na; Li, Yajiang; Wang, Juan [Shandong Univ., Jinan (CN). Key Lab. for Liquid - Solid Structural Evolution and Processing of Materials (Ministry of Education)

2012-06-15

High nickel austenitic alloy, 6 mm thick, and Cr18-Ni8 stainless steel with a thickness of 0.6 mm were joined by pulsed current tungsten inert gas arc welding without filler metal in this work. Metallographic examination, microhardness measurement and electron microprobe analysis were used to reveal microstructural characteristics in the joint. The results indicated that the weld metal consisted of {gamma}-austenite, {delta}-ferrite and carbides without the appearance of martensite. There were dendrite crystals at the edge of the weld metal near the high nickel austenitic alloy and isometric crystals in the center of the weld metal. The microhardness of the weld metal was the highest due to the existence of carbides and its finer structure. Graphite flakes were still embedded in the austenite matrix of the heat-affected zone without the formation of martensite. (orig.)

Prediction of microsegregation and pitting corrosion resistance of austenitic stainless steel welds by modelling

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vilpas, M. [VTT Manufacturing Technology, Espoo (Finland). Materials and Structural Integrity

1999-07-01

The present study focuses on the ability of several computer models to accurately predict the solidification, microsegregation and pitting corrosion resistance of austenitic stainless steel weld metals. Emphasis was given to modelling the effect of welding speed on solute redistribution and ultimately to the prediction of weld pitting corrosion resistance. Calculations were experimentally verified by applying autogenous GTA- and laser processes over the welding speed range of 0.1 to 5 m/min for several austenitic stainless steel grades. Analytical and computer aided models were applied and linked together for modelling the solidification behaviour of welds. The combined use of macroscopic and microscopic modelling is a unique feature of this work. This procedure made it possible to demonstrate the effect of weld pool shape and the resulting solidification parameters on microsegregation and pitting corrosion resistance. Microscopic models were also used separately to study the role of welding speed and solidification mode in the development of microsegregation and pitting corrosion resistance. These investigations demonstrate that the macroscopic model can be implemented to predict solidification parameters that agree well with experimentally measured values. The linked macro-micro modelling was also able to accurately predict segregation profiles and CPT-temperatures obtained from experiments. The macro-micro simulations clearly showed the major roles of weld composition and welding speed in determining segregation and pitting corrosion resistance while the effect of weld shape variations remained negligible. The microscopic dendrite tip and interdendritic models were applied to welds with good agreement with measured segregation profiles. Simulations predicted that weld inhomogeneity can be substantially decreased with increasing welding speed resulting in a corresponding improvement in the weld pitting corrosion resistance. In the case of primary austenitic

Study of verification and validation of standard welding procedure specifications guidelines for API 5L X-70 grade line pipe welding

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qazi H. A. A.

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Verification and validation of welding procedure specifications for X-70 grade line pipe welding was performed as per clause 8.2, Annexure B and D of API 5L, 45th Edition to check weld integrity in its future application conditions. Hot rolled coils were imported from China, de-coiling, strip edge milling, three roller bending to from pipe, inside and outside submerged arc welding of pipe, online ultrasonic testing of weld, HAZ and pipe body, cutting at fixed random length of pipe, visual inspection of pipe, Fluoroscopic inspection of pipe, welding procedure qualification test pieces marking at weld portion of the pipe, tensile testing, guided bend testing, CVN Impact testing were performed. Detailed study was conducted to explore possible explanations and variation in mechanical properties, WPS is examined and qualified as per API 5L 45th Edition.

Weld repair issues in thick section austenitic pipework

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goodwin, S.J.; Price, A.T.

1989-03-01

Thick section austenitic Type 316 Stainless steel, in the solution treated condition, has been used in Central Electricity Generating Board plant in the United Kingdom for some three decades and has given good service. Repair and replacement of this material after long term service is becoming a requirement and is complicated by the precipitation hardening and sensitisation of the materials. This paper summarises the compositional, microstructural and ageing characteristics of the wrought material and weld metals and the consequences for materials properties. Post weld heat treatment options are outlined and sensitisation to stress corrosion cracking is discussed. Finally, some examples of cracking that has occurred in plant after long term operation are given and weld repair research requirements are noted. (author)

The behavior of welded joint in steel pipe members under monotonic and cyclic loading

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chang, Kyong-Ho; Jang, Gab-Chul; Shin, Young-Eui; Han, Jung-Guen; Kim, Jong-Min

2006-01-01

Most steel pipe members are joined by welding. The residual stress and weld metal in a welded joint have the influence on the behavior of steel pipes. Therefore, to accurately predict the behavior of steel pipes with a welded joint, the influence of welding residual stress and weld metal on the behavior of steel pipe must be investigated. In this paper, the residual stress of steel pipes with a welded joint was investigated by using a three-dimensional non-steady heat conduction analysis and a three-dimensional thermal elastic-plastic analysis. Based on the results of monotonic and cyclic loading tests, a hysteresis model for weld metal was formulated. The hysteresis model was proposed by the authors and applied to a three-dimensional finite elements analysis. To investigate the influence of a welded joint in steel pipes under monotonic and cyclic loading, three-dimensional finite elements analysis considering the proposed model and residual stress was carried out. The influence of a welded joint on the behavior of steel pipe members was investigated by comparing the analytical result both steel pipe with a welded joint and that without a welded joint

Resistance Element Welding of Magnesium Alloy/austenitic Stainless Steel

Science.gov (United States)

Manladan, S. M.; Yusof, F.; Ramesh, S.; Zhang, Y.; Luo, Z.; Ling, Z.

2017-09-01

Multi-material design is increasingly applied in the automotive and aerospace industries to reduce weight, improve crash-worthiness, and reduce environmental pollution. In the present study, a novel variant of resistance spot welding technique, known as resistance element welding was used to join AZ31 Mg alloy to 316 L austenitic stainless steel. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the joints were evaluated. It was found that the nugget consisted of two zones, including a peripheral fusion zone on the stainless steel side and the main fusion zone. The tensile shear properties of the joints are superior to those obtained by traditional resistance spot welding.

Round Robin Analyses on Stress Intensity Factors of Inner Surface Cracks in Welded Stainless Steel Pipes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chang-Gi Han

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Austenitic stainless steels (ASSs are widely used for nuclear pipes as they exhibit a good combination of mechanical properties and corrosion resistance. However, high tensile residual stresses may occur in ASS welds because postweld heat treatment is not generally conducted in order to avoid sensitization, which causes a stress corrosion crack. In this study, round robin analyses on stress intensity factors (SIFs were carried out to examine the appropriateness of structural integrity assessment methods for ASS pipe welds with two types of circumferential cracks. Typical stress profiles were generated from finite element analyses by considering residual stresses and normal operating conditions. Then, SIFs of cracked ASS pipes were determined by analytical equations represented in fitness-for-service assessment codes as well as reference finite element analyses. The discrepancies of estimated SIFs among round robin participants were confirmed due to different assessment procedures and relevant considerations, as well as the mistakes of participants. The effects of uncertainty factors on SIFs were deducted from sensitivity analyses and, based on the similarity and conservatism compared with detailed finite element analysis results, the R6 code, taking into account the applied internal pressure and combination of stress components, was recommended as the optimum procedure for SIF estimation.

Round robin analysis on stress intensity factor of inner surface cracks in welded stainless steel pipes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Han, Chang Gi; Chang, Yoon Suk [Dept. of Nuclear Engineering, College of Engineering, Kyung Hee University, Yongin (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Jong Sung [Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Sunchon National University, Sunchon (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Maan Won [Central Research Institute, Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Company, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-12-15

Austenitic stainless steels (ASSs) are widely used for nuclear pipes as they exhibit a good combination of mechanical properties and corrosion resistance. However, high tensile residual stresses may occur in ASS welds because postweld heat treatment is not generally conducted in order to avoid sensitization, which causes a stress corrosion crack. In this study, round robin analyses on stress intensity factors (SIFs) were carried out to examine the appropriateness of structural integrity assessment methods for ASS pipe welds with two types of circumferential cracks. Typical stress profiles were generated from finite element analyses by considering residual stresses and normal operating conditions. Then, SIFs of cracked ASS pipes were determined by analytical equations represented in fitness-for-service assessment codes as well as reference finite element analyses. The discrepancies of estimated SIFs among round robin participants were confirmed due to different assessment procedures and relevant considerations, as well as the mistakes of participants. The effects of uncertainty factors on SIFs were deducted from sensitivity analyses and, based on the similarity and conservatism compared with detailed finite element analysis results, the R6 code, taking into account the applied internal pressure and combination of stress components, was recommended as the optimum procedure for SIF estimation.

Reactor process water (PW) piping inspections, 1984--1990

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ehrhart, W.S.; Elder, J.B.; Sprayberry, R.E.; Vande Kamp, R.W.

1990-01-01

In July 1983, the NRC ordered the shutdown of five boiling water reactors (BWR's) because of concerns about reliability of ultrasonic examination for detecting intergranular stress corrosion cracking (IGSCC). These concerns arose because of leaking piping at Niagara Mohawk's Nine Mile Point which was attributed to IGSCC. The leaks were detected shortly after completion of ultrasonic examinations of the piping. At that time, the Dupont plant manager at Savannah River (SR) directed that investigations be performed to determine if similar problems could exist in SR reactors. Investigation determined that all conditions believed necessary for the initiation and propagation of IGSCC in austenitic stainless steel exist in SR reactor process water (PW) systems. Sensitized, high carbon, austenitic stainless steel, a high purity water system with high levels of dissolved oxygen, and the residual stresses associated with welding during construction combine to provide the necessary conditions. A periodic UT inspection program is now in place to monitor the condition of the reactor PW piping systems. The program is patterned after NRC NUREG 0313, i.e., welds are placed in categories based on their history. Welds in upgraded or replacement piping are examined on a standard schedule (at least every five years) while welds with evidence of IGSCC, evaluated as acceptable for service, are inspected at every extended outage (15 to 18 months). This includes all welds in PW systems three inches in diameter and above. Welds are replaced when MSCC exceeds the replacement criteria of more than twenty percent of pipe circumference of fifty percent of through-wall depth. In the future, we intend to perform flow sizing with automated UT techniques in addition to manual sizing to provide more information for comparison with future examinations

Contribution to the metallurgy of welding processes in stainless ferritic-austenitic (duplex) steels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perteneder, E.; Toesch, J.; Rabensteiner, G.

1989-01-01

Duplex steels have a ferritic austenitic structure. Therefore, to obtain a successful welding, special metallurgical regulations must be observed. The effect of energy per unit length and plate thickness onto the heat influence zone in case of manual arc welding is examined. Practice-oriented instructions for the welding technique to be applied are deduced from the results. Finally, the effect of the alloy composition onto the welding capacity of duplex steels is examined. (orig.) [de

Modification of the grain structure of austenitic welds for improved ultrasonic inspectability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wagner, Sabine; Dugan, Sandra; Stubenrauch, Steffen; Jacobs, Oliver

2013-01-01

Welding is an essential part of the fabrication of austenitic stainless steel components used in industrial plants, such as those designed for nuclear power generation, chemical processing, conventional power generation and, increasingly, for production of renewable energy. The welded austenitic material presents major challenges for ultrasonic inspection due to the grain structure of the weld metal. The typically coarse grain structure, in combination with the elastic anisotropy of the material, leads to increased scattering and affects sound wave propagation in the weld. These effects result in a reduced signal-to-noise ratio, and complicate the interpretation of signals and the localisation of defects by ultrasonic inspection. This paper presents the results of a research project dealing with efforts to influence grain growth in the weld during the welding process, in particular during the solidification process, in order to produce smaller grains. The objective was to achieve improved sound propagation through the weld, so that inspectability can be improved. The welding process was modified by the application of alternating magnetic fields at different frequencies, as well as different temperature cycles and pulsed arc technology. Metallographic sections of the test welds show that modification of the grain structure can be achieved by the use of these techniques. For further optimisation, test blocks for ultrasonic testing were manufactured with testflaws to study sound propagation through the modified weld and to assess the detectability of test flaws. The results of this investigation are of importance in assessing the integrity of highly stressed components in industrial installations, particularly for those components with stringent requirements on safety and quality.

Active flux tungsten inert gas welding of austenitic stainless steel AISI 304

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. Klobčar

2016-10-01

Full Text Available The paper presents the effects of flux assisted tungsten inert gas (A-TIG welding of 4 (10 mm thick austenitic stainless steel EN X5CrNi1810 (AISI 304 in the butt joint. The sample dimensions were 300 ´ 50 mm, and commercially available active flux QuickTIG was used for testing. In the planned study the influence of welding position and weld groove shape was analysed based on the penetration depth. A comparison of microstructure formation, grain size and ferrit number between TIG welding and A-TIG welding was done. The A-TIG welds were subjected to bending test. A comparative study of TIG and A-TIG welding shows that A-TIG welding increases the weld penetration depth.

Fatigue evaluation of socket welded piping in nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vecchio, R.S.

1996-01-01

Fatigue failures in piping systems occur, almost without exception, at the welded connections. In nuclear power plant systems, such failures occur predominantly at the socket welds of small diameter piping ad fillet attachment welds under high-cycle vibratory conditions. Nearly all socket weld fatigue failures are identified by leaks which, though not high in volume, generally are costly due to attendant radiological contamination. Such fatigue cracking was recently identified in the 3/4 in. diameter recirculation and relief piping socket welds from the reactor coolant system (RCS) charging pumps at a nuclear power plant. Consequently, a fatigue evaluation was performed to determine the cause of cracking and provide an acceptable repair. Socket weld fatigue life was evaluated using S-N type fatigue life curves for welded structures developed by AASHTO and the assessment of an effective cyclic stress range adjacent to each socket weld. Based on the calculated effective tress ranges and assignment of the socket weld details to the appropriate AASHTO S-N curves, the socket weld fatigue lives were calculated and found to be in excellent agreement with the accumulated cyclic life to-date

Manufacturing and use of spiral welded pipes for high pressure service : state of the art

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Knoop, F.M.; Sommer, B. [Salzgitter GroBrohre GmbH, Salzgitter (Germany)

2004-07-01

This paper provided details of an improved helical seam 2-step (HTS) manufacturing process used to produce spiral welded large diameter pipes for high pressure transmission pipelines. During the process, pipe forming is combined with continuous tack welding and internal and external submerged arc welding at separate welding stations. The pipe forming unit consists of a 3 roll bending system with an outside roller cage used to guarantee the roundness of the pipe. The converging strip edges of the pipe are joined using a continuous shielded arc tack weld. Tack welding is done automatically with a laser-guided weld head. Run-out angles are adjusted by an automatic gap control system. The formed and tack-welded pipes are then fed to computer-controlled welding stations for final welding, where each pipe is rotated with a precise screw-like motion. The same welding materials used for the helical seam are used for the skelp end welding. The process offers more precise root gap control, as well as improved pipe geometry. Use of the process has also increased production rates and improved weld stability. The dimensions of the spiral-weld pipes are adjustable so that any diameter can be produced from a base material of the same width. The pipes can also be coated externally with fusion-bonded epoxy or 3-layer polyethylene/polypropylene. It was concluded that the process is being further refined to support the use of HTS pipes in high-pressure pipelines. New nondestructive testing techniques used to assess the performance of the line pipes were presented, as well as the results from hot and cold bending tests, field weldability trials, and tests related to the safety of spiral pipes. 16 refs., 2 tabs., 12 figs.

Automated flaw detection scheme for cast austenitic stainless steel weld specimens using Hilbert-Huang transform of ultrasonic phased array data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khan, Tariq; Majumdar, Shantanu; Udpa, Lalita; Ramuhalli, Pradeep; Crawford, Susan; Diaz, Aaron; Anderson, Michael T.

2012-01-01

The objective of this work is to develop processing algorithms to detect and localize flaws using ultrasonic phased-array data. Data was collected on cast austenitic stainless stell (CASS) weld specimens onloan from the U.S. nuclear power industry' Pressurized Walter Reactor Owners Group (PWROG) traveling specimen set. Each specimen consists of a centrifugally cast stainless stell (CCSS) pipe section welded to a statically cst(SCSS) or wrought (WRSS) section. The paper presents a novel automated flaw detection and localization scheme using low frequency ultrasonic phased array inspection singals from the weld and heat affected zone of the based materials. The major steps of the overall scheme are preprocessing and region of interest (ROI) detection followed by the Hilbert-Huang transform (HHT) of A-scans in the detected ROIs. HHT offers time-frequency-energy distribution for each ROI. The Accumulation of energy in a particular frequency band is used as a classification feature for the particular ROI

Influence of Welding Strength Matching Coefficient and Cold Stretching on Welding Residual Stress in Austenitic Stainless Steel

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Yaqing; Hui, Hu; Gong, Jianguo

2018-05-01

Austenitic stainless steel is widely used in pressure vessels for the storage and transportation of liquid gases such as liquid nitrogen, liquid oxygen, and liquid hydrogen. Cryogenic pressure vessel manufacturing uses cold stretching technology, which relies heavily on welding joint performance, to construct lightweight and thin-walled vessels. Residual stress from welding is a primary factor in cases of austenitic stainless steel pressure vessel failure. In this paper, on the basis of Visual Environment 10.0 finite element simulation technology, the residual stress resulting from different welding strength matching coefficients (0.8, 1, 1.2, 1.4) for two S30408 plates welded with three-pass butt welds is calculated according to thermal elastoplastic theory. In addition, the stress field was calculated under a loading as high as 410 MPa and after the load was released. Path 1 was set to analyze stress along the welding line, and path 2 was set to analyze stress normal to the welding line. The welding strength matching coefficient strongly affected both the longitudinal residual stress (center of path 1) and the transverse residual stress (both ends of path 1) after the welding was completed. However, the coefficient had little effect on the longitudinal and transverse residual stress of path 2. Under the loading of 410 MPa, the longitudinal and transverse stress decreased and the stress distribution, with different welding strength matching coefficients, was less diverse. After the load was released, longitudinal and transverse stress distribution for both path 1 and path 2 decreased to a low level. Cold stretching could reduce the effect of residual stress to various degrees. Transverse strain along the stretching direction was also taken into consideration. The experimental results validated the reliability of the partial simulation.

The role of nitrogen in improving pitting corrosion resistance of high-alloy austenitic and duplex stainless steel welds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vilpas, M.; Haenninen, H.

1999-01-01

The effects of nitrogen alloyed shielding gas on weld nitrogen content and pitting corrosion resistance of super austenitic (6%Mo) and super duplex stainless steels have been studied with special emphasis on microsegregation behaviour of Cr, Mo and N. The measurements performed with the 6%Mo steel indicate that all these elements segregate interdendritically in the fully austenitic weld metal. With nitrogen addition to the shielding gas the enrichment of nitrogen to the interdendritic regions is more pronounced than to the dendrite cores due to which the pitting corrosion resistance of the dendrite cores increases only marginally. In the super duplex steel welds nitrogen enriches in austenite increasing its pitting corrosion resistance more effectively. In these welds the pitting corrosion resistance of the ferrite phase remains lower. (orig.)

Nuclear welding, application for an LMFBR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Patriarca, P.; Goodwin, G.M.

1975-01-01

Fabrication of an LMFBR system is discussed, with emphasis on areas where joint welding innovations have been introduced. Each major component of the system, including reactor vessel, intermediate heat exchanger, steam generator, and sodium-containment piping, is treated separately. Developmet of special filler metals to avoid the low elevated-temperature creep ductility obtained with conventional austenitic stainless steel weldments is reported. Bore-side welding of steam generator tube-to-tubesheet joints with and without filler metal is desirable to improve inspectability and eliminate the crevice inherent with face-side weld design, thus minimizing corrosion problems. Automated welding methods for sodium-containment piping are summarized which iminimize and control distortion and ensure welds of high integrity. Selection of materials for the various components is discussed for plants presently under construction, and materials predictions are made for future concepts. (U.S.)

Safety evaluation of socket weld integrity in nuclear piping

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, Y.H.; Kim, H.J.; Choi, S.Y.; Kim, Y.J.; Kim, Y.J.

2004-01-01

The purposes of this paper are to evaluate the integrity of socket weld in nuclear piping and prepare the technical basis for a new guideline on radiographic testing (RT) for the socket weld. Recently, the integrity of the socket weld is regarded as a safety concern in nuclear power plants because lots of failures and leaks have been reported in the socket weld. The root causes of the socket weld failure are known as unanticipated loadings such as vibration or thermal fatigue and improper weld joint during construction. The ASME Code sec. III requires 1/16 inch gap between the pipe and fitting in the socket weld. Many failure cases, however, showed that the gap requirement was not satisfied. The Code also requires magnetic particle examination (MT) or liquid penetration examination (PT) on the socket weld, but not radiographic examination (RT). It means that it is not easy to examine the 1/16 inch gap in the socket weld by using the NDE methods currently required in the Code. In this paper, the effects of the requirements in the ASME Code sec. III on the socket weld integrity were evaluated by using finite element method. The crack behavior in the socket weld was also investigated under vibration event in nuclear power plants. The results showed that the socket weld was very susceptible to the vibration if the requirements in ASME Code were not satisfied. The constraint between the pipe and fitting due to the contact significantly affects the integrity of the socket weld. This paper also suggests a new guideline on the RT for the socket weld during construction stage in nuclear power plants. (orig.)

Study on the stress and strain during welding of plate-to-pipe joint

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Na, S.J.; Kim, H.W.

1986-09-01

In manufacturing of pipe walls for boiler units, distortion can result in pipe-to-pipe joints from the nonuniform expansion and contraction of the weld metal and the adjacent base metal during heating and cooling cycle of the welding process. In this study, the stresses and strains during longitudinal welding of the plate-to-pipe joint were investigated. Using the method of sucessive elastic solution, longitudinal stresses and strains during and after welding were calculated from the information of temperature distributions obtained by Rosenthal's equations. In order to confirm the validity of the numerical results, the temperature and residual stress distributions were measured and compared with the calculated results. In spite of some assumptions, the one-dimensional analytical results of residual stresses were in fairly good agreement with the experimental ones. The residual stresses due to welding of plate-to-pipe joints are tensile near the weld line and compressive in the base metal as in the welding of plates. The amount and distribution of residual stresses were deeply dependent on the heat input ratio of the plate and pipe.

Laser Welding Of Finned Tubes Made Of Austenitic Steels

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stolecki M.

2015-09-01

Full Text Available This paper describes the technology of welding of finned tubes made of the X5CrNi1810 (1.4301 austenitic steel, developed at Energoinstal SA, allowing one to get high quality joints that meet the requirements of the classification societies (PN-EN 15614, and at the same time to significantly reduce the manufacturing costs. The authors described an automatic technological line equipped with a Trumph disc laser and a tube production technological process. To assess the quality of the joints, one performed metallographic examinations, hardness measurements and a technological attempt to rupture the fin. Analysis of the results proved that the laser-welded finned tubes were performed correctly and that the welded joints had shown no imperfections.

Development of neural network models for the prediction of solidification mode, weld bead geometry and sensitisation in austenitic stainless steels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vasudevan, M.; Raj, B.; Prasad Rao, K.

2005-01-01

Quantitative models describing the effect of weld composition on the solidification mode, ferrite content and process parameters on the weld bead geometry are necessary in order to design composition of the welding consumable to ensure primary ferritic solidification mode, proper ferrite content and to ensure right choice of process parameters to achieve good bead geometry. A quantitative model on sensitisation behaviour of austenitic stainless steels is also necessary to optimise the composition of the austenitic stainless steel and to limit the strain on the material in order to enhance the resistance to sensitisation. The present paper discuss the development of quantitative models using artificial neural networks to correlate weld metal composition with solidification mode, process parameter with weld bead geometry and time for sensitisation with composition, strain in the material before welding and the temperature of exposure in austenitic stainless steels. (author)

Progress report on a NDT round robin on austenitic circumferential pipe welds; Fortschrittsbericht ueber einen ZfP-Ringversuch an austenitischen Rohrleitungs-Rundschweissnaehten

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brast, G [Preussische Elektrizitaets-AG (Preussenelektra), Hannover (Germany); Maier, H J; Knoch, P; Mletzko, U [Stuttgart Univ. (Germany). Staatliche Materialpruefungsanstalt

1998-11-01

The objective of the project is establish on the basis of Round Robin tests the current state of efficiency of various, defined testing methods, so that required or achievable optimizations can be defined and made. The project work up to date encompasses mon-destructive examinations of 15 austenitic welds with nominal widths DN 150/200/250 and wall thicknesses from 8 to 18 mm. Except for one test piece, (elbow/elbow), the joining welds are straight pipe to elbow welds. The results of the Round Robin tests show that the NDE detection limits for the fault examined (intercrystalline stress corrosion cracking) are in the range assumed so far, i.e. from about 20 to 25% of the wall thickness to be examined. The defect detection rates of the ultrasonic test methods applied are approx. 70% and thus are about equal in achievement with comparable international Round Robin tests (PISC; ASME/PDI, ENIQ, etc.). Clearly better are the fault detection rates of radiography. Evaluation of the individual results indicates the detection limits can be improved, by 1. reducing the misalignment of edges, 2. grinding of welds, 3. avoiding sharp notches at the root, 4. producing coaxial surfaces. (orig./CB) [Deutsch] Ein Ziel des Vorhabens ist es, mit Ringversuchen den derzeitigen Stand der Leistungsfaehigkeit einzelner Pruefverfahren und -techniken zu erkennen, um moeglicherweise notwendige Optimierungen vornehmen zu koennen. Das Vorhaben umfasst bis jetzt zerstoerungsfreie Pruefungen an 15 austenitischen Naehten mit Nennweiten DN 150/200/250 und Wandstaerken zwischen 8 und 18 mm. Mit einer Ausnahme (Bogen/Bogen) handelt es sich um Verbindungen Geradrohr/Bogen. Die Ergebnisse des Ringversuches weisen darauf hin, dass die Nachweisgrenzen der ZfP fuer den vorliegenden Fehlertyp (Interkristalline Spannungsrisskorrosion) in der bisher schon angenommenen Groessenordnung von ca. 20-25% der geprueften Wanddicke liegen. Die Fehlerauffind-Raten der US-Pruefung liegen mit ca. 70% im Rahmen

Effect of Dynamic Reheating Induced by Weaving on the Microstructure of GTAW Weld Metal of 25% Cr Super Duplex Stainless Steel Weld Metal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hee-Joon Sung

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The importance of the additional growth and/or transformation of the austenite phase that occurs in weld metals of super duplex stainless steel upon reheating is known. However, the effects have not been fully investigated, especially with respect to reheating induced by weaving during single-pass welding. In this work, bead-on-pipe gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW was conducted on super duplex stainless steel to understand the effect of weaving on the microstructure of weld metal. Microstructural analysis, electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD, and focused ion beam transmission electron microscopy (FIB-TEM were carried out to investigate the relationship between weaving and microstructural change. The weaving of GTAW produced a dynamic reheated area just before the weld bead during welding. It was revealed that extensive reheated weld existed even after one welding pass, and that the content of the austenite phase in the reheated area was higher than that in the non-reheated area, indicating the existence of a large quantity of intragranular austenite phase. In addition, the Cr2N content in the reheated area was lower than that in the non-reheated area. This reduction of Cr2N was closely related to the reheating resulting from weaving. TEM analysis revealed that Cr2N in the non-reheated area was dispersed following heating and transformed to secondary austenite.

Development of pipe welding, cutting and inspection tools for the ITER blanket

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oka, Kiyoshi; Ito, Akira; Taguchi, Kou; Takiguchi, Yuji; Takahashi, Hiroyuki; Tada, Eisuke

1999-07-01

In D-T burning reactors such as International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), an internal access welding/cutting of blanket cooling pipe with bend sections is inevitably required because of spatial constraint due to nuclear shield and available port opening space. For this purpose, internal access pipe welding/cutting/inspection tools for manifolds and branch pipes are being developed according to the agreement of the ITER R and D task (T329). A design concept of welding/cutting processing head with a flexible optical fiber has been developed and the basic feasibility studies on welding, cutting and rewelding are performed using stainless steel plate (SS316L). In the same way, a design concept of inspection head with a non-destructive inspection probe (including a leak-testing probe) has been developed and the basic characteristic tests are performed using welded stainless steel pipes. In this report, the details of welding/cutting/inspection heads for manifolds and branch pipes are described, together with the basic experiment results relating to the welding/cutting and inspection. In addition, details of a composite type optical fiber, which can transmit both the high-power YAG laser and visible rays, is described. (author)

Microstructural Variations Across a Dissimilar 316L Austenitic: 9Cr Reduced Activation Ferritic Martensitic Steel Weld Joint

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas Paul, V.; Karthikeyan, T.; Dasgupta, Arup; Sudha, C.; Hajra, R. N.; Albert, S. K.; Saroja, S.; Jayakumar, T.

2016-03-01

This paper discuss the microstructural variations across a dissimilar weld joint between SS316 and 9Cr-RAFM steel and its modifications on post weld heat treatments (PWHT). Detailed characterization showed a mixed microstructure of austenite and martensite in the weld which is in agreement with the phases predicted using Schaeffler diagram based on composition measurements. The presence of very low volume fraction of δ-ferrite in SS316L has been identified employing state of the art electron back-scattered diffraction technique. PWHT of the ferritic steel did not reduce the hardness in the weld metal. Thermal exposure at 973 K (700 °C) showed a progressive reduction in hardness of weld joint with duration of treatment except in austenitic base metal. However, diffusion annealing at 1073 K (800 °C) for 100 hours resulted in an unexpected increase in hardness of weld metal, which is a manifestation of the dilution effects and enrichment of Ni on the transformation characteristics of the weld zone. Migration of carbon from ferritic steel aided the precipitation of fine carbides in the austenitic base metal on annealing at 973 K (700 °C); but enhanced diffusion at 1073 K (880 °C) resulted in coarsening of carbides and thereby reduction of hardness.

Nondestructive testing of austenitic casting and dissimilar metal welds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lahdenperae, K.

1995-01-01

The publication is a literature study of nondestructive testing of dissimilar metal welds and cast austenitic components in PWR and BWR plants. A major key to the successful testing is a realistic mockup made of the materials to be tested. The inspectors must also be trained and validated using suitable mockups. (42 refs., 27 figs., 10 tabs.)

Corrosion behaviour of dissimilar welds between ferritic-martensitic stainless steel and austenitic stainless steel from secondary circuit of CANDU NPP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Popa, L.; Fulger, M.; Tunaru, M.; Velciu, L.; Lazar, M.

2016-01-01

Corrosion damages of welds occur in spite of the fact that the proper base metal and filler metal have been correctly selected, industry codes and standards have been followed and welds have been realized with full weld penetration and have proper shape and contour. In secondary circuit of a Nuclear Power Station there are some components which have dissimilar welds. The principal criteria for selecting a stainless steel usually is resistance to corrosion, and white most consideration is given to the corrosion resistance of the base metal, additional consideration should be given to the weld metal and to the base metal immediately adjacent to the weld zone. Our experiments were performed in chloride environmental on two types of samples: non-welded (410 or W 1.4006 ferritic-martensitic steel and 304L or W 1.4307 austenitic stainless steel) and dissimilar welds (dissimilar metal welds: joints between 410 ferritic-martensitic and 304L austenitic stainless steel). To evaluate corrosion susceptibility of dissimilar welds was used electrochemical method (potentiodynamic method) and optic microscopy (microstructural analysis). The present paper follows the localized corrosion behaviour of dissimilar welds between austenitic stainless steel and ferritic-martensitic steel in solutions containing chloride ions. It was evaluated the corrosion rates of samples (welded and non-welded) by electrochemical methods. (authors)

On detection and automatic tracking of butt weld line in thin wall pipe welding by a mobile robot with visual sensor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suga, Yasuo; Ishii, Hideaki; Muto, Akifumi

1992-01-01

An automatic pipe welding mobile robot system with visual sensor was constructed. The robot can move along a pipe, and detect the weld line to be welded by visual sensor. Moreover, in order to make an automatic welding, the welding torch can track the butt weld line of the pipes at a constant speed by rotating the robot head. Main results obtained are summarized as follows: 1) Using a proper lighting fixed in front of the CCD camera, the butt weld line of thin wall pipes can be recongnized stably. In this case, the root gap should be approximately 0.5 mm. 2) In order to detect the weld line stably during moving along the pipe, a brightness distribution measured by the CCD camera should be subjected to smoothing and differentiating and then the weld line is judged by the maximum and minimum values of the differentials. 3) By means of the basic robot system with a visual sensor controlled by a personal computer, the detection and in-process automatic tracking of a weld line are possible. The average tracking error was approximately 0.2 mm and maximum error 0.5 mm and the welding speed was held at a constant value with error of about 0.1 cm/min. (author)

Fatigue behaviour of friction welded medium carbon steel and austenitic stainless steel dissimilar joints

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paventhan, R.; Lakshminarayanan, P.R.; Balasubramanian, V.

2011-01-01

Research highlights: → Fusion welding of dissimilar metals is a problem due to difference in properties. → Solid state welding process such as friction welding is a solution for the above problem. → Fatigue life of friction welded carbon steel and stainless steel joints are evaluated. → Effect of notch on the fatigue life of friction welded dissimilar joints is reported. → Formation of intermetallic is responsible for reduction in fatigue life of dissimilar joints. -- Abstract: This paper reports the fatigue behaviour of friction welded medium carbon steel-austenitic stainless steel (MCS-ASS) dissimilar joints. Commercial grade medium carbon steel rods of 12 mm diameter and AISI 304 grade austenitic stainless steel rods of 12 mm diameter were used to fabricate the joints. A constant speed, continuous drive friction welding machine was used to fabricate the joints. Fatigue life of the joints was evaluated conducting the experiments using rotary bending fatigue testing machine (R = -1). Applied stress vs. number of cycles to failure (S-N) curve was plotted for unnotched and notched specimens. Basquin constants, fatigue strength, fatigue notch factor and notch sensitivity factor were evaluated for the dissimilar joints. Fatigue strength of the joints is correlated with microstructure, microhardness and tensile properties of the joints.

Evaluation of pipe weld NDE indications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brasse, M.

2007-01-01

This paper discusses the evaluation of non-destructive examination (NDE) indications in pipe welds. The evaluation procedure is described in a practical engineer's view and examples are also given. (author)

75 FR 53714 - Stainless Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings From Japan, Korea, and Taiwan

Science.gov (United States)

2010-09-01

...)] Stainless Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings From Japan, Korea, and Taiwan AGENCY: United States International... stainless steel butt-weld pipe fittings from Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. SUMMARY: The Commission hereby gives... butt-weld pipe fittings from Japan, Korea, and Taiwan would be likely to lead to continuation or...

Hardness analysis of welded joints of austenitic and duplex stainless steels

Science.gov (United States)

Topolska, S.

2016-08-01

Stainless steels are widely used in the modern world. The continuous increase in the use of stainless steels is caused by getting greater requirements relating the corrosion resistance of all types of devices. The main property of these steels is the ability to overlap a passive layer of an oxide on their surface. This layer causes that they become resistant to oxidation. One of types of corrosion-resistant steels is ferritic-austenitic steel of the duplex type, which has good strength properties. It is easily formable and weldable as well as resistant to erosion and abrasive wear. It has a low susceptibility to stress-corrosion cracking, to stress corrosion, to intercrystalline one, to pitting one and to crevice one. For these reasons they are used, among others, in the construction of devices and facilities designed for chemicals transportation and for petroleum and natural gas extraction. The paper presents the results which shows that the particular specimens of the ][joint representing both heat affected zones (from the side of the 2205 steel and the 316L one) and the weld are characterized by higher hardness values than in the case of the same specimens for the 2Y joint. Probably this is caused by machining of edges of the sections of metal sheets before the welding process, which came to better mixing of native materials and the filler metal. After submerged arc welding the 2205 steel still retains the diphase, austenitic-ferritic structure and the 316L steel retains the austenitic structure with sparse bands of ferrite σ.

Manufacture and characterization of austenitic steel welded joints. Joint final report - Vol. 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Simoni, O.; Boerman, D.J.; Krischer, W.

1990-07-01

This report describes the results of the first phase of the project, i.e. manufacturing and characterization of welded austenitic steel and the test matrix adopted to test the mechanical resistance of the weldings. Five different welding methods have been produced and characterized in comparison to the parent material. The reference material was an AISI 316L type steel close to the French Superphenix composition. The results of the mechanical testing and the relative comparison of the five welding methods are described in a second volume. As a general conclusion, the vacuum electron-beam welding proved to have better properties than the other weld methods and to attain in most cases the properties of the parent material

Technical basis for the extension of ASME Code Case N-494 for assessment of austenitic piping

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bloom, J.M.

1995-01-01

In 1990, the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code for Nuclear Components approved Code Case N-494 as an alternative procedure for evaluating laws in Light Water Reactor alterative procedure for evaluating flaws in Light Water Reactor (LWR) ferritic piping. The approach is an alternative to Appendix H of the ASME Code and alloys the user to remove some unnecessary conservatism in the existing procedure by allowing the use of pipe specific material properties. The Code Case is an implementation of the methodology of the Deformation Plasticity Failure Assessment diagram (DPFAD). The key ingredient in the application of DPFAD is that the material stress-strain curve must be in the format of a simple power law hardening stress-strain curve such as the Ramberg-Osgood (R-O) model. Ferritic materials can be accurately fit by the R-O model and, therefore, it was natural to use the DPFAD methodology for the assessment of LWR ferritic piping. An extension of Code Case N-494 to austenitic piping required a modification of the existing DPFAD methodology. The Code Case N-494 approach was revised using the PWFAD procedure in the same manner as in the development of the original N-494 approach for ferritic materials. A lower bound stress-strain curve was used to generate a PWFAD curve for the geometry of a part-through wall circumferential flaw in a cylinder under tension. Earlier work demonstrated that a cylinder under axial tension with a 50% flaw depth, 90 degrees in circumference, and radius to thickness of 10, produced a lower bound FAD curve. Validation of the new proposed Code Case procedure for austenitic piping was performed using actual pipe test data. Using the lower bound PWFAD curve, pipe test results were conservatively predicted. The resultant development of ht PWFAD curve for austenitic piping led to a revision of Code Case N-494 to include a procedure for assessment of flaws in austenitic piping

Fatigue behavior of welded austenitic stainless steel in different environments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D.S. Yawas

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The fatigue behavior of welded austenitic stainless steel in 0.5 M hydrochloric acid and wet steam corrosive media has been investigated. The immersion time in the corrosive media was 30 days to simulate the effect on stainless steel structures/equipment in offshore and food processing applications and thereafter annealing heat treatment was carried out on the samples. The findings from the fatigue tests show that seawater specimens have a lower fatigue stress of 0.5 × 10−5 N/mm2 for the heat treated sample and 0.1 × 10−5 N/mm2 for the unheat-treated sample compared to the corresponding hydrochloric acid and steam samples. The post-welding heat treatment was found to increase the mechanical properties of the austenitic stainless steel especially tensile strength but it reduces the transformation and thermal stresses of the samples. These findings were further corroborated by the microstructural examination of the stainless steel specimen.

Study of problems associated with the ultrasonic examination of repeatedly repaired austenitic stainless steel welds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Subbaratnam, R.; Palaniappan, M.; Baskaran, A.; Chandramohan, R.

1994-01-01

In recent years the ultrasonic examination of austenitic stainless steel weldments has gained increased importance as an NDE technique for the volumetric examination in the nuclear power plant construction and other industries. A study has been undertaken to evaluate the effects of multiple repairs on austenitic stainless steel weldments, for the successful ultrasonic examination. The test welds have been subjected to repeated welding cycles and the ultrasonic parameters including the defect characterization have been evaluated for analysis. The paper discusses the approach followed, analysis, results obtained and the recommendations based on the above. 1 fig., 2 tabs

Evaluation of flawed-pipe experiments: Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zahoor, A.; Gamble, R.M.

1986-11-01

The purpose of this work was to perform elastic plastic fracture mechanics evaluations of experimental data that have become available from the NRC Degraded Pipe Program, Phase II (DPII) and other NRC and EPRI sponsored programs. These evaluations were used to assess flaw evaluation procedures for austenitic and ferritic steel piping. The results also have application to leak before break fracture mechanics analysis. An improved relationship was developed for computing the J-Integral for pipes containing throughwall flaws and loaded in pure bending. The results from several DPII experiments were compared to predictions based on new J estimation scheme solutions for circumferential, finite length part-throughwall flaws in pipes with bending loading. Comparisons of experimental maximum loads with those predicted using procedures in Paragraph IWB-3640, Section XI of the ASME Code indicate that the Code flaw evaluation procedures and allowables for austenitic steel pipe are appropriate and conservative. However, the comparisons also indicate that the base metal Code allowable loads may be about 15 to 20% high for small diameter piping (less than 8-inch diameter) at allowable a/t larger than about 0.5. The work further indicates that there is justification for reducing the conservatism in IWB-3640 allowable flaw sizes and loads for austenitic steel pipe with submerged or shielded metal arc welds.

Effect of the delta ferrite solidification morphology of austenitic steels weld metal on the joint properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bilmes, P.; Gonzalez, A.; Llorente, C.; Solari, M.

1996-01-01

The properties of austenitic stainless steel weld metals are largely influenced by the appearance in the microstructure of delta ferrite of a given morphology. The susceptibility to hot cracks and low temperature toughness are deeply conditioned by the mixed complex austenitic-ferritic structures which depending on the steel chemical composition and on the cooling rate may be developed. The latest research on this issue points out the importance of the sodification mode as regards to the influence in the appearance of delta ferrite of a certain morphology. In fact, it is very important to understand the solidification sequences, the primary solidification modes which are possible and the subsequent solid state transformations to correlate the structural elements of the weld metal with the parameters of the welding process on the one had, and the weld joint properties on the other. (Author) 19 refs

Effect of laser welding parameters on the austenite and martensite phase fractions of NiTi

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oliveira, J.P., E-mail: jp.oliveira@campus.fct.unl.pt [CENIMAT/i3N, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa (Portugal); Braz Fernandes, F.M. [CENIMAT/i3N, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa (Portugal); Miranda, R.M. [UNIDEMI, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa (Portugal); Schell, N. [Institute of Materials Research, Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht, Max-Planck-Str. 1, D-21502 Geesthacht (Germany); Ocaña, J.L. [Centro Láser UPM, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Edificio “La Arboleda”, Ctra. Valencia, km 7,300, Campus Sur UPM, 28031 Madrid (Spain)

2016-09-15

Although laser welding is probably the most used joining technique for NiTi shape memory alloys there is still a lack of understanding about the effects of laser welding parameters on the microstructural induced changes: in both the heat affected and fusion zones martensite may be present, while the base material is fully austenitic. Synchrotron X-ray diffraction was used for fine probing laser welded NiTi joints. Through Rietveld refinement the martensite and austenite phase fractions were determined and it was observed that the martensite content increases towards the weld centreline. This is related to a change of the local transformation temperatures on these regions, which occurs due to compositional variation in those regions. The martensite phase fraction in the thermally affected regions may have significant implications on functional properties on these joints. - Highlights: •Synchrotron X-ray diffraction was used for fine probing of the microstructure in laser welded NiTi joints. •Rietveld refinement allowed to determine the content of martensite along the heat affected and fusion zones. •The martensite content increases from the base material towards the weld centreline.

Current results for the NRC's short cracks in piping and piping welds research program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilkowski, G.; Krishnaswamy, P. Brust, F.; Francini, R.; Ghadiali, N.; Kilinski, T.; Marschall, C.; Rahman, S.; Rosenfield, A.; Scott, P.

1994-01-01

The overall objective of the Short Cracks in Piping and Piping Welds Program is to verify and improve engineering analyses to predict the fracture behavior of circumferentially cracked pipe under quasi-static loading with particular attention to crack lengths typically used in LBB or flaw evaluation criteria. The program consists of 8 technical tasks as listed below. Task 1 Short through-wall-cracked (TWC) pipe evaluations. Task 2 Short surface-cracked pipe evaluations. Task 3 Bi-metallic weld crack evaluations. Task 4 Dynamic strain aging and crack instabilities. Task 5 Fracture evaluations of anisotropic pipe. Task 6 Crack-opening-area evaluations. Task 7 NRCPIPE Code improvements. Task 8 Additional efforts. Since the last WRSM meeting several additional tasks have been initiated in this program. These are discussed in Task 8. Based on results to date, the first seven tasks have also been modified as deemed necessary. The most significant accomplishments in each of these tasks since the last WRSIM meeting are discussed below. The details of all the results presented here are published in the semiannual reports from this program

Modification of the grain structure of austenitic welds for improved ultrasonic inspectability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wagner, S.; Dugan, S.; Stubenrauch, S.; Jacobs, O.

2012-01-01

Austenitic stainless steel welds, which are widely used for example in nuclear power plants and chemical installations, present major challenges for ultrasonic inspection due to the grain structure of the weld. Large grains in combination with the elastic anisotropy of the material lead to increased scattering and affect sound wave propagation in the weld. This results in a reduced signal-to-noise ratio, and complicates the interpretation of signals and the localization of defects. The aim of this project is to influence grain growth in the weld during the welding process to produce smaller grains, in order to improve sound propagation through the weld, thus improving inspectability. Metallographic sections of the first test welds have shown that a modification of the grain structure can be achieved by influencing the grain growth with magnetic fields. For further optimization, test blocks for ultrasonic testing were manufactured to study sound propagation through the weld and detectability of test flaws.

Assessment of the integrity of ferritic-austenitic dissimilar weld joints of different grades of Cr-Mo ferritic steels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Laha, K.; Chandravathi, K.S.; Parameswaran, P.; Goyal, Sunil; Mathew, M.D. [Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam (India). Metallurgy and Materials Group

2010-07-01

Integrity of the 2.25 Cr-1Mo / Alloy 800, 9Cr-1Mo / Alloy 800 and 9Cr-1Mo-VNb / Alloy 800 ferritic-austenitic dissimilar joints, fusion welded employing Inconel 182 electrode, has been assessed under creep conditions at 823 K. The dissimilar weld joints displayed lower creep rupture strength than their respective ferritic steel base metals. The strength reduction was more for 2.25Cr-1Mo steel joint and least for 9Cr-1Mo steel joint. The failure location in the joints was found to shift from the ferritic steel base metal to the intercritical region of heat-affected zone (HAZ) in ferritic steel (type IV cracking) with decrease in stress. At still lower stresses the failure occurred at the ferritic / austenitic weld interface. Localized creep deformation and cavitation in the soft intercritical HAZ induced type IV failure whereas creep cavitation at the weld interface particles induced ferritic / austenitic interface cracking due to high creep strength mismatch across it. Micromechanisms of type IV failure and interface cracking in the ferritic / austenitic joints and different susceptibility to failure for different grades of ferritic steels are discussed based on microstructural investigation, mechanical testing and finite element analysis. (Note from indexer: paper contains many typographical errors.)

78 FR 45271 - Welded Stainless Steel Pressure Pipe From Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam

Science.gov (United States)

2013-07-26

... Stainless Steel Pressure Pipe From Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam Determination On the basis of the record... reason of imports from Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam of welded stainless steel pressure pipe, provided... contained in USITC Publication 4413 (July 2013), entitled Welded Stainless Steel Pressure Pipe from Malaysia...

A study on corrosion resistance of dissimilar welds between Monel 400 and 316L austenitic stainless steel

Science.gov (United States)

Mani, Cherish; Karthikeyan, R.; Vincent, S.

2018-04-01

An attempt has been made to study the corrosion resistance of bi-metal weld joints of Monel 400 tube to stainless steel 316 tube by GTAW process. The present research paper contributes to the ongoing research work on the use of Monel400 and 316L austenitic stainless steel in industrial environments. Potentiodynamic method is used to investigate the corrosion behavior of Monel 400 and 316L austenitic stainless steel welded joints. The analysis has been performed on the base metal, heat affected zone and weld zone after post weld heat treatment. Optical microscopy was also performed to correlate the results. The heat affected zone of Monel 400 alloy seems to have the lowest corrosion resistance whereas 316L stainless steel base metal has the highest corrosion resistance.

Automatic welding processes for reactor coolant pipes used in PWR type nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hamada, T.; Nakamura, A.; Nagura, Y.; Sakamoto, N.

1979-01-01

The authors developed automatic welding processes (submerged arc welding process and TIG welding process) for application to the welding of reactor coolant pipes which constitute the most important part of the PWR type nuclear power plant. Submerged arc welding process is suitable for flat position welding in which pipes can be rotated, while TIG welding process is suitable for all position welding. This paper gives an outline of the two processes and the results of tests performed using these processes. (author)

Mechanism of selective corrosion in electrical resistance seam welded carbon steel pipe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lopez Fajardo, Pedro; Godinez Salcedo, Jesus; Gonzalez Velasquez, Jorge L. [Instituto Politecnico Nacional, Mexico D.F., (Mexico). Escuela Superior de Ingenieria Quimica e Industrias Extractivas. Dept. de Ingenieria Metalurgica

2009-07-01

In this investigation the studies of the mechanism of selective corrosion in electrical resistance welded (ERW) carbon steel pipe was started. Metallographic characterizations and evaluations for inclusions were performed. The susceptibility of ERW pipe to selective corrosion in sea water (NACE 1D182, with O{sub 2} or CO{sub 2} + H{sub 2}S) was studied by the stepped potential Potentiostatic electrochemical test method in samples of 1 cm{sup 3} (ASTM G5) internal surface of the pipe (metal base-weld). The tests were looking for means for predicting the susceptibility of ERW pipe to selective corrosion, prior to placing the pipeline in service. Manganese sulfide inclusions are observed deformed by the welding process and they are close to the weld centerline. A slight decarburization at the weld line is observed, and a distinct out bent fiber pattern remains despite the post-weld seam annealing. The microstructure of the weld region consists of primarily polygonal ferrite grains mixed with small islands of pearlite. It is possible to observe the differences of sizes of grain of the present phases in the different zones. Finally, scanning electron microscopic observation revealed that the corrosion initiates with the dissolution of MnS inclusions and with small crack between the base metal and ZAC. (author)

Tensile properties of four types of austenitic stainless steel welded joints

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Balladon, P.

1990-01-01

In the field of an LMFBR research programme on austenitic stainless steel welds in a Shared Cost Action Safety, Research Area 8, coordinated by JRC-Ispra, four cooperating laboratories (ECN, IKE/MPA, the Welding Institute and UNIREC) have been involved in the fabrication and extensive characterization of welded joints made from one plate of ICL 167 stainless steel. The materials included parent metal, four vacuum electron beam welds, one non vacuum electron beam weld, one submerged arc weld, one gas metal arc weld and one manual metal arc weld. This report summarizes the 106 tensile tests performed at room temperature and 550 0 C, including the influence of strain rate, specimen orientation and welding procedure. Main results are that electron beam welds have tensile properties close to those of parent metal with higher values of yield strength in longitudinal orientation and lower values of total elongation in transverse orientation but with a similar reduction of area, that filler metal welds own the highest values of yield strength and lowest values of ductility. Most of the welds properties are higher than the minimum specified for parent metal, except for some values of total elongation, mainly in transverse orientation. In view of using electron beam welding for production of components used in LMFBR, results obtained show that tensile properties of electron beam welds compare well to those of classical welds. (author)

Fracture analysis procedure for cast austenitic stainless steel pipe with an axial crack

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kamaya, Masayuki

2012-01-01

Since the ductility of cast austenitic stainless steel pipes decreases due to thermal aging embrittlement after long term operation, not only plastic collapse failure but also unstable ductile crack propagation (elastic-plastic failure) should be taken into account for the structural integrity assessment of cracked pipes. In the fitness-for-service code of the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers (JSME), Z-factor is used to incorporate the reduction in failure load due to elastic-plastic failure. However, the JSME code does not provide the Z-factor for axial cracks. In this study, Z-factor for axial cracks in aged cast austenitic stainless steel pipes was derived. Then, a comparison was made for the elastic-plastic failure load obtained from different analysis procedures. It was shown that the obtained Z-factor could derive reasonable elastic-plastic failure loads, although the failure loads were more conservative than those obtained by the two-parameter method. (author)

Relation between sensitization and failures of welded joints at furnaces of Cienfuegos refinery

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dominguez, H.; Menendez, C.M.; Sendoya, F.A.

1992-01-01

This work is concerned about the possible relation between sensitization and failures of welded joints at furnaces of Cienfuegos Refinery. This failures were detected in austenitic pipes by hydraulic testing. For determined the tendency to sensitization of heat affected zones (HAZ) of welded joints and piping, have been used standardized test methods AM and AMU (GOST 6032-89). In addition, the Electrochemical Potentiokinetic Reactivation (EPR) test was employed to quantity the tendency to intergranular corrosion. It was found that degree of sensitization was higher at HAZ and as a possible explanation is proposed the overheating during welding

Feasibility study of inside automatic welding system of cooling pipe of divertors for FER

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoshizawa, S.; Adachi, J.; Morishita, H.; Kakudate, S.; Taguchi, H.; Tada, E.

1995-01-01

In order to replace divertors for FER, cooling pipes of divertors should be cut and welded since they are too long to be replaced with divertors via horizontal maintenance ports. An inside cutting and welding system is also required because of an accessibility to pipes. A combination of an inside disc-cutting machine and an inside TIG-welding machine has been proposed as a candidate of the systems. We have made tests to confirm possibility to weld pipes which were cut with the disc-cutting machine. Possibility of welding has been proven. The tests result is described in the paper. (orig.)

New developments for the ultrasonic inspection of austenitic stainless steel welds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chassignole, Bertrand; Doudet, Loic; Dupond, Olivier; Fouquet, Thierry; Richard, Benoit

2006-01-01

EDF R and D undertakes studies in non destructive testing (NDT) for better understanding the influence of various parameters (material, type of defect, geometry) on the 'controllability' of the critical components for nuclear safety. In the field of ultrasonic testing, one of the principal research orientations is devoted to the study of the austenitic stainless steel welds of the primary cooling system. Indeed, the structure of these welds present characteristics making difficult their examination, for example: - a strong anisotropy of the properties of elasticity which, coupled with the heterogeneity of the grain orientations, can involve phenomena of skewing, division and distortion of the beam; - a significant scattering of the waves by the grains involving an high attenuation and sometimes backscattered signals. For several years, actions have been launched to improve comprehension of these disturbing phenomena and to evaluate the controllability of those welds. This work is based on the one hand on experimental analyses on representative mock-ups and on the other hand on the developments of modelling codes taking into account the characteristics of the materials. We present in this document a synthesis of this work by developing the following points in particular: - a description of the phenomena of propagation; - the works undertaken to characterize the structure of the welds; - an example of study coupling experimental and modelling analyses for a butt weld achieved by manual arc welding with coated electrodes. The paper has the following contents: 1. Context; 2. Presentation of the problem; 3. Characterization of austenitic welds; 4. From comprehension to industrial application; 5. Conclusion and perspectives; 5. Conclusion and perspectives. This synthesis shows that each austenitic stainless steel weld is a particular case for the ultrasonic testing. This work allowed to better apprehend the disturbances of the ultrasonic propagation in the welds and thus

Advanced ultrasonic techniques for nondestructive testing of austenitic and dissimilar welds in nuclear facilities

Science.gov (United States)

Juengert, Anne; Dugan, Sandra; Homann, Tobias; Mitzscherling, Steffen; Prager, Jens; Pudovikov, Sergey; Schwender, Thomas

2018-04-01

Austenitic stainless steel welds as well as dissimilar metal welds with nickel alloy filler material, used in safety relevant parts of nuclear power plants, still challenge the ultrasonic inspection. The weld material forms large oriented grains that lead, on the one hand, to high sound scattering and, on the other hand, to inhomogeneity and to the acoustic anisotropy of the weld structure. The ultrasonic wave fronts do not propagate linearly, as in ferritic weld joints, but along the curves, which depend on the specific grain structure of the weld. Due to the influence of these phenomena, it is difficult to analyze the inspection results and to classify the ultrasonic indications, which could be both from the weld geometry and from the material defects. A correct flaw sizing is not possible. In an ongoing research project, different techniques to improve the reliability of ultrasonic testing at these kinds of welds are investigated. In a first step (in the previous research project) two ultrasonic inspection techniques were developed and validated on plane test specimens with artificial and realistic flaws. In the ongoing project, these techniques are applied to circumferential pipe welds with longitudinal and transverse flaws. The technique developed at the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM) in Germany uses a combination of ray tracing and synthetic aperture focusing technique (SAFT). To investigate the unknown grain structure, the velocity distribution of weld-transmitting ultrasound waves is measured and used to model the weld by ray tracing. The second technique, developed at the Fraunhofer Institute for Nondestructive Testing (IZFP) in Germany, uses Sampling Phased Array (Full Matrix Capture) combined with the reverse phase matching (RPM) and the gradient elastic constant descent algorithm (GECDM). This inspection method is able to estimate the elastic constants of the columnar grains in the weld and offers an improvement of the

Analysis of cracks in stainless steel TIG [tungsten inert gas] welds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakagaki, M.; Marschall, C.; Brust, F.

1986-12-01

This report contains the results of a combined experimental and analytical study of ductile crack growth in tungsten inert gas (TIG) weldments of austenitic stainless steel specimens. The substantially greater yield strength of the weld metal relative to the base metal causes more plastic deformation in the base metal adjacent to the weld than in the weld metal. Accordingly, the analytical studies focused on the stress-strain interaction between the crack tip and the weld/base-metal interface. Experimental work involved tests using compact (tension) specimens of three different sizes and pipe bend experiments. The compact specimens were machined from a TIG weldment in Type 304 stainless steel plate. The pipe specimens were also TIG welded using the same welding procedures. Elastic-plastic finite element methods were used to model the experiments. In addition to the J-integral, different crack-tip integral parameters such as ΔT/sub p/* and J were evaluated. Also, engineering J-estimation methods were employed to predict the load-carrying capacity of the welded pipe with a circumferential through-wall crack under bending

Effect of Chemical Composition on Susceptibility to Weld Solidification Cracking in Austenitic Weld Metal

Science.gov (United States)

Kadoi, Kota; Shinozaki, Kenji

2017-12-01

The influence of the chemical composition, especially the niobium content, chromium equivalent Creq, and nickel equivalent Nieq, on the weld solidification cracking susceptibility in the austenite single-phase region in the Schaeffler diagram was investigated. Specimens were fabricated using the hot-wire laser welding process with widely different compositions of Creq, Nieq, and niobium in the region. The distributions of the susceptibility, such as the crack length and brittle temperature range (BTR), in the Schaeffler diagram revealed a region with high susceptibility to solidification cracking. Addition of niobium enhanced the susceptibility and changed the distribution of the susceptibility in the diagram. The BTR distribution was in good agreement with the distribution of the temperature range of solidification (Δ T) calculated by solidification simulation based on Scheil model. Δ T increased with increasing content of alloying elements such as niobium. The distribution of Δ T was dependent on the type of alloying element owing to the change of the partitioning behavior. Thus, the solidification cracking susceptibility in the austenite single-phase region depends on whether the alloy contains elements. The distribution of the susceptibility in the region is controlled by the change in Δ T and the segregation behavior of niobium with the chemical composition.

An assessment of microstructure, mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of dissimilar welds between Inconel 718 and 310S austenitic stainless steel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mortezaie, A.; Shamanian, M.

2014-01-01

In the present study, dissimilar welding between Inconel 718 nickel-base superalloy and 310S austenitic stainless steel using gas tungsten arc welding process was performed to determine the relationship between the microstructure of the welds and the resultant mechanical and corrosion properties. For this purpose, three filler metals including Inconel 625, Inconel 82 and 310 stainless steel were used. Microstructural observations showed that weld microstructures for all filler metals were fully austenitic. In tension tests, welds produced by Inconel 625 and 310 filler metals displayed the highest and the lowest ultimate tensile strength, respectively. The results of Charpy impact tests indicated that the maximum fracture energy was related to Inconel 82 weld metal. According to the potentiodynamic polarization test results, Inconel 82 exhibited the highest corrosion resistance among all tested filler metals. Finally, it was concluded that for the dissimilar welding between Inconel 718 and 310S, Inconel 82 filler metal offers the optimum properties at room temperature. - Highlights: • Three filler metals including Inconel 625, Inconel 82 and 310 SS were used. • A columnar to equiaxed dendritic structure was seen for IN-625 weld metal. • A granular austenitic microstructure obtained for Inconel 82 weld metal. • Microstructure of 310 weld metal includes solidification cracks along SSGB. • IN-82 weld metal showed the highest corrosion potential

Analysis of residual stresses in girth welded type 304 stainless steel pipes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brust, F.W.; Kanninen, M.F.

1981-01-01

Intergranular stress corrosion cracking (IGSCC) in boiling water reactor (BWR) piping is a problem for the nuclear power industry. Tensile residual stresses induced by welding are an important factor in IGSCC of Type 304 stainless steel pipes. Backlay and heat sink welding can retard IGSCC. 17 refs

Integrity assessment of the ferritic / austenitic dissimilar weld joint between intermediate heat exchanger and steam generator in fast reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jayakumar, T.; Laha, K.; Chandravathi, K. S.; Parameswaran, P.; Goyal, S.; Kumar, J. G.; Mathew, M. D. [Metallurgy and Materials Group, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam- 603 102 (India)

2012-07-01

Integrity of the modified 9Cr-1Mo / alloy 800 dissimilar joint welded with Inconel 182 electrodes has been assessed under creep condition based on the detailed analysis of microstructure and stress distribution across the joint by finite element analysis. A hardness peak at the ferritic / austenitic weld interface and a hardness trough at the inter-critical heat affected zone (HAZ) in ferritic base metal developed. Un-tempered martensite was found at the ferritic / austenitic weld interface to impart high hardness in it; whereas annealing of martensitic structure of modified 9Cr-1Mo steel by inter-critical heating during welding thermal cycle resulted in hardness tough in the inter-critical HAZ. Creep tests were carried out on the joint and ferritic steel base metal at 823 K over a stress range of 160-320 MPa. The joint possessed lower creep rupture strength than its ferritic steel base metal. Failure of the joint at relatively lower stresses occurred at the ferritic / austenitic weld interface; whereas it occurred at inter-critical region of HAZ at moderate stresses. Cavity nucleation associated with the weld interface particles led to premature failure of the joint. Finite element analysis of stress distribution across the weld joint considering the micro-mechanical strength inhomogeneity across it revealed higher von-Mises and principal stresses at the weld interface. These stresses induced preferential creep cavitation at the weld interface. Role of precipitate in enhancing creep cavitation at the weld interface has been elucidated based on the FE analysis of stress distribution across it. (authors)

Design of cylindrical pipe automatic welding control system based on STM32

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Shuaishuai; Shen, Weicong

2018-04-01

The development of modern economy makes the demand for pipeline construction and construction rapidly increasing, and the pipeline welding has become an important link in pipeline construction. At present, there are still a large number of using of manual welding methods at home and abroad, and field pipe welding especially lacks miniature and portable automatic welding equipment. An automated welding system consists of a control system, which consisting of a lower computer control panel and a host computer operating interface, as well as automatic welding machine mechanisms and welding power systems in coordination with the control system. In this paper, a new control system of automatic pipe welding based on the control panel of the lower computer and the interface of the host computer is proposed, which has many advantages over the traditional automatic welding machine.

Characterisation of girth pipe weld for primary heat transport system of pressurised heavy water reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Singh, P.K.; Vaze, K.K.; Kushwaha, H.S.

2002-01-01

The weld and heat affected zone (HAZ) associated with the girth weld are most vulnerable regions of the piping system. The different regions of the weld joint such as the weld metal, HAZ and base metal lead to heterogeneous mechanical and metallurgical properties of the joints. Due to their different metallurgical and mechanical properties, the amounts of damage produced in these regions are different when the component is subjected to service condition. Thus, it is imperative to know the characteristics of these regions of a pipe weld in order to identify the weakest zone for safe designing of high energy piping components. In view of this necessity the present study has been planned to carry out complete characterisation of the weld joint of SA 333 Gr.6 steel pipe, in terms of its metallurgical, mechanical and fracture properties. The mechanical and fracture mechanics properties of the base metal, weld deposit and HAZ have been compared and correlated with reference to their microstructures. Weld joints of SA 333 Gr.6 steel pipe have been prepared by using GTAW root pass and SMAW filling of V-grove as per recommended welding procedure specifications (WPS) conforming to ASME Sec IX commonly used to fabricate nuclear piping system components. The emphasis of the study is to characterise base, weld and HAZ of the pipe weld in terms of chemical, metallurgical, mechanical and fracture mechanics properties. The fracture toughness behaviour of the welds and HAZ has been characterised by J-integral parameters. The fatigue crack growth rate has been characterised by Paris Law. Stretched zone width (SZW) has been measured under SEM to evaluate initiation fracture toughness. The estimated initiation fracture toughness based on SZW and blunting line given by EGF recommendation have been compared. The fracture mechanics properties of base, weld and HAZ has been determined and compared. The fracture mechanics properties of the weld and HAZ have been correlated to their

A new method to butt weld pipes with laser at different angles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gualini, M.M.S.

1999-01-01

Laser butt welding of pipes at different angles may be cumbersome and may require very expensive tooling. The pipe size may not allow using the laser for large volume throughputs. We propose a rotary optical head composed by an adjustable focus lens system and two reflecting mirrors. The laser beam is bent at 90 deg. C. so that weld can be performed inwards outwards. The optic head design compensates the rotary backlash and vibrations, like a penta prism thus ensuring a perfect follow up of the weld track. The optic head can be inclined at 45 deg. C. to laser butt weld pipe each other at 90 deg. C. In this case the laser beam focus position is computer controlled in order to keep the focus point always on the elliptical weld profile. The paper covers theoretical and practical aspects of the proposed device. (author)

Investigations on the ratchetting behaviour of austenitic pipes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kraemer, D.; Krolop, S.; Scheffold, A.; Stegmeyer, R.

1994-01-01

Reversed bending tests at room temperature with pipes with and without internal pressure were carried out. The pipes were manufactured from the austenitic steel X10 CrNiNb 18 9. Under internal pressure ratchetting was observed in circumferential direction. The component tests were accompanied by numerical computations using a nonlinear kinematic hardening rule and superposed isotropic hardening. In total the constitutive model needed 13 parameters to be fitted when isotropic hardening resulted in a cyclic saturation. Uniaxial monotonic and cyclic loading tests served for characterizing the material. A reasonable parameter fitting with respect to describe ratchetting required load controlled nonzero mean-stress tests. On condition, that the loading will lead to cyclic saturation, ratchetting could be well predicted in the pipe with the found set of parameters. An extension of the isotropic hardening rule in the constitutive model was proposed allowing to describe various types of isotropic hardening. In a first step it was shown that under uniaxial conditions the extension reproduces continuous isotropic hardening up to incipient cracking quite well. (orig.)

Small Bore Piping Socket Weld Evaluation System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Dong Min; Cho, Hong Seok; Choi, Sang Hoon; Cho, Ki Hyun; Lee, Jang Wook

2009-01-01

Kori unit 3 had stopped operation due to leakage at Steam Generator drain line socket weld on June 6, 2008. The Cause of socket weld damage was known as a fatigue crack. According to this case, all socket welds located in RCS pressure boundary are carrying out Radiographic Testing. But to inspect socket welds by RT has some problems. The result of EPRI study showed that RT has limitation to find flaws at socket welds.The orientation of flaws has big influence on RT inspection capability and there is not enough space at socket welds for RT, dose problems as well. Although the gap between coupling and pipe at socket welds must follow up code, surface inspection can't inspect the gap. If there is absence of the gap, socket welds are damaged during operation. The gap should be identified by RT but the distance of gap can't be measured. As this paper, the ultrasonic inspection system was introduced to figure out indication and gap in the socket welds

Welding of heterogeneous 12Kh2MFSR steels with the Mn-Cr-Si-Ni system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smirnov, A.N.; Belogolov, E.I.

1978-01-01

The process of welding pipes of the 12Kh2MFSR pearlitic steels and austenitic steels of the Mn-Cr-Si-Ni system was studied. The filler materials were selected, and the working capacity of welded joints was examined in ageing and cyclic heatings. The microhardness of steels was measured, and the ultimate strength of welded joints was determined. The following has been established: the composite joints of steels of the Mn-Cr-Si-Ni system and 12Kh2MFSR steel are advisable to be welded on a coating layer welded by the EhA395/9 electrodes on the surface of a pipe of the 12Kh2MFSR pearlitic steel; this guarantees the sufficient working capacity of welded joints

Low temperature thermal ageing embrittlement of austenitic stainless steel welds and its electrochemical assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chandra, K.; Kain, Vivekanand; Raja, V.S.; Tewari, R.; Dey, G.K.

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Embrittlement study of austenitic stainless steel welds after ageing up to 20,000 h. ► Spinodal decomposition and G-phase precipitation in ferrite at 400 °C. ► Spinodal decomposition of ferrite at 335 and 365 °C. ► Large decrease in corrosion resistance due to G-phase precipitation. ► Good correlation between electrochemical properties and the degree of embrittlement. - Abstract: The low temperature thermal ageing embrittlement of austenitic stainless steel welds is investigated after ageing up to 20,000 h at 335, 365 and 400 °C. Spinodal decomposition and G-phase precipitation after thermal ageing were identified by transmission electron microscopy. Ageing led to increase in hardness of the ferrite phase while there was no change in the hardness of austenite. The degree of embrittlement was evaluated by non-destructive methods, e.g., double-loop and single-loop electrochemical potentiokinetic reactivation tests. A good correlation was obtained between the electrochemical properties and hardening of the ferrite phase of the aged materials.

76 FR 76437 - Certain Welded Stainless Steel Pipe From Korea and Taiwan

Science.gov (United States)

2011-12-07

... Welded Stainless Steel Pipe From Korea and Taiwan Determination On the basis of the record \\1\\ developed... antidumping duty orders on certain welded stainless steel pipe from Korea and Taiwan would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury to an industry in the United States within a...

Critical element development of standard components for pipe welding/cutting by CO{sub 2} laser

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oka, Kiyoshi; Kakudate, Satoshi; Nakahira, Masataka [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Naka, Ibaraki (Japan). Naka Fusion Research Establishment] [and others

1994-11-01

In D-T burning reactors such as International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor(ITER), an internal access is inevitable for welding/cutting of cooling pipes of in-vessel components, because of spatial constraint due to a narrow port opening space. An internal-access pipe welding/cutting equipment is being developed in JAERI. Internal access is to approach through inside a pipe to a welding/cutting position, to use 10kW CO{sub 2} laser beam, and to be applicable to both welding and cutting with using a same processing head. A welding/cutting processing head with 10kW CO{sub 2} laser beam has been fabricated and the basic feasibility has been successfully demonstrated for studies of the internal-access pipe welding/cutting concept using 100-A stainless steel pipe with a thickness of 6.3mm. In this study, the optimum focal point of laser beam, laser power and traveling speed of the head have been investigated together with an adjusting mechanism of a relative distance between the head and the pipe wall. In addition, the radiation resistance of critical elements such as optical lens has been investigated. (author).

Residual stress studies of austenitic and ferritic steels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chrenko, R.M.

1978-01-01

Residual studies have been made on austenitic and ferritic steels of the types used as structural materials. The residual stress results presented here will include residual stress measurements in the heat-affected zone on butt welded Type 304 stainless steel pipes, and the stresses induced in Type 304 austenitic stainless steel and Type A508 ferritic steel by several surface preparations. Such surface preparation procedures as machining and grinding can induce large directionality effects in the residual stresses determined by X-ray techniques and some typical data will be presented. A brief description is given of the mobile X-ray residual stress apparatus used to obtain most of the data in these studies. (author)

Effects of residual stress on fatigue strength of small diameter welded pipe joint

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamashita, Tetsuo; Hattori, Takahiro; Nomoto, Toshiharu; Iida, Kunihiro; Sato, Masanobu

1996-01-01

A power plant consists of many welded components, therefore, it is essential in establishing the reliability of the power plant to maintain the reliability of all welded components. The fatigue failure caused by mechanical vibrations of small diameter welded joints, which is represented by socket welded joints, is one of the major causes of trouble for the welded parts of the power plant. Here, bending fatigue tests were conducted to investigate the fatigue strength of small diameter socket welded pipe joints. In the most cases of large diameter socket joints, a fatigue crack started from the root of the fillet weld though the stress amplitude at the root was smaller than that at the toe of fillet weld. Additionally, the fatigue strength was affected by the weld bead sequence. The residual stress was considered to be one of the important parameters governing fatigue strength, therefore, its effects were investigated. In several types of pipe joints, the local stress and residual stress distributions were calculated by finite element analysis. The residual stresses were compressive at the toe and tensile at the root of the socket welded joints. Based on these results, the effects of residual stresses on the fatigue strength are discussed for small diameter welded pipe joints in the present work

Preliminary Study for Development of Welds Integrity Verification Equipment for the Small Bore Piping

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, Geun Suk; Lee, Jong Eun; Ryu, Jung Hoon; Cho, Kyoung Youn; Sohn, Myoung Sung; Lee, Sanghoon; Sung, Gi Ho; Cho, Hong Seok

2016-01-01

It has been reported leakage accident of small-bore piping in Korea. Leakage accident of small-bore pipes are those that will increase due to the aging of the nuclear power plant. And if leakage of the pipe is repaired by using the clamping device when it occur accident, it is economically benefits. The clamping device is a fastening device used to hold or secure objects tightly together to prevent movement or separation through the application of inward pressure. However, when the accident occurs, it can't immediately respond because maintenance and repairing technology are not institutionalized in KEPIC. Thus it appears an economic loss. The technology for corresponding thereto is necessary for the safety of the operation of nuclear power plants. The purpose of this research is to develop an online repairing technology of socket welded pipe and vibration monitoring system of small-bore pipe in the nuclear power plant. Specifically, detailed studies are as follows : • Development of weld overlay method of safety class socket welded connections • Development of Mechanical Clamping Devices for Safety Class 2, 3 small-bore pipe. The purpose of this study is to develop an online repairing technology of socket welded pipe and vibration monitoring system of small-bore pipe, resulting in degraded plant systems. And it is necessary to institutionalize the technology. The fatigue crack testing of socket welded overlay will be performed and fatigue life evaluation method will be developed in second year. Also prototype fabrication of mechanical clamping device will be completed. Base on final goal, the intent is to propose practical evaluation tools, design and fabrication methods for socket welded connection integrity. And result of this study is to development of KEPIC code case approved technology for on-line repairing system of socket welded connection and fabrication of mechanical clamping device

Advantages and successful use of TIG narrow-gap welding

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Loehberg, R.; Pellkofer, D.; Schmidt, J.

1986-01-01

Narrow-gap welding, an advancement of the mechanized TIG impulse welding process with conventional seam geometry (V-shaped and/or U-shaped welds), not only assures great economic efficiency on account of the low weld volume but also offers considerable benefits in terms of quality. Thanks to the low number of beads, the following advantages are gained: less axial and radial shrinkage which reduces the strain in the root area, total heat input and, thus, the dwell time in the critical temperature range from 500 to 800 0 C leading to a chromium depletion at the grain boundaries during the welding process is minimized which markedly reduces the sensitivity of non-stabilized steels to intercrystalline stress corrosion cracking, and a relatively favourable residual welding stress profile in the heat affected zone. The process was used successfully in the past for welds of ferritic and austenitic steel pipes in the construction of nuclear power plants and in the remote-controlled welding during the replacement of piping in plants already in operation. (orig.) [de

Team collaborative innovation management based on primary pipes automatic welding project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Jing; Wang Dong; Zhang Ke

2012-01-01

The welding quality of primary pipe directly affects the safe operation of nuclear power plants. Primary pipe automatic welding, first of its kind in China, is a complex systematic project involving many facets, such as design, manufacturing, material, and on-site construction. A R and D team was formed by China Guangdong Nuclear Power Engineering Co., Ltd. (CNPEC) together with other domestic nuclear power design institutes, and manufacturing and construction enterprises. According to the characteristics of nuclear power plant construction, and adopting team collaborative innovation management mode, through project co-ordination, resources allocation and building production, education and research collaborative innovation platform, CNPEC successfully developed the primary pipe automatic welding technique which has been widely applied to the construction of nuclear power plant, creating considerable economic benefits. (authors)

Simplified method of calculating residual stress in circumferential welding of piping

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Umemoto, Tadahiro

1984-01-01

Many circumferential joints of piping are used in as-welded state, but in these welded joints, the residual stress as high as the yield stress of materials arises, and causes to accelerate stress corrosion cracking and corrosion fatigue. The experiment or the finite element method to clarify welding residual stress requires much time and labor, and is expensive, therefore, the author proposed the simplified method of calculation. The heating and cooling process of welding is very complex, and cannot be modeled as it is, therefore, it was assumed that in multiple layer welding, the welding condition of the last layer determines the residual stress, that material constants are invariable regardless of temperature, that the temperature distribution and residual stress are axisymmetric, and that there is repeated stress-strain relation in the vicinity of welded parts. The temperature distribution at the time of welding, thermal stress and welding residual stress are analyzed, and the material constants used for the calculation of residual stress are given. As the example of calculation, the effect of welding heat input and materials is shown. The extension of the method to a thick-walled pipe is discussed. (Kako, I.)

Residual stress improvement for pipe weld by means of induction heating pre-flawed pipe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Umemoto, T.; Yoshida, K.; Okamoto, A.

1980-01-01

The intergranular stress corrosion cracking (IGSCC) has been found in type 304 stainless steel piping of several BWR plants. It is already well known that IGSCC is most likely to occur when three essential factors, material sensitization, high tensile stress and corrosive environment, are present. If the welding residual stress is sufficiently high (200 to approximately 400 MPa) in the inside piping surface near the welded joint, then it may be one of the biggest contributors to IGSCC. If the residual stress is reduced or reversed by some way, the IGSCC will be effectively mitigated. In this paper a method to improve the residual stress named IHSI (Induction Heating Stress Improvement) is explained. IHSI aims to improve the condition of residual stress in the inside pipe surface using the thermal stress induced by the temperature difference in pipe wall, that is produced when the pipe is heated from the outside surface by an induction heating coil and cooled on the inside surface by water simultaneously. This method becomes more attractive when it can be successfully applied to in-service piping which might have some pre-flaw. In order to verify the validity of IHSI for such piping, some experiments and calculations using finite element method were conducted. These results are mainly discussed in this paper from the view-points of residual stress, flaw behaviour during IHSI and material deterioration. (author)

Helium-induced weld cracking in austenitic and martensitic steels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lin, H.T.; Chin, B.A.

1991-01-01

Helium was uniformly implanted into type 316 stainless steel and Sandvik HT-9 (12Cr-1MoVW) to levels of 0.18 to 256 and 0.3 to 1 a.p.p.m., respectively, using the ''tritium trick'' technique. Autogenous bead-on-plate, full penetration, welds were then produced under fully constrained conditions using the gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) process. The control and hydrogen-charged plates of both alloys were sound and free of any weld defects. For the 316 stainless steel, catastrophic intergranular fracture occurred in the heat-affected zone (HAZ) of welds with helium levels ≥ 2.5 a.p.p.m. In addition to the HAZ cracking, brittle fracture along the centreline of the fusion zone was also observed for the welds containing greater than 100 a.p.p.m. He. For HT-9, intergranular cracking occurred in the HAZ along prior-austenite grain boundaries of welds containing 1 a.p.p.m. He. Electron microscopy observations showed that the cracking in the HAZ originated from the growth and coalescence of grain-boundary helium bubbles and that the fusion-zone cracking resulted from the growth of helium bubbles at dendrite boundaries. The bubble growth kinetics in the HAZ is dominated by stress-induced diffusion of vacancies into bubbles. Results of this study indicate that the use of conventional GTAW techniques to repair irradiation-degraded materials containing even small amounts of helium may be difficult. (author)

Fabrication of welded pipes of the KhN45Yu alloy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lyapunov, A.I.; Krichevskij, E.M.; L'vov, V.N.; Kozlov, N.N.; Kireeva, T.S.

1977-01-01

A highly heat-resistant KhN45Yu (EP 747) alloy has been developed; the alloy is designed to withstand prolonged service in the temperature range of 1000-1300 deg C, or short-term service at 1300-1400 deg C. The satisfactory ductility and good weldability of the alloy have made it possible to obtain sheets and pipes (32 x 2.0 mm) by argon arc welding. The ductility of pipes from EP 747 alloy exceeds that of pipes from KhN78T (EI 435) alloy by 5.10%, the strength being approximately equal. In regard to strength the welded joint differs little from the base metal. The ductility characteristics up to 900 deg C are also equal, since failure occurs in the base metal. At higher temperatures the welded joint fails in the metal of the weld, and its ductility drops sharply. The grain size of the base metal corresponds to No. 3-4. The welded joint has a cast structure with a grain size larger than No. 1, but its ductility characteristics are satisfactory. This structure ensures an increased long-term strength of the material at 1000-1200 deg C

A parametric study of residual stresses in multipass butt-welded stainless steel pipes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brickstad, B. [SAQ Inspection Ltd., Stockholm (Sweden); Josefson, L. [Chalmers Univ. of Technology, Goeteborg (Sweden). Div. of Solid Mechanics

1996-06-01

Multipass circumferential butt-welding of stainless steel pipes is simulated numerically in a non-linear thermo-mechanical FE-analysis. In particular, the through-thickness variation at the weld and heat affected zone, of the axial and hoop stresses and their sensitivity to variation in weld parameters are studied. Recommendations are given for the through thickness variation of the axial and hoop stresses to be used when assessing the growth of surface flaws at circumferential butt welds in nuclear piping system. 31 refs, 12 tabs, 54 figs.

78 FR 72863 - Circular Welded Carbon-Quality Steel Pipe From the People's Republic of China: Continuation of...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-12-04

...-Quality Steel Pipe From the People's Republic of China: Continuation of Antidumping Duty Order AGENCY... circular welded carbon-quality steel pipe (``circular welded pipe'') from the People's Republic of China...\\ See Initiation of Five-Year (``Sunset'') Review, 78 FR 33063 (June 3, 2013). \\2\\ See Circular Welded...

Stress Distribution in the Dissimilar Metal Butt Weld of Nuclear Reactor Piping due to the Simulation Technique for the Repair Welding

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Hweeseung; Huh, Namsu; Kim, Jinsu; Lee, Jinho

2013-01-01

During welding, the dissimilar metal butt welds of nuclear piping are typically subjected to repair welding in order to eliminate defects that are found during post-weld inspection. It has been found that the repair weld can significantly increase the tensile residual stress in the weldment, and therefore, accurate estimation of the weld residual stress due to repair weld, especially for dissimilar metal welds using Ni-based alloy 82/182 in nuclear components, is of great importance in order to assess susceptibility to primary water stress corrosion cracking. In the present study, the stress distributions of dissimilar metal butt welds in nuclear reactor piping subjected to repair weld were investigated based on detailed nonlinear finite element analyses. Particular emphasis was placed on the variation of the stress distribution in the dissimilar metal butt weld according to the finite element welding analysis sequence for the repair welding process

Mechanical testing of austenitic steel welded joints. Joint final report - Vol. 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boerman, D.J.; Krischer, W.

1990-01-01

In the field of material properties and structural behaviour of LMFBR reactor components under normal operation and accident conditions, the Commission of the European Communities has promoted an experimental study on the mechanical properties of welded austenitic steel type AISI 316L. The study was launched in the frame of the Shared Cost Action (SCA) programme 1985-1987 on reactor safety. The research was performed in four European laboratories and coordinated by JRC-Ispra. Five different welding methods have been examined. The manufacture and characterization of the welds has been described in a separate report. The present report gives the results of four different mechanical tests carried out on the weld material. The comparison of results proved that, at the present state of development, the vacuum electron beam method seems to have clear advantages as compared with the other methods investigated

76 FR 66893 - Certain Circular Welded Carbon Steel Pipes and Tubes From India, Thailand, and Turkey; Final...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-10-28

...] Certain Circular Welded Carbon Steel Pipes and Tubes From India, Thailand, and Turkey; Final Results of... circular welded carbon steel pipes and tubes from India, Thailand, and Turkey, pursuant to section 751(c..., Thailand, and Turkey. See Antidumping Duty Order; Certain Welded Carbon Steel Standard Pipes and Tubes from...

Characterization of the dissimilar welding - austenitic stainless steel with filler metal of the nickel alloy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Soares, Bruno Amorim; Schvartzman, Monica Maria de Abreu Mendonca; Campos, Wagner Reis da Costa

2007-01-01

In elevated temperature environments, austenitic stainless steel and nickel alloy has a superior corrosion resistance due to its high Cr content. Consequently, this alloys is widely used in nuclear reactors components and others plants of energy generation that burn fossil fuel or gas, chemical and petrochemical industries. The object of the present work was to research the welding of AISI 304 austenitic stainless steel using the nickel alloy filler metals, Inconel 625. Gas tungsten arc welding, mechanical and metallographic tests, and compositional analysis of the joint were used. A fundamental investigation was undertaken to characterize fusion boundary microstructure and to better understand the nature and character of boundaries that are associated with cracking in dissimilar welds. The results indicate that the microstructure of the fusion zone has a dendritic structure, inclusions, and precipitated phases containing Ti and Nb are present in the inter-dendritic region. In some parts near to the fusion line it can be seen a band in the weld, probably a eutectic phase with lower melting point than the AISI 304, were the cracking may be beginning by stress corrosion. (author)

Microstructure and mechanical properties of resistance upset butt welded 304 austenitic stainless steel joints

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sharifitabar, M.; Halvaee, A.; Khorshahian, S.

2011-01-01

Graphical abstract: Three different microstructural zones formed at different distances from the joint interface in resistance upset butt welding of 304 austenitic stainless steel. Highlights: → Evaluation of microstructure in resistance upset welding of 304 stainless steel. → Evaluation of welding parameters effects on mechanical properties of the joint. → Introducing the optimum welding condition for joining stainless steel bars. -- Abstract: Resistance upset welding (UW) is a widely used process for joining metal parts. In this process, current, time and upset pressure are three parameters that affect the quality of welded products. In the present research, resistance upset butt welding of 304 austenitic stainless steel and effect of welding power and upset pressure on microstructure, tensile strength and fatigue life of the joint were investigated. Microstructure of welds were studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis was used to distinguish the phase(s) that formed at the joint interface and in heat affected zone (HAZ). Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) linked to the SEM was used to determine chemical composition of phases formed at the joint interface. Fatigue tests were performed using a pull-push fatigue test machine and the fatigue properties were analyzed drawing stress-number of cycles to failure (S-N) curves. Also tensile strength tests were performed. Finally tensile and fatigue fracture surfaces were studied by SEM. Results showed that there were three different microstructural zones at different distances from the joint interface and delta ferrite phase has formed in these regions. There was no precipitation of chromium carbide at the joint interface and in the HAZ. Tensile and fatigue strengths of the joint decreased with welding power. Increasing of upset pressure has also considerable influence on tensile strength of the joint. Fractography of fractured samples showed that formation of hot spots at

Welding of 316L Austenitic Stainless Steel with Activated Tungsten Inert Gas Process

Science.gov (United States)

Ahmadi, E.; Ebrahimi, A. R.

2015-02-01

The use of activating flux in TIG welding process is one of the most notable techniques which are developed recently. This technique, known as A-TIG welding, increases the penetration depth and improves the productivity of the TIG welding. In the present study, four oxide fluxes (SiO2, TiO2, Cr2O3, and CaO) were used to investigate the effect of activating flux on the depth/width ratio and mechanical property of 316L austenitic stainless steel. The effect of coating density of activating flux on the weld pool shape and oxygen content in the weld after the welding process was studied systematically. Experimental results indicated that the maximum depth/width ratio of stainless steel activated TIG weld was obtained when the coating density was 2.6, 1.3, 2, and 7.8 mg/cm2 for SiO2, TiO2, Cr2O3, and CaO, respectively. The certain range of oxygen content dissolved in the weld, led to a significant increase in the penetration capability of TIG welds. TIG welding with active fluxes can increase the delta-ferrite content and improves the mechanical strength of the welded joint.

Qualification of phased array ultrasonic examination on T-joint weld of austenitic stainless steel for ITER vacuum vessel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, G.H. [ITER Korea, National Fusion Research Institute, Daejeon 305-333 (Korea, Republic of); Park, C.K., E-mail: love879@hanmail.net [ITER Korea, National Fusion Research Institute, Daejeon 305-333 (Korea, Republic of); Jin, S.W.; Kim, H.S.; Hong, K.H.; Lee, Y.J.; Ahn, H.J.; Chung, W. [ITER Korea, National Fusion Research Institute, Daejeon 305-333 (Korea, Republic of); Jung, Y.H.; Roh, B.R. [Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd., Ulsan 682-792 (Korea, Republic of); Sa, J.W.; Choi, C.H. [ITER Organization, Route de Vinon-sur-Verdon, CS 90 046, 13067 St. Paul Lez Durance Cedex (France)

2016-11-01

Highlights: • PAUT techniques has been developed by Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., LTD (HHI) and Korea Domestic Agency (KODA) to verify and settle down instrument calibration, test procedures, image processing, and so on. As the first step of development for PAUT technique, Several dozens of qualification blocks with artificial defects, which are parallel side drilled hole, embedded lack of fusion, embedded repair weld notch, and so on, have been designed and fabricated to simulate all potential defects during welding process. Real UT qualification group-1 for T-joint weld was successfully conducted in front of ANB inspector. • In this paper, remarkable progresses of UT qualification are presented for ITER vacuum vessel. - Abstract: Full penetration welding and 100% volumetric examination are required for all welds of pressure retaining parts of the ITER Vacuum Vessel (VV) according to RCC-MR Code and French Order of Nuclear Pressure Equipment (ESPN). The NDE requirement is one of important technical issues because radiographic examination (RT) is not applicable to many welding joints. Therefore the ultrasonic examination (UT) has been selected as an alternative method. Generally the UT on the austenitic welds is regarded as a great challenge due to the high attenuation and dispersion of the ultrasonic signal. In this paper, Phased array ultrasonic examination (PAUT) has been introduced on double sided T-shape austenitic welds of the ITER VV as a major NDE method as well as RT. Several dozens of qualification blocks with artificial defects, which are parallel side drilled hole, embedded lack of fusion, embedded repair weld notch, embedded parallel vertical notch, and so on, have been designed and fabricated to simulate all potential defects during welding process. PAUT techniques on the thick austenitic welds have been developed taking into account the acceptance criteria. Test procedure including calibration of equipment is derived and qualified through

76 FR 67473 - Stainless Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings from Italy, Malaysia, and The Philippines; Institution of...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-11-01

... Concerning the Antidumping Duty Orders on Stainless Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings From Italy, Malaysia, and... stainless steel butt-weld pipe fittings from Italy, Malaysia, and the Philippines would be likely to lead to... antidumping duty orders on imports of stainless steel butt-weld pipe fittings from Italy, Malaysia, and the...

Development of remote bore tools for pipe welding/cutting by YAG laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oka, Kiyoshi; Nakahira, Masataka; Kakudate, Satoshi; Tada, Eisuke; Obara, Kenjiro; Taguchi, Kou; Nakamori, Naokazu

1996-07-01

In D-T burning reactors such as International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), an internal access welding/cutting of blanket cooling pipe with bend sections is inevitably required because of spatial constraint due to nuclear shield and available port opening space. For this purpose, an internal access pipe welding/cutting using YAG laser beam is being developed according to the agreement of the ITER R and D task (T44). A design concept of welding/cutting processing head with a flexible optical fiber has been developed and the basic feasibility studies on welding, cutting and rewelding are performed using stainless steel plate (SS316L). In this report, the details of a welding/cutting head with a flexible optical fiber for YAG laser are described, together with the basic experiment results relating to the welding/cutting and rewelding. (author)

Influence of Post-Weld Heat Treatment on the Microstructure, Microhardness, and Toughness of a Weld Metal for Hot Bend

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiu-Lin Han

2016-03-01

Full Text Available In this work, a weld metal in K65 pipeline steel pipe has been processed through self-designed post-weld heat treatments including reheating and tempering associated with hot bending. The microstructures and the corresponding toughness and microhardness of the weld metal subjected to the post-weld heat treatments have been investigated. Results show that with the increase in reheating temperature, austenite grain size increases and the main microstructures transition from fine polygonal ferrite (PF to granular bainitic ferrite (GB. The density of the high angle boundary decreases at higher reheating temperature, leading to a loss of impact toughness. Lots of martensite/austenite (M/A constituents are observed after reheating, and to a large extent transform into cementite after further tempering. At high reheating temperatures, the increased hardenability promotes the formation of large quantities of M/A constituents. After tempering, the cementite particles become denser and coarser, which considerably deteriorates the impact toughness. Additionally, microhardness has a good linear relation with the mean equivalent diameter of ferrite grain with a low boundary tolerance angle (2°−8°, which shows that the hardness is controlled by low misorientation grain boundaries for the weld metal.

Joints of pipes without welding. Uniones sin soldadura de tuberias

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hemmi, H [GS-Hydro, S.A. (Spain)

1993-01-01

The joint pipes without welding save fabrication time and contribute to save money. There are four solutions depending on the work pressure and type of pipe: retaining ring, expander, mechanical joint. These systems are applied to chemical industry, offshore and terrestrial industry. (Author)

Corrosion resistance of ERW (Electric Resistance Welded) seam welds as compared to metal base in API 5L steel pipes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gonzalez Velasquez, Jorge L.; Godinez Salcedo, Jesus G.; Lopez Fajardo, Pedro [Instituto Politecnico Nacional (IPN), Mexico D.F. (Mexico). Escuela Superior de Ingenieria Quimica e Industrias Extractivas (ESIQIE). Dept. de Ingenieria Metalurgica

2009-07-01

The corrosion resistance of ERW seam welds and the base metal in API 5L X70 steel pipes was evaluated by Tafel tests. The procedure was according to ASTM G3 standard. The study was completed with metallographic and chemical characterization of the tested zones, that is, the welded zone and the base metal away of the weld. All tests were made on the internal surface of the pipe in order to assess the internal corrosion of an in-service pipeline made of the API 5L X70 steel. The test solution was acid brine prepared according to NACE Publications 1D182 and 1D196. The results showed that the ERW seam weld corrodes as much as three times faster than the base material. This behavior is attributed to a more heterogeneous microstructure with higher internal energy in the ERW seam weld zone, as compared to the base metal, which is basically a ferrite pearlite microstructure in a normalized condition. This result also indicates that pipeline segments made of ERW steel pipe where the seam weld is located near or at the bottom of the pipe are prone to a highly localized attack that may form channels of metal loss if there is water accumulation at the bottom of the pipeline. (author)

Mitigation of inside surface residual stress of type 304 stainless steel pipe welds by inside water cooling method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sasaki, R.

1980-01-01

The weld residual stress distributions, macro- and microstructures of heat affected zone and IGSCC susceptibility of Type 304 stainless steel pipe welds by natural and inside water cooling methods have been investigated. The residual stresses of pipe welds by the natural cooling method are high tensile on both the inside and the outside surface. While the residual stresses on the inside surface of pipe welds by the inside water cooling method are compressive in both axial and circumferential directions for each pipe size from 2 to 24 inch diameter. The sensitized zones of welds by the inside water cooling method are closer to the fusion line, much narrower and milder than those by the natural cooling method. According to the constant extension rate test results for specimens taken from the inside surface of pipe welds, the inside water cooled welds are more resistant to IGSCC than naturally cooled ones

Socket weld integrity in nuclear piping under fatigue loading condition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, Young Hwan; Choi, Sun Yeong

2007-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the integrity of socket weld in nuclear piping under the fatigue loading. The integrity of socket weld is regarded as a safety concern in nuclear power plants because many failures have been world-widely reported in the socket weld. Recently, socket weld failures in the chemical and volume control system (CVCS) and the primary sampling system (PSS) were reported in Korean nuclear power plants. The root causes of the socket weld failures were known as the fatigue due to the pressure and/or temperature loading transients and the vibration during the plant operation. The ASME boiler and pressure vessel (B and PV) Code Sec. III requires 1/16 in. gap between the pipe and fitting in the socket weld with the weld leg size of 1.09 x t 1 , where t 1 is the pipe wall thickness. Many failure cases, however, showed that the gap requirement was not satisfied. In addition, industry has demanded the reduction of weld leg size from 1.09 x t 1 to 0.75 x t 1 . In this paper, the socket weld integrity under the fatigue loading was evaluated using three-dimensional finite element analysis considering the requirements in the ASME Code. Three types of loading conditions such as the deflection due to vibration, the pressure transient ranging from P = 0 to 15.51 MPa, and the thermal transient ranging from T = 25 to 288 deg. C were considered. The results are as follows; (1) the socket weld is susceptible to the vibration where the vibration levels exceed the requirement in the ASME operation and maintenance (OM) code. (2) The effect of pressure or temperature transient load on socket weld in CVCS and PSS is not significant owing to the low frequency of transient during plant operation. (3) 'No gap' is very risky to the socket weld integrity for the systems having the vibration condition to exceed the requirement specified in the ASME OM Code and/or the transient loading condition from P = 0 and T = 25 deg. C to P = 15.51 MPa and T = 288 deg. C. (4

The influence of the heat treatment on delta ferrite transformation in austenitic stainless steel welds

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B. Mateša

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Shielded metal arc (SMAW welded specimens using austenitic consumable materials with different amount of delta-ferrite are annealed in range 650-750 °C through 2-10 hours. Factorial plan 33 with influenced factors regression analyze of measured delta-ferrite values is used. The transformation i.e. decomposition of delta ferrite during annealing was analyzed regarding on weld cracking resistance using metallographic examination and WRC-1992 diagram.

Effects of Thermocapillary Forces during Welding of 316L-Type Wrought, Cast and Powder Metallurgy Austenitic Stainless Steels

CERN Document Server

Sgobba, Stefano

2003-01-01

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is now under construction at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). This 27 km long accelerator requires 1248 superconducting dipole magnets operating at 1.9 K. The cold mass of the dipole magnets is closed by a shrinking cylinder with two longitudinal welds and two end covers at both extremities of the cylinder. The end covers, for which fabrication by welding, casting or Powder Metallurgy (PM) was considered, are dished-heads equipped with a number of protruding nozzles for the passage of the different cryogenic lines. Structural materials and welds must retain high strength and toughness at cryogenic temperature. AISI 316L-type austenitic stainless steel grades have been selected because of their mechanical properties, ductility, weldability and stability of the austenitic phase against low-temperature spontaneous martensitic transformation. 316LN is chosen for the fabrication of the end covers, while the interconnection components to be welded on the protrud...

Standard practice for ultrasonic testing of the Weld Zone of welded pipe and tubing

CERN Document Server

American Society for Testing and Materials. Philadelphia

2010-01-01

1.1 This practice describes general ultrasonic testing procedures for the detection of discontinuities in the weld and adjacent heat affected zones of welded pipe and tubing by scanning with relative motion between the search unit and pipe or tube. When contact or unfocused immersion search units are employed, this practice is intended for tubular products having specified outside diameters ≥2 in. (≥50 mm) and specified wall thicknesses of 1/8to 11/16 in. (3 to 27 mm). When properly focused immersion search units are employed, this practice may also be applied to material of smaller diameter and thinner wall. Note 1—When contact or unfocused immersion search units are used, precautions should be exercised when examining pipes or tubes near the lower specified limits. Certain combinations of search unit size, frequency, thin–wall thicknesses, and small diameters could cause generation of unwanted sound waves that may produce erroneous examination results. 1.2 All surfaces of material to be examined in ...

75 FR 76025 - Stainless Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings From Japan, Korea, and Taiwan

Science.gov (United States)

2010-12-07

... INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION [Investigation Nos. 731-TA-376 and 563-564 (Third Review)] Stainless Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings From Japan, Korea, and Taiwan AGENCY: United States International... steel butt-weld pipe fittings from Japan, Korea, and Taiwan would be likely to lead to continuation or...

Recent progress in the field of automated welding applied to maintenance activities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cullafroz, M.

2004-01-01

Automated and robot welding has 5 advantages compared to manual welding: -) under some conditions the automated circular welding does not require requalification testing as manual welding does, -) welding heads in robots have a reduced size compared to manual gears so they can enter and treat complex piping, -) by using an adequate viewing system the operator can be more than 10 meters away from the welding site which means that the radiation doses he receives is cut by a factor 1.5 to 2, -) whatever the configuration is, the deposition rate in automated welding stays high, the quality standard is steady and the risk of repairing is low, -) a gain in productivity if adequate equipment is used. In general, automated welding requires a TIG welding process and is applied in maintenance activities to: -) the main primary system and other circuits in stainless austenitic steels, -) the main secondary system and other circuits in low-percentage carbon steels, and -) the closure of spent fuel canisters. An application to the repairing of BWR's pipes is shown. (A.C.)

Crack resistance of austenitic pipes with circumferential through-wall cracks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Foerster, K.; Grueter, L.; Setz, W.; Bhandari, S.; Debaene, J.P.; Faidy, C.; Schwalbe, K.H.

1993-01-01

For monotonously increasing load the correct evaluation of the crack resistance properties of a structure is essential for safety analyses. Considerable attention has been given to the through-wall case, since this is generally believed to be the controlling case with regard to complete pipe failure. The maximum load conditions for circumferential crack growth in pipes under displacement-controlled loadings has been determined. The need for crack resistance curves, measured on circumferentially through-wall cracked straight pipes of austenitic stainless steel 316L under bending, is emphasized by the limitation in the data range on small specimens and by the differences in the procedures. To answer open questions and to improve calculational methods a joint fracture mechanics program is being performed by Electricite de France, Novatome and Siemens-Interatom. The working program contains experimental and theoretical investigations on the applicability of small-specimen data to real structures. 10 refs., 10 figs., 4 tabs

78 FR 60897 - Certain Welded Large Diameter Line Pipe From Japan

Science.gov (United States)

2013-10-02

... Diameter Line Pipe From Japan Determination On the basis of the record \\1\\ developed in the subject five... order on certain welded large diameter line pipe from Japan would likely to lead to continuation or... Line Pipe from Japan: Investigation No. 731-TA-919 (Second Review). By order of the Commission. Issued...

Effect on spot welding variables on nugget size and bond strength of 304 austenitic stainless steel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Charde, Nachimani

2012-01-01

Resistance spot welding (RSW) has revolutionized mechanical assembly in the automotive industry since its introduction in the early 1970s. Currently, one mechanical assembly in five is welded using spot welding technology, with welding of stainless steel sheet becoming increasingly common. Consequently, this research paper examines the spot welding of 2 mm thick 304 austenitic stainless steel sheet. The size of a spot weld nugget is primarily determined by the welding parameters: welding current, welding time, electrode force and electrode tip diameter However, other factors such as electrode deformation, corrosion, dissimilar materials and material properties also affect the nugget size and shape. This paper analyzes only the effects of current, weld time and force variations with unchanged electrode tip diameter. A pneumatically driven 75kVA spot welder was used to accomplish the welding process and the welded samples were subjected to tensile, hardness and metallurgical testing to characterize the size and shape of the weld nugget and the bond strength.

Vibrational fatigue failures in short cantilevered piping with socket-welding fittings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, J.K.

1996-01-01

Approximately 80% of the vibrational fatigue failures in nuclear power plants have been caused by high cycle vibrational fatigue. Many of these failures have occurred in short, small bore (2 in. nominal diameter and smaller), unbraced, cantilevered piping with socket-welding fittings. The fatigue failures initiated in the socket welds. These failures have been unexpected, and have caused costly, unscheduled outages in some cases. In order to reduce the number of vibrational fatigue failures in these short cantilevered pipes, an acceleration based vibrational fatigue screening criteria was developed under Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) sponsorship. In this paper, the acceleration based criteria will be compared to the results obtained from detailed dynamic modeling of a short, cantilevered pipe

78 FR 31574 - Welded Stainless Steel Pressure Pipe From Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam; Institution of...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-05-24

... INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION [Investigation Nos. 731-TA-1210-1212 (Preliminary)] Welded Stainless Steel Pressure Pipe From Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam; Institution of Antidumping Duty..., by reason of imports from Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam of welded stainless steel pressure pipe...

Effect of Heat Input on Geometry of Austenitic Stainless Steel Weld Bead on Low Carbon Steel

Science.gov (United States)

Saha, Manas Kumar; Hazra, Ritesh; Mondal, Ajit; Das, Santanu

2018-05-01

Among different weld cladding processes, gas metal arc welding (GMAW) cladding becomes a cost effective, user friendly, versatile method for protecting the surface of relatively lower grade structural steels from corrosion and/or erosion wear by depositing high grade stainless steels onto them. The quality of cladding largely depends upon the bead geometry of the weldment deposited. Weld bead geometry parameters, like bead width, reinforcement height, depth of penetration, and ratios like reinforcement form factor (RFF) and penetration shape factor (PSF) determine the quality of the weld bead geometry. Various process parameters of gas metal arc welding like heat input, current, voltage, arc travel speed, mode of metal transfer, etc. influence formation of bead geometry. In the current experimental investigation, austenite stainless steel (316) weld beads are formed on low alloy structural steel (E350) by GMAW using 100% CO2 as the shielding gas. Different combinations of current, voltage and arc travel speed are chosen so that heat input increases from 0.35 to 0.75 kJ/mm. Nine number of weld beads are deposited and replicated twice. The observations show that weld bead width increases linearly with increase in heat input, whereas reinforcement height and depth of penetration do not increase with increase in heat input. Regression analysis is done to establish the relationship between heat input and different geometrical parameters of weld bead. The regression models developed agrees well with the experimental data. Within the domain of the present experiment, it is observed that at higher heat input, the weld bead gets wider having little change in penetration and reinforcement; therefore, higher heat input may be recommended for austenitic stainless steel cladding on low alloy steel.

Elaboration of data and documents intended to complement and expand the German series of nuclear engineering codes. 3. Technical report. Non-destructive testing of austenitic welds and claddings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Waidele, H.

1997-01-01

This 3. technical report presents a literature study on non-destructive testing of austenitic welds and claddings. NDT of claddings was the subject of a previous BMU project report SR 2024, so that this report contains only an update covering the latest developments in this subject area, and NDT of austenitic welds is the major subject of the report in hand. The literature study shows that improvements of ultrasonic test results for austenitic welds are expected to be achieved soon as a result of application of novel testing methods, advanced signal processing algorithms, and reduced anisotropy of austenitic welds due to specific welding techniques. Enhanced information is expected to be achieved from radiography tests through improvements available now, such as digitization of conventional radiographs combined with computer-assisted evaluation methods. As to the inspection of components with wall thickness up to 10 mm, low-frequency methods or eddy current methods will increasingly be applied in future as complementing methods supplying additional information. (orig./CB) [de

Short cracks in piping and piping welds. Seventh program report, March 1993-December 1994. Volume 4, Number 1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wilkowski, G.M.; Ghadiali, N.; Rudland, D.; Krishnaswamy, P.; Rahman, S.; Scott, P. [Battelle, Columbus, OH (United States)

1995-04-01

This is the seventh progress report of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission`s research program entitled {open_quotes}Short Cracks in Piping and Piping Welds{close_quotes}. The program objective is to verify and improve fracture analyses for circumferentially cracked large-diameter nuclear piping with crack sizes typically used in leak-before-break (LBB) analyses and in-service flaw evaluations. All work in the eight technical tasks have been completed. Ten topical reports are scheduled to be published. Progress only during the reporting period, March 1993 - December 1994, not covered in the topical reports is presented in this report. Details about the following efforts are covered in this report: (1) Improvements to the two computer programs NRCPIPE and NRCPIPES to assess the failure behavior of circumferential through-wall and surface-cracked pipe, respectively; (2) Pipe material property database PIFRAC; (3) Circumferentially cracked pipe database CIRCUMCK.WKI; (4) An assessment of the proposed ASME Section III design stress rule changes on pipe flaw tolerance; and (5) A pipe fracture experiment on a section of pipe removed from service degraded by microbiologically induced corrosion (MIC) which contained a girth weld crack. Progress in the other tasks is not repeated here as it has been covered in great detail in the topical reports.

Thermal aging evaluation of cast austenitic stainless steel pipe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Song, T. H.; Jung, I. S.

2002-01-01

24 years have been passed since Kori Unit 1 began its commercial operation, and 19 years have been passed since Kori Unit 2 began its commercial operation. As the end point of design life become closer, plant life extension and periodic safety assessment is paid more and more attention to by utility company. In this paper, the methodologies and results of cast austenitic stainless steel pipe thermal aging evaluations of both units have been presented in association with aging time of 10, 20, and 30 years and operating temperature, respectively. Life extension cases respectively. As a result of this, at the operating temperature of 280 .deg. C, thermal aging was not a problem as long as Charpy V-notch room temperature minimum impact energy is concerned. However, more than 300 .deg. C and 30 years of operating condition, we should perform detailed fracture mechanics analysis with CMTR of NPP pipe

Residual stress distribution in carbon steel pipe welded joint measured by neutron diffraction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hayashi, Makoto; Ishiwata, Masayuki; Morii, Yukio; Minakawa, Nobuaki

2000-01-01

In order to estimate crack growth behavior of fatigue and stress corrosion cracking in pipes, the residual stress distribution near the pipe weld region has to be measured through the wall thickness. Since the penetration depth of neutron is deep enough to pass through the thick pipe wall, the neutron diffraction technique for the residual stress measurement is effective for this purpose. At the first step the residual stress distribution near the weld region in a butt-welded carbon steel pipe was measured by the neutron diffraction. Significant stresses extended only to a distance of 30 mm from the center of the weld. The major tensile stresses occurred in the hoop direction in the fusion and heat affected zones of the weldment, and they attained a level greater than 200 MPa through the thickness. While the axial residual stress at the inside surface was 50 MPa, the stress at the outside surface was -100 MPa. The comparison of residual stress distributions measured by the neutron diffraction, the X-ray diffraction and the strain gauge method reveals that the neutron diffraction is the most effective for measuring the residual stress inside the structural components. (author)

Study on production mechanism of welding residual stress at the juncture of a pipe penetrating a thick plate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mochizuki, Masahito; Enomoto, Kunio; Okamoto, Noriaki; Saitoh, Hideyo; Hayashi, Eisaku.

1994-01-01

This paper studies welding residual stresses at the intersection of a small diameter pipe penetrating a thick plate. The pipe is welded to the plate, and Tungsten Innert Gas (TIG) cladding is melted on the inner surface of the pipe to protect it from stress corrosion cracking due to long operation in nuclear power plants. Stresses are calculated by heat conduction analysis and thermal elasto-plastic analysis, and also measured by strain gauges. Welding residual stresses are shown to have no corrosive influence on the inner pipe surface, and the stresses are compressed enough to protect the pipe against stress corrosion cracking on the outer surface. It was also studied to make clear the production mechanism of the residual stresses which were generated by welding processes at the pipe. (author)

A Comparative Study of Fracture Toughness at Cryogenic Temperature of Austenitic Stainless Steel Welds

Science.gov (United States)

Aviles Santillana, I.; Boyer, C.; Fernandez Pison, P.; Foussat, A.; Langeslag, S. A. E.; Perez Fontenla, A. T.; Ruiz Navas, E. M.; Sgobba, S.

2018-03-01

The ITER magnet system is based on the "cable-in-conduit" conductor (CICC) concept, which consists of stainless steel jackets filled with superconducting strands. The jackets provide high strength, limited fatigue crack growth rate and fracture toughness properties to counteract the high stress imposed by, among others, electromagnetic loads at cryogenic temperature. Austenitic nitrogen-strengthened stainless steels have been chosen as base material for the jackets of the central solenoid and the toroidal field system, for which an extensive set of cryogenic mechanical property data are readily available. However, little is published for their welded joints, and their specific performance when considering different combinations of parent and filler metals. Moreover, the impact of post-weld heat treatments that are required for Nb3Sn formation is not extensively treated. Welds are frequently responsible for cracks initiated and propagated by fatigue during service, causing structural failure. It becomes thus essential to select the most suitable combination of parent and filler material and to assess their performance in terms of strength and crack propagation at operation conditions. An extensive test campaign has been conducted at 7 K comparing tungsten inert gas (TIG) welds using two fillers adapted to cryogenic service, EN 1.4453 and JK2LB, applied to two different base metals, AISI 316L and 316LN. A large set of fracture toughness data are presented, and the detrimental effect on fracture toughness of post-weld heat treatments (unavoidable for some of the components) is demonstrated. In this study, austenitic stainless steel TIG welds with various filler metals have undergone a comprehensive fracture mechanics characterization at 7 K. These results are directly exploitable and contribute to the cryogenic fracture mechanics properties database of the ITER magnet system. Additionally, a correlation between the impact in fracture toughness and microstructure

Characterization of microstructure and texture across dissimilar super duplex/austenitic stainless steel weldment joint by austenitic filler metal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eghlimi, Abbas; Shamanian, Morteza; Eskandarian, Masoomeh; Zabolian, Azam; Szpunar, Jerzy A.

2015-01-01

The evolution of microstructure and texture across an as-welded dissimilar UNS S32750 super duplex/UNS S30403 austenitic stainless steel joint welded by UNS S30986 (AWS A5.9 ER309LMo) austenitic stainless steel filler metal using gas tungsten arc welding process was evaluated by optical micrography and EBSD techniques. Due to their fabrication through rolling process, both parent metals had texture components resulted from deformation and recrystallization. The weld metal showed the highest amount of residual strain and had large austenite grain colonies of similar orientations with little amounts of skeletal ferrite, both oriented preferentially in the < 001 > direction with cub-on-cube orientation relationship. While the super duplex stainless steel's heat affected zone contained higher ferrite than its parent metal, an excessive grain growth was observed at the austenitic stainless steel's counterpart. At both heat affected zones, austenite underwent some recrystallization and formed twin boundaries which led to an increase in the fraction of high angle boundaries as compared with the respective base metals. These regions showed the least amount of residual strain and highest amount of recrystallized austenite grains. Due to the static recrystallization, the fraction of low degree of fit (Σ) coincident site lattice boundaries, especially Σ3 boundaries, was increased in the austenitic stainless steel heat affected zone, while the formation of subgrains in the ferrite phase increased the content of < 5° low angle boundaries at that of the super duplex stainless steel. - Graphical abstract: Display Omitted - Highlights: • Extensive grain growth in the HAZ of austenitic stainless steel was observed. • Intensification of < 100 > orientated grains was observed adjacent to both fusion lines. • Annealing twins with Σ3 CSL boundaries were formed in the austenite of both HAZ. • Cub-on-cube OR was observed between austenite and ferrite in the weld

Characterization of microstructure and texture across dissimilar super duplex/austenitic stainless steel weldment joint by austenitic filler metal

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Eghlimi, Abbas, E-mail: a.eghlimi@ma.iut.ac.ir [Department of Materials Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan 84156-83111 (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Shamanian, Morteza [Department of Materials Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan 84156-83111 (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Eskandarian, Masoomeh [Department of Materials Engineering, Shiraz University, Shiraz 71348-51154 (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Zabolian, Azam [Department of Natural Resources, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan 84156-83111 (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Szpunar, Jerzy A. [Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5A9 (Canada)

2015-08-15

The evolution of microstructure and texture across an as-welded dissimilar UNS S32750 super duplex/UNS S30403 austenitic stainless steel joint welded by UNS S30986 (AWS A5.9 ER309LMo) austenitic stainless steel filler metal using gas tungsten arc welding process was evaluated by optical micrography and EBSD techniques. Due to their fabrication through rolling process, both parent metals had texture components resulted from deformation and recrystallization. The weld metal showed the highest amount of residual strain and had large austenite grain colonies of similar orientations with little amounts of skeletal ferrite, both oriented preferentially in the < 001 > direction with cub-on-cube orientation relationship. While the super duplex stainless steel's heat affected zone contained higher ferrite than its parent metal, an excessive grain growth was observed at the austenitic stainless steel's counterpart. At both heat affected zones, austenite underwent some recrystallization and formed twin boundaries which led to an increase in the fraction of high angle boundaries as compared with the respective base metals. These regions showed the least amount of residual strain and highest amount of recrystallized austenite grains. Due to the static recrystallization, the fraction of low degree of fit (Σ) coincident site lattice boundaries, especially Σ3 boundaries, was increased in the austenitic stainless steel heat affected zone, while the formation of subgrains in the ferrite phase increased the content of < 5° low angle boundaries at that of the super duplex stainless steel. - Graphical abstract: Display Omitted - Highlights: • Extensive grain growth in the HAZ of austenitic stainless steel was observed. • Intensification of < 100 > orientated grains was observed adjacent to both fusion lines. • Annealing twins with Σ3 CSL boundaries were formed in the austenite of both HAZ. • Cub-on-cube OR was observed between austenite and ferrite in the weld

Evaluation of residual stresses for the multipass welds of 316L stainless steel pipe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, S. H.; Joo, Y. S.; Lee, J. H.

2003-01-01

It is necessary to evaluate the influence of the residual stress and distortion in the design and fabrication of welded structure and the sound welded structure can be maintained by this consideration. Multipass welds of the 316L stainless steel have been widely employed in the pipes of Liquid Metal Reactor. In this study, the residual stresses in the 316L stainless steel pipe welds were calculated by the finite element method using ANSYS code. Also, the residual stresses both on the surface and in the interior of the thickness were measured by HRPD(High Resolution Powder Diffractometer) instrumented in HANARO Reactor. The residual stresses were measured for each 18 points in small(t/d=0.075) and large pipe specimens (t/d=0.034). The experimental and calculated results were compared and the characteristics of the distribution of the residual stress discussed

77 FR 39735 - Stainless Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings From Italy, Malaysia, and the Philippines

Science.gov (United States)

2012-07-05

... revocation of the antidumping duty orders on stainless steel butt-weld pipe fittings From Italy, Malaysia... INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION [Investigation Nos. 731-TA-865-867 (Second Review)] Stainless Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings From Italy, Malaysia, and the Philippines Determination On the basis of the...

Optimization of laser welding process parameters for super austenitic stainless steel using artificial neural networks and genetic algorithm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sathiya, P.; Panneerselvam, K.; Abdul Jaleel, M.Y.

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Super austenitic stainless steel has successfully welded by laser welding with three different shielding gases. ► Among the three shielded joints, the helium shielded weld has more tensile strength. ► Neural network model was developed to predict the depth of penetration, bead width and tensile strength of the joints. ► The developed ANN model is suitably integrated with GA for optimization. -- Abstract: The laser welding input parameters play a very significant role in determining the quality of a weld joint. The quality of the joint can be defined in terms of properties such as weld bead geometry, mechanical properties and distortion. In particular mechanical properties should be controlled to obtain good welded joints. In this study, the weld bead geometry such as depth of penetration (DP), bead width (BW) and tensile strength (TS) of the laser welded butt joints made of AISI 904L super austenitic stainless steel are investigated. Full factorial design is used to carry out the experimental design. Artificial neural networks (ANNs) program was developed in MatLab software to establish the relationship between the laser welding input parameters like beam power, travel speed and focal position and the three responses DP, BW and TS in three different shielding gases (argon, helium and nitrogen). The established models are used for optimizing the process parameters using genetic algorithm (GA). Optimum solutions for the three different gases and their respective responses are obtained. Confirmation experiment has also been conducted to validate the optimized parameters obtained from GA.

Evidence of cracks in austenitic pipe weldings with a radiometric inspection system; Nachweis von Rissen in austenitischen Rohrleitungsnaehten mit einem radiometrischen Pruefsystem

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Maier, H.J.; Wuensch, W. [Stuttgart Univ. (Germany). Staatliche Materialpruefungsanstalt

1999-08-01

The paper reports the development of a radiometric prototype device and its application to inspection of austenitic weldings with intercrystalline crack defects. The device initially was intended to be used for supplemental inspection for clarification of contradictory or unclear testing results, but the results obtained justify to consider the possibility of using it as an independent, full-scope testing instrument. (orig./CB) [Deutsch] Berichtet wird ueber die Entwicklung eines Prototypes eines Radiometrie-Geraetes zur Pruefung von austenitischen Schweissnaehten mit interkristalliner Rissbildung, zunaechst als Entscheidungshilfe bei unklaren bzw. sich widersprechenden Pruefresultaten. Zwischenzeitlich wird auch daran gedacht, ein solches Geraet fuer eine vollstaendige Pruefung weiter zu entwickeln. (orig./DGE)

Qualification of Manual Phased Array Ultrasonic Techniques for Pipe Weld Inspection in Nuclear Power Plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Poirier, J.; Hayes, P.; Vicat, F. [GE Inspection Technologies (United States)

2011-07-01

Phasor XS can be used for piping weld inspection in any facilities that use EPRI procedures (example: nuclear power plant in Usa, Japan, ...). Whole pipe range is inspected with 5 probes and 6 wedges: 4 1-dimensional probe for sound wave scanning (different frequency, different apertures); 1 dual matrix probe for LW scanning; there are 3 types of wedges optimized for weld inspection. Weld is scanned in 'Raster Scan', maximum range from 35 up to 80 degrees. Probe selection is defined in the procedure according to pipe diameter, pipe thickness and type of access (single or dual side). We have to note that datasets for dual matrix probe are provided with the procedure because this kind of probe cannot be programmed inside Phasor XS

Effect of welding structure and δ-ferrite on fatigue properties for TIG welded austenitic stainless steels at cryogenic temperatures

Science.gov (United States)

Yuri, Tetsumi; Ogata, Toshio; Saito, Masahiro; Hirayama, Yoshiaki

2000-04-01

High-cycle and low-cycle fatigue properties of base and weld metals for SUS304L and SUS316L and the effects of welding structure and δ-ferrite on fatigue properties were investigated at cryogenic temperatures in order to evaluate the long-life reliability of the structural materials to be used in liquid hydrogen supertankers and storage tanks and to develop a welding process for these applications. The S-N curves of the base and weld metals shifted towards higher levels, i.e., the longer life side, with decreasing test temperatures. High-cycle fatigue tests demonstrated the ratios of fatigue strength at 10 6 cycles to tensile strength of the weld metals to be 0.35-0.7, falling below those of base metals with decreasing test temperatures. Fatigue crack initiation sites in SUS304L weld metals were mostly at blowholes with diameters of 200-700 μm, and those of SUS316L weld metals were at weld pass interface boundaries. Low-cycle fatigue tests revealed the fatigue lives of the weld metals to be somewhat lower than those of the base metals. Although δ-ferrite reduces the toughness of austenitic stainless steels at cryogenic temperatures, the effects of δ-ferrite on high-cycle and low-cycle fatigue properties are not clear or significant.

Austenitic steels of the new generation used for power plant installations with supercritical parameters and their welding

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brozda, J.

2006-01-01

Combustion of bituminous coal and lignite in power boilers brings into the atmosphere a lot of contaminations. The emission of pollutants can be reduced by the application of supercritical steam parameters, which also improves the efficiency of power units, but in that case constructional materials of the new generation are needed, among them austenitic steels. The development of power units with supercritical and ultra supercritical steam parameters is presented as well as applied structural materials. Austenitic steels used in power boiler constructions are listed. Basic characteristics of austenitic steels of the new generation are given and principles of their forming and welding. (author)

On qualification of TOFD technique for austenitic stainless steel welds inspection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Martinez-Ona, R. [Tecnatom, San Sebastian de los Reyes (Spain); Viggianiello, S.; Bleuze, A. [Metalscan, Saint-Remy (France)

2006-07-01

Time of Flight Diffraction (TOFD) technique is gaining ground as a solid method for detection and sizing of defects. It has been reported that TOFD technique provides good results on the inspection of fine grain steels. However, there are few results regarding the application and performance of this technique on austenitic stainless steels. A big challenge of these inspections is the coarse grain structure that produces low signal to noise ratio and may mask the diffraction signals. Appropriate transducer design, selection of technique parameters and analysis tools could overcome the actual difficulties. In this paper, the main design aspects and parameters of the TOFD technique for austenitic steels are presented. It follows the description of qualification tests carried out to validate the technique for inspecting stainless steels welds. To conclude, discussion of results from actual inspections is shown. (orig.)

Influences of lumped passes on welding residual stress of a thick-walled nuclear rotor steel pipe by multipass narrow gap welding

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tan, Long, E-mail: mse.longtan@gmail.com [State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049 (China); Zhang, Jianxun; Zhuang, Dong [State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049 (China); Liu, Chuan [Provincial Key Lab of Advanced Welding Technology, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang 212003 (China)

2014-07-01

Highlights: • The internal residual stress of the thick-walled pipe is measured by using the local removal blind hole method. • Two lumped-pass models are developed to reduce computational cost. • The effect of lumped passes on the welding residual stress is discussed. • Reasonable lumped-pass model can guarantee the accuracy and improve the computational efficiency. - Abstract: The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of the lumped passes simulation on the distribution of residual stresses before and after heat treatment in a thick-walled nuclear power rotor pipe with a 89-pass narrow gap welding process. The local removal blind hole method was used to measure internal residual stress of the thick-walled pipe after post weld heat treatment (PWHT). Based on the ANSYS software, a two-dimensional axisymmetric finite element model is employed. Two lumped-pass models of M-5th model (five weld beads as one lumped pass) and M-10th model (ten weld beads as one lumped pass) were developed to reduce computational cost. Based on the results in this study, the distributions of residual stresses of a thick-walled welded pipe before and after PWHT are developed. Meanwhile, the distribution of the through-wall axial residual stress along the weld center line is demonstrated to be a self-equilibrating type. In addition, the investigation results show that reasonable and reliable lumped-pass model can not only guarantee the accuracy of the simulated results, but also improve the computational efficiency in the thermo-elastic–plastic FE analysis procedure. Therefore, from the viewpoint of engineering application the developed lumped-pass computational procedure is a promising and useful method to predict residual stress of large and complex welded structures.

Influences of lumped passes on welding residual stress of a thick-walled nuclear rotor steel pipe by multipass narrow gap welding

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tan, Long; Zhang, Jianxun; Zhuang, Dong; Liu, Chuan

2014-01-01

Highlights: • The internal residual stress of the thick-walled pipe is measured by using the local removal blind hole method. • Two lumped-pass models are developed to reduce computational cost. • The effect of lumped passes on the welding residual stress is discussed. • Reasonable lumped-pass model can guarantee the accuracy and improve the computational efficiency. - Abstract: The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of the lumped passes simulation on the distribution of residual stresses before and after heat treatment in a thick-walled nuclear power rotor pipe with a 89-pass narrow gap welding process. The local removal blind hole method was used to measure internal residual stress of the thick-walled pipe after post weld heat treatment (PWHT). Based on the ANSYS software, a two-dimensional axisymmetric finite element model is employed. Two lumped-pass models of M-5th model (five weld beads as one lumped pass) and M-10th model (ten weld beads as one lumped pass) were developed to reduce computational cost. Based on the results in this study, the distributions of residual stresses of a thick-walled welded pipe before and after PWHT are developed. Meanwhile, the distribution of the through-wall axial residual stress along the weld center line is demonstrated to be a self-equilibrating type. In addition, the investigation results show that reasonable and reliable lumped-pass model can not only guarantee the accuracy of the simulated results, but also improve the computational efficiency in the thermo-elastic–plastic FE analysis procedure. Therefore, from the viewpoint of engineering application the developed lumped-pass computational procedure is a promising and useful method to predict residual stress of large and complex welded structures

The ultrasonic testing of austenitic welds and claddings as described in the handbooks of the IIW

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Neumann, E.; Wuestenberg, H.

1991-01-01

The handbooks of the International Institute of Welding (IIW) are to give guidance in the use of ultrasonic testing techniques developed for austenitic welded joints and platings, and serve as a pattern for working out testing instructions for these special tests. Basically these handbooks consist of the metallurgical description of the test subjects; sound propagation in acoustically anisotropic structures; description of testing techniques, and guidance in preparing testing instructions. (orig./DG) [de

FEM Analysis and Measurement of Residual Stress by Neutron Diffraction on the Dissimilar Overlay Weld Pipe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Kang Soo; Lee, Ho Jin; Woo, Wan Chuck; Seong, Baek Seok; Byeon, Jin Gwi; Park, Kwang Soo; Jung, In Chul

2010-01-01

Much research has been done to estimate the residual stress on a dissimilar metal weld. There are many methods to estimate the weld residual stress and FEM (Finite Element Method) is generally used due to the advantage of the parametric study. And the X-ray method and a Hole Drilling technique for an experimental method are also usually used. The aim of this paper is to develop the appropriate FEM model to estimate the residual stresses of the dissimilar overlay weld pipe. For this, firstly, the specimen of the dissimilar overlay weld pipe was manufactured. The SA 508 Gr3 nozzle, the SA 182 safe end and SA376 pipe were welded by the Alloy 182. And the overlay weld by the Alloy 52M was performed. The residual stress of this specimen was measured by using the Neutron Diffraction device in the HANARO (High-flux Advanced Neutron Application ReactOr) research reactor, KAERI (Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute). Secondly, FEM Model on the dissimilar overlay weld pipe was made and analyzed by the ABAQUS Code (ABAQUS, 2004). Thermal analysis and stress analysis were performed, and the residual stress was calculated. Thirdly, the results of the FEM analysis were compared with those of the experimental methods

FineLine{sup TM} welding process for power plant applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Offer, H.; Chapman, T.; Grycko, L.; Mahoney, P. [GE Nuclear Energy, San Jose, CA (United States)

1996-12-31

This paper discusses the technical development and current applications of the FineLine{sup TM} Welding (FLW) process. FineLine Welding is a modified Gas Tungsten-Arc Welding mechanized process recently developed by GE Nuclear Energy for a thin-wall piping application. Based on its unique combination of high thermal and volumetric efficiencies, the FLW process offers significant technical and productivity improvements over both standard orbital V-groove and narrow-gap welding procedures. The FLW process is suitable for many common structural materials, and has been successfully applied to unstabilized and stabilized grades of austenitic stainless steels, martensitic stainless steels, nickel-base (Inconel) alloys, carbon steels, as well as ferritic higher alloy steels. (orig./MM)

Verification of an optimized condition for low residual stress employed water-shower cooling during welding in austenitic stainless steel plates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yanagida, N.; Enomoto, K.; Anzai, H.

2004-01-01

To reduce tensile residual stress in a welded region, we have developed a new cooling method that uses a water-shower behind the welding torch. When this method is applied to the welding of austenitic stainless steel, the welding and cooling conditions mainly determine how much the residual stress can be reduced. To optimize these conditions, we first used a robust design method to determine the effects of the preheating temperature, the heat input quantity, and the water-shower area on the residual stress, and found that, to decrease the tensile residual stress, the preheating temperature should be high, the heat input low, and the water-shower area large. To confirm the effectiveness of these optimized conditions, the residual stresses under optimized or non-optimized conditions were measured experimentally. It was found that the residual stresses were tensile under the non-optimized conditions, but compressive under the optimized ones. These measurements agree well with the 3D-FEM analyses. It can therefore be concluded that the optimized conditions are valid and appropriate for reducing residual stress in an austenitic stainless-steel weld. (orig.)

Investigation of corrosion of welded joints of austenitic and duplex stainless steels

Science.gov (United States)

Topolska, S.

2016-08-01

Investigation of corrosion resistance of materials is one of the most important tests that allow determining their functional properties. Among these tests the special group consist electrochemical investigations, which let to accelerate the course of the process. These investigations allow rapidly estimating corrosion processes occurring in metal elements under the influence of the analysed environment. In the paper are presented results of investigations of the resistance to pitting corrosion of the steel of next grades: austenitic 316L and duplex 2205. It was also analysed the corrosion resistance of welded joints of these grades of steel. The investigations were conducted in two different corrosion environments: in the neutral one (3.5 % sodium chloride) and in the aggressive one (0.1 M sulphuric acid VI). The obtained results indicate different resistance of analysed grades of steel and their welded joints in relation to the corrosion environment. The austenitic 316L steel characterizes by the higher resistance to the pitting corrosion in the aggressive environment then the duplex 2205 steel. In the paper are presented results of potentiodynamic tests. They showed that all the specimens are less resistant to pitting corrosion in the environment of sulphuric acid (VI) than in the sodium chloride one. The 2205 steel has higher corrosion resistance than the 316L stainless steel in 3.5% NaCl. On the other hand, in 0.1 M H2SO4, the 316L steel has a higher corrosion resistance than the 2205 one. The weld has a similar, very good resistance to pitting corrosion like both steels.

Optimization and verification of ultrasonic testability of acoustically anisotropic materials on austenitic and dissimilar welds; Optimierung und Nachweis der Ultraschallpruefbarkeit von akustisch anisotropen Werkstoffen an austenitischen Schweiss- und Mischverbindungen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pudovikov, Sergey

2013-11-21

Austenitic and dissimilar welds with respect to the ultrasonic testing (UT) methods are considered normally as ''difficult-to-test'' objects. During the solidification process in such welds a distinct dendrite microstructure evolves, which is coarse-grained, anisotropic and inhomogeneous simultaneously. The reliability of available ultrasonic methods on austenitic welds depends significantly on the selected UT-parameters as well as on the inspection personnel experience. In the present dissertation, an ultrasonic testing method was developed, which allows the flaw detection and evaluation in acoustically anisotropic inhomogeneous materials, especially in austenitic and dissimilar welds with a quantitative statement to the defect size, type, and location. The principle of synthetic focusing with taking into account the material anisotropy and inhomogeneity along with two- and three-dimensional visualization provides a reliable and quantitative assessment of the inspection results in acoustically anisotropic inhomogeneous test objects. Among others, an iterative algorithm for the determination of unknown elastic properties of inhomogeneous anisotropic materials has been developed. It allows practical application of the developed UT method, since the anisotropy of most of austenitic and dissimilar welds (especially of hand-welded joints) in practice is usually unknown. The functionality of the developed inspection technique has been validated by many experiments on welded austenitic specimens having artificial and natural defects. For the practical application of the new ultrasonic technique different testing strategies are proposed, which can be used depending on the current inspection task.

Automatic Welding System of Aluminum Pipe by Monitoring Backside Image of Molten Pool Using Vision Sensor

Science.gov (United States)

Baskoro, Ario Sunar; Kabutomori, Masashi; Suga, Yasuo

An automatic welding system using Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) welding with vision sensor for welding of aluminum pipe was constructed. This research studies the intelligent welding process of aluminum alloy pipe 6063S-T5 in fixed position and moving welding torch with the AC welding machine. The monitoring system consists of a vision sensor using a charge-coupled device (CCD) camera to monitor backside image of molten pool. The captured image was processed to recognize the edge of molten pool by image processing algorithm. Neural network model for welding speed control were constructed to perform the process automatically. From the experimental results it shows the effectiveness of the control system confirmed by good detection of molten pool and sound weld of experimental result.

77 FR 42697 - Stainless Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings From Italy, Malaysia, and the Philippines: Continuation...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-07-20

...] Stainless Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings From Italy, Malaysia, and the Philippines: Continuation of... from Italy, Malaysia, and the Philippines.\\2\\ \\1\\ See Antidumping Duty Orders: Stainless Steel Butt...), titled Stainless Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings From Italy, Malaysia, and the Philippines (Investigation...

Inspection of nuclear power plant piping welds by in-process acoustic emission monitoring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prine, D.W.

1976-01-01

The results of using in-process acoustic emission monitoring on nuclear power plant piping welds are discussed. The technique was applied to good and intentionally flawed test welds as well as production welds, and the acoustic emission results are compared to standard NDT methods and selected metallographic cross-sections

Deformation behavior of a 16-8-2 GTA weld as influenced by its solidification substructure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Foulds, J.R.; Moteff, J.; Sikka, V.K.; McEnerney, J.W.

1983-01-01

Weldment sections from formed and welded type 316 stainless steel pipe are characterized with respect to some time-independent (tensile) and time-dependent (creep) mechanical properties at temperatures between 25 0 C and 649 0 C. The GTA weldment, welded with 16-8-2 filler metal, is sectioned from pipe in the formed + welded + solution annealed + straightened condition, as well as in the same condition with an additional re-solution treatment. Detailed room temperature microhardness measurements on these sections before and after reannealing enable a determination of the different recovery characteristics of weld and base metal. The observed stable weld metal solidification dislocation substructure in comparison with the base metal random dislocation structure, in fact, adequately explains weld/base metal elevated temperature mechanical behavior differences from this recovery characteristic standpoint. The weld metal substructure is the only parameter common to the variety of austenitic stainless steel welds exhibiting the consistent parent/weld metal deformation behavior differences described. As such, it must be considered the key to understanding weldment mechanical behavior

Microstructure and failure behavior of dissimilar resistance spot welds between low carbon galvanized and austenitic stainless steels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marashi, P.; Pouranvari, M.; Amirabdollahian, S.; Abedi, A.; Goodarzi, M.

2008-01-01

Resistance spot welding was used to join austenitic stainless steel and galvanized low carbon steel. The relationship between failure mode and weld fusion zone characteristics (size and microstructure) was studied. It was found that spot weld strength in the pullout failure mode is controlled by the strength and fusion zone size of the galvanized steel side. The hardness of the fusion zone which is governed by the dilution between two base metals, and fusion zone size of galvanized carbon steel side are dominant factors in determining the failure mode

Butt Welding of 2205/X65 Bimetallic Sheet and Study on the Inhomogeneity of the Properties of the Welded Joint

Science.gov (United States)

Gou, Ning-Nian; Zhang, Jian-Xun; Wang, Jian-Long; Bi, Zong-Yue

2017-04-01

The explosively welded 2205 duplex stainless steel/X65 pipe steel bimetallic sheets were butt jointed by multilayer and multi-pass welding (gas tungsten arc welding for the flyer and gas metal arc welding for the transition and parent layers of the bimetallic sheets). The microstructure and mechanical properties of the welded joint were investigated. The results showed that in the thickness direction, microstructure and mechanical properties of the welded joint exhibited obvious inhomogeneity. The microstructures of parent filler layers consisted of acicular ferrite, widmanstatten ferrite, and a small amount of blocky ferrite. The microstructure of the transition layer and flyer layer consisted of both austenite and ferrite structures; however, the transition layer of weld had a higher volume fraction of austenite. The results of the microhardness test showed that in both weld metal (WM) and heat-affected zone (HAZ) of the parent filler layers, the average hardness decreased with the increasing (from parent filler layer 1 to parent filler layer 3) welding heat input. The results of hardness test also indicated that the hardness of the WM and the HAZ for the flyer and transition layers was equivalent. The tensile test combined with Digital Specklegram Processing Technology demonstrated that the fracturing of the welded joint started at the HAZ of the flyer, and then the fracture grew toward the base metal of the parent flyer near the parent HAZ. The stratified impact test at -5 °C showed that the WM and HAZ of the flyer exhibited lower impact toughness, and the fracture mode was ductile and brittle mixed fracture.

Through-Thickness Residual Stress Profiles in Austenitic Stainless Steel Welds: A Combined Experimental and Prediction Study

Science.gov (United States)

Mathew, J.; Moat, R. J.; Paddea, S.; Francis, J. A.; Fitzpatrick, M. E.; Bouchard, P. J.

2017-12-01

Economic and safe management of nuclear plant components relies on accurate prediction of welding-induced residual stresses. In this study, the distribution of residual stress through the thickness of austenitic stainless steel welds has been measured using neutron diffraction and the contour method. The measured data are used to validate residual stress profiles predicted by an artificial neural network approach (ANN) as a function of welding heat input and geometry. Maximum tensile stresses with magnitude close to the yield strength of the material were observed near the weld cap in both axial and hoop direction of the welds. Significant scatter of more than 200 MPa was found within the residual stress measurements at the weld center line and are associated with the geometry and welding conditions of individual weld passes. The ANN prediction is developed in an attempt to effectively quantify this phenomenon of `innate scatter' and to learn the non-linear patterns in the weld residual stress profiles. Furthermore, the efficacy of the ANN method for defining through-thickness residual stress profiles in welds for application in structural integrity assessments is evaluated.

77 FR 37711 - Circular Welded Carbon-Quality Steel Pipe From India, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-06-22

...)] Circular Welded Carbon-Quality Steel Pipe From India, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam...-fair-value imports from India, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam of circular welded carbon... respect to circular welded carbon-quality steel pipe from Oman and the United Arab Emirates being sold in...

Joining silicon carbide to austenitic stainless steel through diffusion welding; Stellingen behorende bij het proefschrift

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Krugers, Jan-Paul

1993-01-19

In this thesis, the results are presented of a study dealing with joining silicon carbide to austenitic stainless steel AIS316 by means of diffusion welding. Welding experiments were carried out without and with the use of a metallic intermediate, like copper, nickel and copper-nickel alloys at various conditions of process temperature, process time, mechanical pressure and interlayer thickness. Most experiments were carried out in high vacuum. For reasons of comparison, however, some experiments were also carried out in a gas shielded environment of 95 vol.% Ar and 5 vol.% H₂.

Application of new GMAW welding methods used in prefabrication of P92 (X10CrWMoVNb9-2) pipe butt welds

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Urzynicok, Michal [Boiler Elements Factory ' ZELKOT' , Koszecin (Poland); Kwiecinski, Krzysztof; Slania, Jacek [Instytut Spawalnictwa, Gliwice (Poland); Szubryt, Marian [TUEV Nord, Katowice (Poland)

2010-07-01

Welding of collector pipes, flat heads, dished ends and connector pipes performed with high temperature and creep-resistant steels most often has been performed using TIG process combined with MMA processes. Progress in MAG process and availability of high quality filler materials (solid wires) enables welding of the above connections also using this method. In order to prove its efficiency, this article presents the results of related tests. The range of tests was similar to that applied during the qualification of welding technology. The investigation also involved microscopic and fractographic examinations. The results reveal that welding with new methods such as GMAW is by no means inferior to a currently applied MMA method yet the time of the process is shorter by 50%. The article present the world's first known positive results in welding of P92 grade steel using GMAW welding method. (orig.)

Intergranular stress corrosion cracking: A rationalization of apparent differences among stress corrosion cracking tendencies for sensitized regions in the process water piping and in the tanks of SRS reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Louthan, M.R.

1990-01-01

The frequency of stress corrosion cracking in the near weld regions of the SRS reactor tank walls is apparently lower than the cracking frequency near the pipe-to-pipe welds in the primary cooling water system. The difference in cracking tendency can be attributed to differences in the welding processes, fabrication schedules, near weld residual stresses, exposure conditions and other system variables. This memorandum discusses the technical issues that may account the differences in cracking tendencies based on a review of the fabrication and operating histories of the reactor systems and the accepted understanding of factors that control stress corrosion cracking in austenitic stainless steels

Evaluation of J-integral estimation scheme for flawed throughwall pipes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zahoor, A.

1987-02-01

The accuracy of the EPRI J-integral estimation scheme for pipes with throughwall cracks and subjected to pure bending was assessed using available experimental data on circumferentially flawed throughwall pipes. The evaluations were performed using elastic plastic J-integral (J) and tearing modulus (T) analysis methods. The results indicated that the EPRI J estimation scheme solutions are unnecessarily conservative compared to results from pipe experiments. As a result of these evaluations an improved J estimation scheme is developed, which is shown to have improved accuracy compared to the original EPRI J estimation scheme. These results imply that the flaw evaluation procedures in the ASME Code on austenitic piping welds are conservative. These results also have applications to the leak before break fracture mechanics analyses.

Evaluation of J-integral estimation scheme for flawed throughwall pipes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zahoor, A.

1987-01-01

The accuracy of the EPRI J-integral estimation scheme for pipes with throughwall cracks and subjected to pure bending was assessed using available experimental data on circumferentially flawed throughwall pipes. The evaluations were performed using elastic plastic J-integral (J) and tearing modulus (T) analysis methods. The results indicated that the EPRI J estimation scheme solutions are unnecessarily conservative compared to results from pipe experiments. As a result of these evaluations an improved J estimation scheme is developed, which is shown to have improved accuracy compared to the original EPRI J estimation scheme. These results imply that the flaw evaluation procedures in the ASME Code on austenitic piping welds are conservative. These results also have applications to the leak before break fracture mechanics analyses. (orig.)

Numerical Simulation of Heat and Flow Behaviors in Butt-fusion Welding Process of HDPE Pipes with Curved Fusion Surface

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yoo, Jae Hyun; Ahn, Kyung Hyun [Seoul National University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Choi, Sunwoong; Oh, Ju Seok [Hannam University, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2017-08-15

Butt-fusion welding process is used to join the polymeric pipes. Recently, some researchers suggest the curved surface to enhance a welding quality. We investigated how curved welding surface affects heat and flow behaviors of polymer melt during the process in 2D axisymmetric domain with finite element method, and discussed the effect to the welding quality. In this study, we considered HDPE pipes. In heat soak stage, curved phase interface between the melt and solid is shown along the shape of welding surface. In jointing stage, squeezing flow is generated between curved welding surface and phase interface. The low shear rate in fusion domain reduces the alignment of polymer to the perpendicular direction of pipes, and then this phenomenon is expected to help to enhance the welding quality.

On crack propagation in the welded polyolefin pipes with and without the presence of weld beads

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Mikula, Jakub; Hutař, Pavel; Nezbedová, E.; Lach, R.; Arbeiter, F.; Ševčík, Martin; Pinter, G.; Grellmann, W.; Náhlík, Luboš

2015-01-01

Roč. 87, DEC (2015), s. 95-104 ISSN 0264-1275 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GAP108/12/1560; GA MŠk(CZ) EE2.3.30.0063; GA MŠk(CZ) ED1.1.00/02.0068 Institutional support: RVO:68081723 Keywords : Slow crack growth * Butt weld * Lifetime estimation * Polyolefin pipes * Weld bead Subject RIV: JL - Materials Fatigue, Friction Mechanics Impact factor: 3.997, year: 2015

Feasibility study of the cut and weld operations by RH on the cooling pipes of ITER NB components

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pineiro, Oscar; Fernandez, Carlos [TECNATOM Avda. Montes de Oca 28700 S Sebastian de los Reyes, Madrid (Spain); Medrano, Mercedes [EURATOM-CIEMAT Association for Fusion. Avda. Complutense, 22. 28040 Madrid (Spain)], E-mail: mercedes.medrano@ciemat.es; Liniers, Macarena; Botija, Jose; Alonso, Javier; Sarasola, Xabier [EURATOM-CIEMAT Association for Fusion. Avda. Complutense, 22. 28040 Madrid (Spain); Damiani, Carlo [EFDA-Josep Pla 2, Torres Diagonal Litoral B3, 08019 Barcelona (Spain)

2009-06-15

The maintenance operations of ITER NB components inside the vessel - Beam Line Components (BLC's) involve the removal of the faulty component, its transport to the hot cell as well as the reverse operations of transport of the repaired/new component and its reinstallation inside the vessel. Prior to the removal of the BLC's the cooling pipes must be detached from the component following a procedure that applies to the cutting of the pipes and subsequent welding when the component is re-installed. The purpose of this study, conducted in the framework of EFDA, is to demonstrate the feasibility of the cut and weld operations on the water pipes of the BLC's using fully remote handling techniques. Viable technologies for the cut and weld operations have been identified within the study; in particular the following aspects will be presented in the paper: - Different strategies can be pursued in the detachment of the components depending on the number of cut and weld operations to be performed on the pipes. The selected strategy will impact on the procedure to be followed likewise on important aspects as the requirements of the flexible joints assembled on the pipes. - The existing cutting techniques have been examined in the light of the remotely performed pipe cutting at the NB cell. Modifications of commercial tools have been proposed in order to adapt them to the BLC's pipes requirements. The debris produced during the cutting process must be controlled and collected, therefore a cleaning system has been integrated in the adapted cutting tool referred above. - The existing welding techniques have been also examined and compared based on different criteria such as complexity, reliability, alignment tolerances, etc. TIG welding is the preferred technique as it stands out for its superior performance. The commercial tools identified need to be adapted to the NB environment. - The alignment of the pipes is a critical issue concerning the remote welding

Feasibility study of the cut and weld operations by RH on the cooling pipes of ITER NB components

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pineiro, Oscar; Fernandez, Carlos; Medrano, Mercedes; Liniers, Macarena; Botija, Jose; Alonso, Javier; Sarasola, Xabier; Damiani, Carlo

2009-01-01

The maintenance operations of ITER NB components inside the vessel - Beam Line Components (BLC's) involve the removal of the faulty component, its transport to the hot cell as well as the reverse operations of transport of the repaired/new component and its reinstallation inside the vessel. Prior to the removal of the BLC's the cooling pipes must be detached from the component following a procedure that applies to the cutting of the pipes and subsequent welding when the component is re-installed. The purpose of this study, conducted in the framework of EFDA, is to demonstrate the feasibility of the cut and weld operations on the water pipes of the BLC's using fully remote handling techniques. Viable technologies for the cut and weld operations have been identified within the study; in particular the following aspects will be presented in the paper: - Different strategies can be pursued in the detachment of the components depending on the number of cut and weld operations to be performed on the pipes. The selected strategy will impact on the procedure to be followed likewise on important aspects as the requirements of the flexible joints assembled on the pipes. - The existing cutting techniques have been examined in the light of the remotely performed pipe cutting at the NB cell. Modifications of commercial tools have been proposed in order to adapt them to the BLC's pipes requirements. The debris produced during the cutting process must be controlled and collected, therefore a cleaning system has been integrated in the adapted cutting tool referred above. - The existing welding techniques have been also examined and compared based on different criteria such as complexity, reliability, alignment tolerances, etc. TIG welding is the preferred technique as it stands out for its superior performance. The commercial tools identified need to be adapted to the NB environment. - The alignment of the pipes is a critical issue concerning the remote welding. A proper alignment

Surface crack behavior in socket weld of nuclear piping under fatigue loading condition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, Y.H.; Kim, J.S.; Choi, S.Y.

2005-01-01

The ASME B and PV Code Sec. III allows the socket weld for the nuclear piping in spite of the weakness on the weld integrity. Recently, the integrity of the socket weld is regarded as a safety concern in nuclear power plants because many failures and leaks have been reported in the socket weld. OPDE (OECD Piping Failure Data Exchange) database lists 108 socket weld failures among 2,399 nuclear piping failure cases during 1970 to 2001. Eleven failures in the socket weld were also reported in Korean NPPs. Many failure cases showed that the root cause of the failure is the fatigue and the gap requirement for the socket weld given in ASME Code was not satisfied. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the fatigue crack behavior of a surface crack in the socket weld under fatigue loading condition considering the gap effect. Three-dimensional finite element analysis was performed to estimate the fatigue crack behavior of the surface crack. Three types of loading conditions such as the deflection due to vibration, the pressure transient ranging from P=0 to 15.51 MPa, and the thermal transient ranging from T=25 C to 288 C were considered. The results are as follows; 1) The socket weld is susceptible to the vibration where the vibration levels exceed the requirement in the ASME operation and maintenance (OM) Code. 2) The effect of pressure or temperature transient load on the socket weld integrity is not significant. 3) No-gap condition gives very high possibility of the crack initiation at the socket weld under vibration loading condition. 4) For the specific systems having the vibration condition to exceed the requirement in the ASME Code OM and/or the transient loading condition from P=0 and T=25 C to P=15.51 MPa and T=288 C, radiographic examination to examine the gap during the construction stage is recommended. (orig.)

Study of ultrasonic characterization and propagation in austenitic welds: The MOSAICS project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chassignole, Bertrand, E-mail: bertrand.chassignole@edf.fr [EDF R and D, MMC department, Les Renardières, 77818 Moret sur Loing (France); Recolin, Patrick, E-mail: patrick.recolin@dcnsgroup.com [DCNS CESMAN, 44620 La montagne (France); Leymarie, Nicolas, E-mail: nicolas.leymarie@cea.fr [CEA LIST, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette (France); Gueudré, Cécile, E-mail: cecile.gueudre@univ-amu.fr [LMA, Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, UPR 7051, F-13402 Marseille Cedex 20 (France); Guy, Philippe, E-mail: philippe.guy@insa-lyon.fr [INSA Lyon, LVA laboratory, 69621 Villeurbanne (France); Elbaz, Deborah, E-mail: deborah.elbaz@extende.com [Extende, 91400 Orsay (France)

2015-03-31

Regulatory requirements enforce a volumetric inspection of welded components of nuclear equipments. However, the multi-pass austenitic welds are characterized by anisotropic and heterogeneous structures which lead to numerous disturbances of the ultrasonic beam. The MOSAICS project supported by the ANR (French National Research Agency) aims at matching various approaches to improve the prediction of the ultrasonic testing in those welds. The first stage consists in characterizing the weld structure (determination of the columnar grain orientation and measurements of elastic constants and attenuation coefficients). The techniques of characterization provide input data for the modeling codes developed in another task of the project. For example, a 3D version of the finite elements code ATHENA is developed by EDF R and D to take into account anisotropic texture in any direction. Semi-analytical models included in CIVA software are also improved to better predict the ultrasonic propagation in highly anisotropic and heterogeneous structures. The last stage deals with modeling codes validation based on experimental inspections on representative mock-ups containing calibrated defects. The objective of this paper is to give an overview of the MOSAICS project and to present specific results illustrating the various tasks.

Updating of actual technique for ultrasonic testing of austenitic stainless materials and welds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lindholm, P.O.; Pers-Anderson, E.B.

1982-01-01

The technique for ultrasonic testing of stainless austenitic steels and weldings has been studied and it has been brought to the latest standard. Many problems exist when testing, the most serious being the occurence of false indications and the damping of energy. Laboratory tests show that the detectors with transversal sound waves should be used for plane defects. Best results were achieved with a 45 degrees detector. (GB)

Austenitic stainless steel-to-ferritic steel transition joint welding for elevated temperature service

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

King, J.F.; Goodwin, G.M.; Slaughter, G.M.

1978-01-01

Transition weld joints between ferritic steels and austenitic stainless steels are required for fossil-fired power plants and proposed nuclear plants. The experience with these dissimilar-metal transition joints has been generally satisfactory, but an increasing number of failures of these joints is occurring prematurely in service. These concerns with transition joint service history prompted a program to develop more reliable joints for application in proposed nuclear power plants

Effects of Heat Input on Microstructure, Corrosion and Mechanical Characteristics of Welded Austenitic and Duplex Stainless Steels: A Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ghusoon Ridha Mohammed

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The effects of input heat of different welding processes on the microstructure, corrosion, and mechanical characteristics of welded duplex stainless steel (DSS are reviewed. Austenitic stainless steel (ASS is welded using low-heat inputs. However, owing to differences in the physical metallurgy between ASS and DSS, low-heat inputs should be avoided for DSS. This review highlights the differences in solidification mode and transformation characteristics between ASS and DSS with regard to the heat input in welding processes. Specifically, many studies about the effects of heat energy input in welding process on the pitting corrosion, intergranular stress, stresscorrosion cracking, and mechanical properties of weldments of DSS are reviewed.

76 FR 67673 - Welded ASTM A-312 Stainless Steel Pipe From South Korea and Taiwan: Final Results of Expedited...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-11-02

... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE International Trade Administration [A-580-810, A-583-815] Welded ASTM A-312... the antidumping duty orders on welded ASTM A-312 stainless steel pipe from South Korea and Taiwan... duty orders on welded ASTM A-312 stainless steel pipe from South Korea and Taiwan pursuant to section...

77 FR 14002 - Stainless Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings From Italy, Malaysia, and the Philippines: Final Results...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-03-08

...] Stainless Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings From Italy, Malaysia, and the Philippines: Final Results of the... Duty Orders on Stainless Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings from Italy, Malaysia, and the Philippines'' from... Commerce (the Department) initiated sunset reviews of the antidumping duty orders on stainless steel butt...

77 FR 10773 - Stainless Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings From Italy, Malaysia, and the Philippines; Scheduling of...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-02-23

... Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings From Italy, Malaysia, and the Philippines; Scheduling of Expedited Five-Year... orders on stainless steel butt-weld pipe fittings from Italy, Malaysia, and the Philippines would be... certificate of service. Determination.--The Commission has determined to exercise its authority to extend the...

Study on mechanism of intergranular stress corrosion cracking and analysis of residual stress and work hardening in welds of low-carbon austenitic stainless steel with hard surface machining

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mori, Hiroaki; Mochizuki, Masahito; Nishimoto, Kazutoshi; Toyoda, Masao; Katsuyama, Jinya

2007-01-01

In order to make clear the effects of residual stress and hardening on intergranular stress corrosion cracking (IGSCC) behavior in the welds of Type 316L low-carbon austenitic stainless steel with surface hardening, the residual stress and hardness in the butt-joint of pipes as a typical example of the actual structure were estimated and the grain boundary sliding was analyzed from the viewpoint of micro-deformation. On the basis of these results, the mechanism of IGSCC was discussed by the integrated knowledge between metallurgy and mechanics. The relationship between plastic strain and hardness in hard-machined surface near welds was clarified from the experimented relationship and the analysis method by the thermal elastic-plastic analysis. The distributions of hardness and residual stress with the actual surface machining could be simulated. It was made clear that grain boundary sliding occurred in the steel at 561K by a constant strain rate tensile test. From the comparison of grain boundary sliding behavior between solution treated specimen and cold-rolled one, it was found that the grain boundary sliding in cold-rolled one occurs in smaller strain conditions than that in as received one, and the amount of grain boundary sliding in cold-rolled one increases remarkably with increases in rolling reduction. In addition, it was clarified that the grain boundary energy is raised by the grain boundary sliding. On the basis of these results, it was concluded that the cause of IGSCC in the welds of Type 316L low-carbon austenitic stainless steel with surface hardening is the increase in grain boundary energy due to grain boundary sliding induced by residual stress of multi pass welding and surface hardening. (author)

Evaluation of Microstructure and Mechanical Properties in Dissimilar Austenitic/Super Duplex Stainless Steel Joint

Science.gov (United States)

Rahmani, Mehdi; Eghlimi, Abbas; Shamanian, Morteza

2014-10-01

To study the effect of chemical composition on microstructural features and mechanical properties of dissimilar joints between super duplex and austenitic stainless steels, welding was attempted by gas tungsten arc welding process with a super duplex (ER2594) and an austenitic (ER309LMo) stainless steel filler metal. While the austenitic weld metal had vermicular delta ferrite within austenitic matrix, super duplex stainless steel was mainly comprised of allotriomorphic grain boundary and Widmanstätten side plate austenite morphologies in the ferrite matrix. Also the heat-affected zone of austenitic base metal comprised of large austenite grains with little amounts of ferrite, whereas a coarse-grained ferritic region was observed in the heat-affected zone of super duplex base metal. Although both welded joints showed acceptable mechanical properties, the hardness and impact strength of the weld metal produced using super duplex filler metal were found to be better than that obtained by austenitic filler metal.

Fluid-structure-interaction analysis for welded pipes with flow-accelerated corrosion wall thinning

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sun, L.; Ding, Y., E-mail: lan.sun@cnl.ca [Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, Chalk River, Ontario (Canada)

2016-06-15

The flow-accelerated corrosion (FAC) entrance effect results in enhanced wall thinning immediately downstream of a weld if the weld connects an upstream FAC-resistant material with a downstream less resistant material. The weld regions, especially those with local repairs, are susceptible to cracking due to the high residual stresses induced by fabrication. The combined effects of the FAC entrance effect and high stresses at a weld might compromise the structural integrity of the piping and lead to a failure. Weld degradation by FAC entrance effect has been observed at nuclear and fossil power plants. This paper describes an application using fluid-structure-interaction (FSI) modelling to study the combined effects of FAC wall thinning, weld residual stresses, and in-service loads on welded structures. Simplified cases analyzed were based on CANDU outlet feeder conditions. The analysis includes the flow and mass transfer modelling of the FAC entrance effect using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and nonlinear structural analyses of the welded structures with wall thinning and an assumed weld residual stress and strain distribution. The FSI analyses were performed using ANSYS Workbench, an integrated platform that enables the coupling of CFD and structural analysis solutions. The obtained results show that the combination of FAC, weld residual stresses, in-service loads (including the internal pressure) and (or) extreme loads could cause high stresses and affect the integrity of the welded pipes. The present work demonstrated that the FSI modelling can be used as an effective approach to assess the integrity of welded structures. (author)

Single-purpose welding machines used in the manufacture of power equipment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bartak, J.

1988-01-01

A dedicated welding machine based on submerged arc welding with a wire electrode was developed for welding pipe sockets, spacers and other rotary parts to pressure vessel bodies. Two modifications of this apparatus were devised: one is designed for welding low-alloy carbon steels, where preheating is requisite, the other, for welding austenitic materials, requiring vigorous cooling. The single-purpose ADFS-1 device is designed for surfacing rings 200 to 1200 mm in diameter; it consists of a pillar with a drive, a rotary console, a collector, a horizontal support, a console with a vertical motor support, and a welding head with a feed equipment. Submerged arc welding using a 20x0.5 mm strip electrode is applied. Another dedicated welding machine employing submerged arc welding with a strip electrode was developed for the continuous welding of inner surfaces of pressure vessels in the sites of holes for flares. (Z.M.). 3 figs., 3 refs

TomoWELD. Precise detection of weld defects; TomoWELD. Defekte in Schweissnaehten praezise erkennen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Walter, David [Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin (Germany)

2016-06-15

Nuclear power plants are complex and technically elaborate systems whose aim is to produce electricity. They must meet the highest safety requirements. Within the reactors, nuclear reactions and radioactive transformations release energy which is used to evaporate water. The steam generated drives turbines that in turn are coupled with generators which convert the kinetic energy provided by the turbines into electrical energy. The process is easy to illustrate but difficult to control and requires technical equipment such as kilometre-long pipe systems. Austenitic steel is frequently used for this purpose because of its high strength and corrosion resistance. The individual pipe components are joined by welding. However, welds may contain hidden defects. Cracks, lack of fusion or pore nests that can remain undetected may have catastrophic consequences. Therefore, all welds in a nuclear power plant, without exception, must be checked. Approved non-destructive methods use ultrasound and X-ray. The technology developed at BAM is called TomoWELD. [German] Kernkraftwerke sind komplexe und technisch aufwendige Anlagen zur Gewinnung von Elektrizitaet. Sie muessen allerhoechsten Sicherheitsanspruechen genuegen. Die bei Kernreaktionen und radioaktiven Umwandlungen freiwerdende Energie wird genutzt, um Wasser zu verdampfen. Der Dampf treibt Turbinen an und die wiederum sind mit Generatoren gekoppelt, welche die durch die Turbinen bereitgestellte kinetische Energie in elektrische Energie umwandeln. Der Prozess laesst sich einfach darstellen, ihn zu steuern ist allerdings kompliziert und erfordert weitere technische Komponenten, wie beispielsweise kilometerlange Rohrleitungssysteme. Wegen seiner hohen Festigkeit sowie Korrosionsbestaendigkeit wird oft austenitischer Stahl dafuer verwendet. Gefuegt werden die einzelnen Rohrteile durch Schweissen. Doch Schweissnaehte koennen viele verborgene Defekte enthalten. Bleiben Risse, Bindefehler oder Porennester unentdeckt, kann das

Effects of microstructure and residual stress on fatigue crack growth of stainless steel narrow gap welds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jang, Changheui; Cho, Pyung-Yeon; Kim, Minu; Oh, Seung-Jin; Yang, Jun-Seog

2010-01-01

The effects of weld microstructure and residual stress distribution on the fatigue crack growth rate of stainless steel narrow gap welds were investigated. Stainless steel pipes were joined by the automated narrow gap welding process typical to nuclear piping systems. The weld fusion zone showed cellular-dendritic structures with ferrite islands in an austenitic matrix. Residual stress analysis showed large tensile stress in the inner-weld region and compressive stress in the middle of the weld. Tensile properties and the fatigue crack growth rate were measured along and across the weld thickness direction. Tensile tests showed higher strength in the weld fusion zone and the heat affected zone compared to the base metal. Within the weld fusion zone, strength was greater in the inner weld than outer weld region. Fatigue crack growth rates were several times greater in the inner weld than the outer weld region. The spatial variation of the mechanical properties is discussed in view of weld microstructure, especially dendrite orientation, and in view of the residual stress variation within the weld fusion zone. It is thought that the higher crack growth rate in the inner-weld region could be related to the large tensile residual stress despite the tortuous fatigue crack growth path.

Nondestructive testing of austenitic casting and dissimilar metal welds; Kaksimetalliliitosten ja austeniittisten valujen testaustekniikoiden vertailu

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lahdenperae, K [VTT Manufacturing Technology, Espoo (Finland)

1995-01-01

The publication is a literature study of nondestructive testing of dissimilar metal welds and cast austenitic components in PWR and BWR plants. A major key to the successful testing is a realistic mockup made of the materials to be tested. The inspectors must also be trained and validated using suitable mockups. (42 refs., 27 figs., 10 tabs.).

Gamma-radiography techniques applied to quality control of welds in water pipe lines

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanchez, W.; Oki, H.

1974-01-01

Non-destructive testing of welds may be done by the gamma-radiography technique, in order to detect the presence or absence of discontinuities and defects in the bulk of deposited metal and near the base metal. Gamma-radiography allows the documentation of the test with a complete inspection record, which is a fact not common in other non-destructive testing methods. In the quality control of longitudinal or transversal welds in water pipe lines, two exposition techniques are used: double wall and panoramic exposition. Three different water pipe lines systems have analysed for weld defects, giving a total of 16,000 gamma-radiographies. The tests were made according to the criteria established by the ASME standard. The principal metallic discontinuites found in the weld were: porosity (32%), lack of penetration (29%), lack of fusion (20%), and slag inclusion (19%). The percentage of gamma-radiographies showing welds without defects was 39% (6168 gamma-radiographies). On the other hand, 53% (8502 gamma-radiographies) showed the presence of acceptable discontinuities and 8% (1330 gamma-radiographies) were rejected according to the ASME standards [pt

Stainless steel submerged arc weld fusion line toughness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rosenfield, A.R.; Held, P.R.; Wilkowski, G.M.

1995-04-01

This effort evaluated the fracture toughness of austenitic steel submerged-arc weld (SAW) fusion lines. The incentive was to explain why cracks grow into the fusion line in many pipe tests conducted with cracks initially centered in SAWS. The concern was that the fusion line may have a lower toughness than the SAW. It was found that the fusion line, Ji. was greater than the SAW toughness but much less than the base metal. Of greater importance may be that the crack growth resistance (JD-R) of the fusion line appeared to reach a steady-state value, while the SAW had a continually increasing JD-R curve. This explains why the cracks eventually turn to the fusion line in the pipe experiments. A method of incorporating these results would be to use the weld metal J-R curve up to the fusion-line steady-state J value. These results may be more important to LBB analyses than the ASME flaw evaluation procedures, since there is more crack growth with through-wall cracks in LBB analyses than for surface cracks in pipe flaw evaluations

Reliability and durability of the 12Kh1MF steel tubes of electroslag remelting and their welded joints

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lanskaya, K.A.; Kulikova, L.V.; Mazel', R.E.; Khromchenko, F.A.; Strizhenova, V.F.

1978-01-01

Results of investigating the positive effect of electrolag remelting (ESR) on the properties of the base metal and welded joint of the 12Kh1MF steel steam pipes with the aim of increasing their durability up to 20,000 hrs, are presented. To estimate the quality and properties of tube billet metal, microstructure, content and nature of nonmetallic inclusions, content of gases, austenite grain size, austenite transformations during continuous cooling, metal ductility, mechanical properties at different temperatures and heat resisting properties, have been investigated. It is established, that the base metal in tubes of electroslag remelting possess higher heat resistance, while welded joints besides, have high deformability and resistance to brittle fracture

The Effect of Constant and Pulsed Current Gas Tungsten Arc Welding on Joint Properties of 2205 Duplex Stainless Steel to 316L Austenitic Stainless Steel

Science.gov (United States)

Neissi, R.; Shamanian, M.; Hajihashemi, M.

2016-05-01

In this study, dissimilar 316L austenitic stainless steel/2205 duplex stainless steel (DSS) joints were fabricated by constant and pulsed current gas tungsten arc welding process using ER2209 DSS as a filler metal. Microstructures and joint properties were characterized using optical and electron scanning microscopy, tensile, Charpy V-notch impact and micro-hardness tests, and cyclic polarization measurements. Microstructural observations confirmed the presence of chromium nitride and delta ferrite in the heat-affected zone of DSS and 316L, respectively. In addition, there was some deviation in the austenite/ferrite ratio of the surface welding pass in comparison to the root welding pass. Besides having lower pitting potential, welded joints produced by constant current gas tungsten arc welding process, consisted of some brittle sigma phase precipitates, which resulted in some impact energy reduction. The tensile tests showed high tensile strength for the weld joints in which all the specimens were broken in 316L base metal.

Longitudinal wave ultrasonic inspection of austenitic weldments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gray, B.S.; Hudgell, R.J.; Seed, H.

1980-01-01

Successful volumetric inspection of LMFBR primary circuits, and also much of the secondary circuit, is dependent on the availability of satisfactory examination procedures for austenitic welds. Application of conventional ultrasonic techniques is hampered by the anisotropic, textured structure of the weld metal and this paper describes development work on the use of longitudinal wave techniques. In addition to confirming the dominant effects of the weld structure on ultrasound propagation some results are given of studies utilising deliberately induced defects in Manual Metal Arc Welds in 50 mm plate together with preliminary work on the inspection of narrow austenitic welds fabricated by automatic processes. (author)

Effect of vacuum arc melting/casting parameters on shrinkage cavity/piping of austenitic stainless steel ingot

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kamran, J.; Feroz, M.; Sarwar, M.

2009-01-01

Shrinkage cavity/piping at the end of the solidified ingot of steels is one of the most common casting problem in 316L austenitic stainless steel ingot, when consumable electrode is melted and cast in a water-cooled copper mould by vacuum arc re-melting furnace. In present study an effort has been made to reduce the size of shrinkage cavity/ piping by establishing the optimum value of hot topping process parameters at the end of the melting process. It is concluded that the shrinkage cavity/piping at the top of the solidified ingot can be reduced to minimum by adjusting the process parameters particularly the melting current density. (author)

The residual stress distribution in welded pipe inner surface of stainless steel from the nuclear power plant in Ringhals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Larsson, L.E.

1984-06-01

The axial residual stress distribution on the inner surface of welded pipes of stainless steel SS 2333 (AISI 304) have been measured using the X-ray diffraction technique. Four halves of two pipes with the outer diameter of 114 mm and wall thickness of 10 mm were investigated. The result on the pipe inner surface shows compressive stresses in the weld metal and tensile stresses within a region between 8-23 mm with a maximum of 180MPa at a distance of 17 mm from the weld centerline. The maximum axial and circumferential residual stresses on the pipe outer surface are of the magnitude of 100 MPa. By cutting the pipes into two halves these stresses are relaxed by about 35 MPa. (author)

Measurements of the acoustic field on austenitic welds: a way to higher reliability in ultrasonic tests

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kemnitz, P.; Richter, U.; Klueber, H.

1997-01-01

In nuclear power plants many of the welds in austenitic tubes have to be inspected by means of ultrasonic techniques. If component-identical test pieces are available, they are used to qualify the ultrasonic test technology. Acoustic field measurements on such test blocks give information whether the beam of the ultrasonic transducer reaches all critical parts of the weld region and which transducer type is best suited. Acoustic fields have been measured at a bimetallic, a V-shaped and a narrow gap weld in test pieces of wall thickness 33, 25 and 17 mm, respectively. Compression wave transducers 45, 60 and 70 and 45 shear wave transducers have been included in the investigation. The results are presented: (1) as acoustic C-scans for one definite probe position, (2) as series of C-scans for the probe moving on a track perpendicular to the weld, (3) as scan along the weld and (4) as effective beam profile. The influence of the scanning electrodynamic probe is also discussed. (orig.)

Microstructural characterization of dissimilar welds between Incoloy 800H and 321 Austenitic Stainless Steel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sayiram, G., E-mail: sayiram.g@vit.ac.in; Arivazhagan, N.

2015-04-15

In this work, the microstructural character of dissimilar welds between Incoloy 800H and 321 Stainless Steel has been discussed. The microscopic examination of the base metals, fusion zones and interfaces was characterized using an optical microscope and scanning electron microscopy. The results revealed precipitates of Ti (C, N) in the austenitic matrix along the grain boundaries of the base metals. Migration of grain boundaries in the Inconel 82 weld metal was very extensive when compared to Inconel 617 weldment. Epitaxial growth was observed in the 617 weldment which increases the strength and ductility of the weld metal. Unmixed zone near the fusion line between 321 Stainless Steel and Inconel 82 weld metal was identified. From the results, it has been concluded that Inconel 617 filler metal is a preferable choice for the joint between Incoloy 800H and 321 Stainless Steel. - Highlights: • Failure mechanisms produced by dissimilar welding of Incoloy 800H to AISI 321SS • Influence of filler wire on microstructure properties • Contemplative comparisons of metallurgical aspects of these weldments • Microstructure and chemical studies including metallography, SEM–EDS • EDS-line scan study at interface.

Study on the residual stress relaxation in girth-welded steel pipes under bending load using diffraction methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hempel, Nico; Nitschke-Pagel, Thomas; Dilger, Klaus

2017-01-01

This research is dedicated to the experimental investigation of the residual stress relaxation in girth-welded pipes due to quasi-static bending loads. Ferritic-pearlitic steel pipes are welded with two passes, resulting in a characteristic residual stress state with high tensile residual stresses at the weld root. Also, four-point bending is applied to generate axial load stress causing changes in the residual stress state. These are determined both on the outer and inner surfaces of the pipes, as well as in the pipe wall, using X-ray and neutron diffraction. Focusing on the effect of tensile load stress, it is revealed that not only the tensile residual stresses are reduced due to exceeding the yield stress, but also the compressive residual stresses for equilibrium reasons. Furthermore, residual stress relaxation occurs both parallel and perpendicular to the applied load stress.

Inter granular stress corrosion cracking of Ignalina NPP austenitic piping of outside diameter 325 mm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nedzinskas, L.; Klimasauskas, A.

2003-01-01

The Inter Granular Stress Corrosion Cracking (IGSCC) of Ignalina NPP main circulation circuit piping, produced from austenitic stainless steel is presented covering current performances and further 'Ageing Management' related actions and plans as well as experience (lessons learned) on solving IGSCC phenomenon, which is currently under investigations and no yet comprehensive answer how to avoid it. (author)

Leak-Before-Break assessment of a welded piping based on 3D finite element method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Mingya; Yu, Weiwei; Chen, Zhilin; Qian, Guian; Lu, Feng; Xue, Fei

2017-01-01

Highlights: • The effects of load reduction, strength match, welding width, load level, crack size and constraint are studied. • The results show that the LBB margin is dependent on the load level. • The results show that higher strength-match of WPJs will have higher crack-front constraints. • The results show that the engineering method has a high precision only if the width of weld is comparable to the crack depth. - Abstract: The paper studies the effects of the load reduction (discrepancy between designing and real loadings), strength match of the welded piping joint (WPJ), welding width, crack size and crack tip constraint on the Leak-Before-Break (LBB) assessment of a welded piping. The 3D finite element (FE) method is used in the study of a surge line of the steam generator in a nuclear power plant. It is demonstrated that the LBB margin is dependent on the loading level and the load reduction effect should be considered. When the loading is high enough, there is a quite large deviation between the J-integral calculated based on the real material property of WPJ and that calculated based on the engineering method, e.g. Zahoor handbook of Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). The engineering method assumes that the whole piping is made of the unique welding material in the calculation. As the influence of the strength matching and welding width is ignored in the engineering method for J-integral calculation, the engineering method has a sufficient precision only if the width of welding is comparable to the crack depth. Narrower welding width leads to higher constraint of the plastic deformation in the welding and larger high stress areas in the base for the low strength-match WPJ. Higher strength matching of WPJs has higher crack-front constraints.

77 FR 15718 - Circular Welded Carbon-Quality Steel Pipe From India, the Sultanate of Oman, the United Arab...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-03-16

...-811] Circular Welded Carbon-Quality Steel Pipe From India, the Sultanate of Oman, the United Arab... Oman (Oman), the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Vietnam). See Circular Welded Carbon-Quality Steel Pipe From India, the Sultanate of Oman, the United Arab Emirates, and...

77 FR 73674 - Circular Welded Carbon-Quality Steel Pipe From India, Oman, The United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam

Science.gov (United States)

2012-12-11

...)] Circular Welded Carbon-Quality Steel Pipe From India, Oman, The United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam... welded carbon-quality steel pipe from India, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam, provided for in... from India, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam were subsidized and/or dumped within the...

76 FR 78313 - Circular Welded Carbon-Quality Steel Pipe From India, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam

Science.gov (United States)

2011-12-16

... (Preliminary)] Circular Welded Carbon-Quality Steel Pipe From India, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, and... India, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam of circular welded carbon- quality steel pipe... the Governments of India, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam.\\2\\ \\1\\ The record is defined in...

An assessment of composite repair system in offshore platform for corroded circumferential welds in super duplex steel pipe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Silvio de Barros

2018-04-01

Full Text Available The main aim of this study is to assess the effectiveness of a composite repair system in severely corroded circumferential welds in super duplex stainless steel pipes as a preventive measure against the premature corrosion damage at the welds. Artificial defects were fabricated on the super duplex steel tube in order to reproduce the localized corrosion damage defects found in real welded joints. Three kinds of through thickness defects were considered: 25%, 50% and 96% of the perimeter of the pipe. The performance of the repaired pipe was assessed by hydrostatic tests as per ISO 24817 standard. The results showed that the composite repair system can sustain the designed failure pressure even for the pipe damaged with through-wall defect up to 96% of the perimeter of the pipe. Hence, the composite repair system can be used as a preliminary tool to protect the unexpected or premature failure at the welds and maintain an adequate level of mechanical strength for a given operating pressure. This composite repair system can assure that the pipe will not leak until a planned maintenance of the line. Nevertheless, further work is still desirable to improve the confidence in the long-term performance of bonded composite

Effect of welding parameters on mechanical properties of GTAW of UNS S31803 and UNS S32750 weldments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paulraj Prabhu

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Duplex Stainless Steel (DSS and Super Duplex Stainless Steel (SDSS pipes were welded by Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW process. The effect of welding parameters such as heat input, cooling rate, shielding/purging gas composition and interpass temperature on tensile strength, hardness and impact toughness were studied. The microstructure analysis revealed presence of intermetallic phases at root region of the weldments. All mechanical properties were improved at lower heat input and high cooling rate due to grain refinement and balanced microstructure [ferrite and austenite]. All weldments exhibited higher strength than base materials. Weld root region was harder than centre and cap region. SDSS is more susceptible to sigma phase formation due to higher alloying elements and weld thermal cycles, which lead to considerable loss of toughness. Higher nitrogen contents in shielding and purging gas resulted strengthening of austenite phase and restriction of dislocations, which ultimately improved mechanical properties. Higher interpass temperature caused reduction in strength and toughness because of grain coarsening and secondary phase precipitation.

Estimation of stress intensity factors for circumferential cracked pipes under welding residual stress filed

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oh, Chang Young; Kim, Yun Jae; Oh, Young Jin; Song, Tae Kwang; Kim, Yong Beum; Oh, Young Jin; Song, Tae Kwang; Kim, Yong Beum

2012-01-01

Recently, stress corrosion cracking(SCC) have been found in dissimilar metal welds of nozzles in some pressurized water reactors and on low carbon stainless steel piping systems of boiling water reactors. The important factor of SCC is the residual stress field caused by weld. For the evaluation of crack growth analysis due to SCC, stress intensity factor under a residual stress field should be estimated. Several solutions for stress intensity factor under residual stress field were recommended in flaw assessment codes such as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Section XI, R6, American Petroleum Institute (API579). Some relevant works have been studied. Dong et al. evaluated stress intensity factors in welded structures. Miyazaki et al. estimated stress intensity factors of surface crack in simple stress fields. This paper presents a simple method to estimate stress intensity factors in welding residual stress field. For general application, results of structure integrity assessment codes KI solutions were compared Finite element analyses of welding simulation and cracked pipes are described. Comparison results of KI solutions and proposed simplified solution are presented in the works

Development of Inspection Technique for Socket Weld of Small Bore Piping in Nuclear Power Plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoon, Byungsik; Kim, Yongsik; Lee, Jeongseok

2013-01-01

The losses incurred by unplanned shutdowns are significant; consequently, early crack initiation and crack detection, including the detection of fillet weld manufacturing defects, is of the utmost importance. Current inspection techniques are not capable of reliably inspecting socket welds; therefore, new approaches are needed. The new technique must be sensitive to socket weld cracking, which usually initiates from the root, in order to detect the cracking during the early failure phase. In 2008, Kori unit 3 experienced leakage from the drain line socket weld of a steam generator. From this experience, KHNP enforced a management program to focus on enhancing the reliability of small bore socket weld piping inspections. Currently, conventional manual ultrasonic inspection techniques are used to detect service induced fatigue cracks. But there was uncertainty on manual ultrasonic inspection because of limited access to the welds and difficulties with contact between the ultrasonic probe and the OD surface of small bore piping. In this study, phased array ultrasonic inspection techniques are applied to increase inspection speed and reliability. Additionally a manually encoded scanner has been developed to enhance contact conditions and maintain constant signal quality. A phased array UT technique and system was developed to inspect small bore socket welds. The experimental results show all artificial flaws in the specimen were detected and measured. These experimental results show, that the newly developed inspection system, has improved the reliability and speed of small bore socket weld inspection. Based on these results, future works shall focus on additional experiments, with more realistic flaw responses. By applying this technique to the field, we expect that it can improve the integrity of small bore piping in nuclear power plants

Feasibility evaluations for the integration of laser butt welding of tubes in industrial pipe coil production lines

Science.gov (United States)

Penasa, Mauro; Colombo, Enrico; Giolfo, Mauro

1994-09-01

Due to the good performance shown by laser welded joints, to the quality and repeatability achievable by this welding technique and to its high process productivity, a feature inherent to the laser technology which, together with its high flexibility, allows different operations to be performed by a single source, consistent savings in a production line may be obtained. Therefore laser welding techniques may be of high relevance for industrial applications, provided that a sufficient attention is paid to avoiding a low utilization time to the operating laser source. The paper describes a feasibility study for the integration of a laser source as an automatic unit for circumferential butt welding of tubes in production lines of pipe coils, just before the cold bending station. Using a 6 kW CO2 source, thickness ranging from 3.5 to 11.2 mm in carbon, low alloyed Cr-Mo and austenitic stainless steels, have been successfully welded. Cr-Mo steels require on line preheating treatment, which however can be achieved by laser defocused passes just before welding. The results of the preliminary qualification performed on laser welded joints of the involved topologies of product (materials, diameters and thicknesses) are described together with technological tests required for approval: laser circumferential butt welding of tubes has proven to be effective, with satisfactory and repeatable results and good joint performances. An exhaustive comparison with current welding techniques (TIG, MIG) is then carried out, along with a detailed analysis of the potential advantages and benefits which may be expected by using the laser welding technique, as well as with a first estimation of the investments and running costs. Since laser productivity is saturated only at a rough 35% during the year, an accurate analysis of other possible applications and of a possible lay out of a laser working cell integrated in the factory production lines is performed. Usually little attention is

Contributions of welding technology to power plant performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Childs, W.J.

1995-01-01

Welding repairs can be a very major factor in the time and cost of maintenance outages of a power plant. The use of advanced equipment and procedures for welding can contribute significantly to reducing maintenance costs and increasing reliability. Plant failures have too often been caused by problems associated with welding, some due to improper choice of base materials, others due to welding defects. For example, stress corrosion cracking in weldments in BWR austenitic stainless steel piping was a major source of loss of availability in the 1980s. Examples of the use of improved welding equipment and procedures has been demonstrated to reduce outage time and improved weld integrity in several major areas. New welding techniques, such as laser welding, have the potential for addressing maintenance problems that can not be addressed at all with conventional welding technology and/or may provide a means of reducing greatly the time and cost of welding fabrications or repair. Methods of ensuring that the best available technology is applied in weld repair is a major problem today in the utility industry. Solutions need to be sought to remedy this situation. The key role of welding in minimizing plant outages is being recognized and steps taken to further the development and use of optimum technology

Investigation of the ductile fracture properties of Type 304 stainless steel plate, welds, and 4-inch pipe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vassilaros, M.G.; Hays, R.A.; Gudas, J.P.

1985-01-01

J-integral fracture toughness tests were performed on welded 304 stainless steel 2-inch plate and 4-inch diameter pipe. The 2-inch plate was welded using a hot-wire automatic gas tungsten arc process. The tests were performed at 550 0 F, 300 0 F and room temperature. The results of the J-integral tests indicate that the Jsub(Ic) of the base plate ranged from 4400 to 6100 in lbs/in 2 at 550 0 F. The Jsub(Ic) values for the tests performed at 300 0 F and room temperature were beyond the measurement capacity of the specimens and appear to indicate that Jsub(Ic) was greater than 8000 in lb/in 2 . The J-integral tests performed on the weld metal specimens indicate that the Jsub(Ic) values ranged from 930 to 2150 in lbs/in 2 at 550 0 F. The Jsub(Ic) values of the weld metal specimens tested at 300 0 F and room temperature were 2300 and 3000 in lbs/in 2 respectively. One HAZ specimen was tested at 550 0 F and found to have a Jsub(Ic) value of 2980 in lbs/in 2 which indicates that the HAZ is an average of the base metal and weld metal toughness. These test results indicate that there is a significant reduction in the initiation fracture toughness as a result of welding. The second phase of this task dealt with the fracture toughness testing of 4-inch diameter 304 stainless steel pipes containing a gas tungsten arc weld. The pipes were tested at 550 0 F in four point bending. Three tests were performed, two with a through wall flaw growing circumferentially and the third pipe had a part through radial flaw in combination with the circumferential flaw. These tests were performed using unloading compliance and d.c. potential drop crack length estimate methods. The results of these tests indicate that the presence of a complex crack (radial and circumferential) reduces in the initiation toughness and the tearing modulus of the pipe material compared to a pipe with only a circumferentially growing crack. (orig.)

Development of Managing Program for Small Bore Piping Socket Weld on the Secondary System of NPP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Dong Min; Ryu, Jong Myeong; Cho, Hong Seok; Cho, Ki Hyun; Choi, Sang Hoon; Kim, Man Hee

2011-01-01

Kori unit 3 had stopped operation due to leakage at steam generator drain line socket weld on June 6th, 2008. The cause of socket weld damage was known as welding defect and fatigue by vibration under normal operation. With above reason, the government has been required developing management program for small bore piping socket weld. Therefore, we have developed the socket weld management program to secure reliability and soundness of socket welds which are located at all domestic NPPs

78 FR 62583 - Welded Stainless Pressure Pipe From Malaysia, Thailand, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-10-22

... Pressure Pipe From Malaysia: Request for Extension of Preliminary Determination,'' ``Welded Stainless Steel... Stainless Pressure Pipe From Malaysia, Thailand, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Postponement of...: Charles Riggle (Malaysia), Brandon [[Page 62584

Effect of the purging gas on properties of Ti stabilized AISI 321 stainless steel TIG welds

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Taban, Emel; Kaluc, Erdinc; Aykan, T. Serkan [Kocaeli Univ. (Turkey). Dept. of Mechanical Engineering

2014-07-01

Gas purging is necessary to provide a high quality of stainless steel pipe welding in order to prevent oxidation of the weld zone inside the pipe. AISI 321 stabilized austenitic stainless steel pipes commonly preferred in refinery applications have been welded by the TIG welding process both with and without the use of purging gas. As purging gases, Ar, N{sub 2}, Ar + N{sub 2} and N{sub 2} + 10% H{sub 2} were used, respectively. The aim of this investigation is to detect the effect of purging gas on the weld joint properties such as microstructure, corrosion, strength and impact toughness. Macro sections and microstructures of the welds were investigated. Chemical composition analysis to obtain the nitrogen, oxygen and hydrogen content of the weld root was done by Leco analysis. Ferrite content of the beads including root and cap passes were measured by a ferritscope. Vickers hardness (HV10) values were obtained. Intergranular and pitting corrosion tests were applied to determine the corrosion resistance of all welds. Type of the purging gas affected pitting corrosion properties as well as the ferrite content and nitrogen, oxygen and hydrogen contents at the roots of the welds. Any hot cracking problems are not predicted as the weld still solidifies with ferrite in the primary phase as confirmed by microstructural and ferrite content analysis. Mechanical testing showed no significant change according to the purge gas. AISI 321 steel and 347 consumable compositions would permit use of nitrogen rich gases for root shielding without a risk of hot cracking.

Characterization of bond line discontinuities in a high-Mn TWIP steel pipe welded by HF-ERW

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Park, Gitae; Kim, Bongyoon; Kang, Yongjoon [Division of Materials Science and Engineering, Hanyang University, 222, Wangsimni-ro, Seongdong-gu, Seoul 04763 (Korea, Republic of); Kang, Heewoong [RD Team, Husteel, 131 Bugokgongdan-ro, Songak-eup, Dangjin-si, Chungnam 31721 (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Changhee, E-mail: chlee@hanyang.ac.kr [Division of Materials Science and Engineering, Hanyang University, 222, Wangsimni-ro, Seongdong-gu, Seoul 04763 (Korea, Republic of)

2016-08-15

In this work, the microstructure and defects in a high-frequency electrical resistance welded (HF-ERW) pipe of high-Mn twinning-induced plasticity (TWIP) steel were characterized. The microstructure of the base metal and the bond line were examined using both optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The features of the bond line were similar to those of conventional steel. Simultaneously, the circumferential ductility was evaluated via a flaring test. It was concluded that the deterioration of the circumferential ductility in a high-Mn TWIP steel pipe was caused by irregular shaped oxide defects and a penetrator that had been formed during welding. Specifically, the penetrator, which is composed of MnO and Mn{sub 2}SiO{sub 4}, was found to be the most influential on the circumferential ductility of the welded pipe. The penetrator was analyzed using both an electron probe micro analyzer and transmission electron microscopy, and the formation sequence of the penetrator was evaluated. - Highlights: •This study focused on applying the HF-ERW process to the seam welding of expandable pipe using TWIP steels. •For improvement of the circumferential ductility, deterioration factors were characterized. •Penetrator which would mainly deteriorate the circumferential ductility consisted of round MnO and Mn{sub 2}SiO{sub 4}. •Metallurgical evidence of existing theory regarding the mechanism of defect formation during the HF-ERW was characterized.

Development of fatigue resistance evaluation method for socket-weld-jointed pipes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Noguchi, Shinji; Shibayama, Motoaki; Iwata, Masazumi; Matsuura, Masayuki

2003-01-01

Vent line, drain line and sampling line in nuclear power station have many socket welded-joints made of austenitic stainless steel. Their slenderness and stagnation yield some potential of vibration-induced cracking and stress corrosion cracking. For the joints under vibration, the authors firstly elucidated their welding-defect-related fatigue strength by using fracture mechanics. It could define the allowable sets of stress amplitude and defect size. Secondly, authors developed an ultra-sonic detecting apparatus by using a focus-type probe and its programmed crawl on socket part. The authors finally measured the stress amplitude and frequency by sticking strain gage on suspected joints, then evaluated the fatigue resistance of the joints. For more efficient procedure, the method of stress amplitude analysis through vibration measurement is being developed. (author)

Effect of residual stress on fatigue crack propagation at 200 C in a welded joint austenitic stainless steel - ferritic steel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zahouane, A.I.; Gauthier, J.P.; Petrequin, P.

1988-01-01

Fatigue resistance of heterogeneous welded joints between austenitic stainless steels and ferritic steels is evaluated for reactor components and more particularly effect of residual stress on fatigue crack propagation in a heterogeneous welded joint. Residual stress is measured by the hole method in which a hole is drilled through the center of a strain gage glued the surface of the materials. In the non uniform stress field a transmissibility function is used for residual stress calculation. High compression residual stress in the ferritic metal near the interface ferritic steel/weld slow down fatigue crack propagation. 5 tabs., 15 figs., 19 refs [fr

75 FR 4529 - Circular Welded Carbon Steel Pipes and Tubes From Thailand: Final Results of Antidumping Duty New...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-28

... Compliance Analyst, Office 6, Verification of the Sales Response of Pacific Pipe Public Company, Limited in... Pipe Public Company, Limited, dated August 24, 2009 (Bona Fides Preliminary Memorandum). The Department... Circular Welded Carbon Steel Pipes and Tubes from Thailand: Pacific Pipe Public Company, Limited, dated...

LOFT transient thermal analysis for 10 inch primary coolant blowdown piping weld

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Howell, S.K.

1978-01-01

A flaw in a weld in the 10 inch primary coolant blowdown piping was discovered by LOFT personnel. As a result of this, a thermal analysis and fracture mechanics analysis was requested by LOFT personnel. The weld and pipe section were analyzed for a complete thermal cycle, heatup and Loss of Coolant Experiment (LOCE), using COUPLE/MOD2, a two-dimensional finite element heat conduction code. The finite element representation used in this analysis was generated by the Applied Mechanics Branch. The record of nodal temperatures for the entire transient was written on tape VSN=T9N054, and has been forwarded to the Applied Mechanics Branch for use in their mechanical analysis. Specific details and assumptions used in this analysis are found in appropriate sections of this report

Initiation model for intergranular stress corrosion cracking in BWR pipes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hishida, Mamoru; Kawakubo, Takashi; Nakagawa, Yuji; Arii, Mitsuru.

1981-01-01

Discussions were made on the keys of intergranular stress corrosion cracking of austenitic stainless steel in high-temperature water in laboratories and stress corrosion cracking incidents in operating plants. Based on these discussions, a model was set up of intergranular stress corrosion cracking initiation in BWR pipes. Regarding the model, it was presumed that the intergranular stress corrosion cracking initiates during start up periods whenever heat-affected zones in welded pipes are highly sensitized and suffer dynamic strain in transient water containing dissolved oxygen. A series of BWR start up simulation tests were made by using a flowing autoclave system with slow strain rate test equipment. Validity of the model was confirmed through the test results. (author)

Ultrasonic inspectability of austenitic stainless steel and dissimilar metal weld joints

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pudovikov, S.; Bulavinov, A.; Kroening, M. [Fraunhofer-Institut fuer Zerstoerungsfreie Pruefverfahren IZFP, Saarbruecken (Germany)

2008-07-01

Since their invention in 1912, austenitic stainless steel materials are widely used in a variety of industry sectors. In particular, austenitic stainless steel material is qualified to meet the design criteria of high quality, safety related applications, for example, the primary loop of the most of the nuclear power plants in the world, due to high durability and corrosion resistance. Certain operating conditions may cause a range of changes in the integrity of the component, and therefore require nondestructive testing at reasonable intervals. These in-service inspections are often performed using ultrasonic techniques, in particular when cracking is of specific concern. However, the coarse, dendritic grain structure of the weld material, formed during the welding process, is extreme and unpredictably anisotropic. Such structure is no longer direction-independent to the ultrasonic wave propagation; therefore, the ultrasonic beam deflects and redirects and the wave front becomes distorted. Thus, the use of conventional ultrasonic testing techniques using fixed beam angles is very limited and the application of ultrasonic Phased Array techniques becomes desirable. The ''Sampling Phased Array'' technique, invented and developed by Fraunhofer IZFP, allows the acquisition of time signals (A-scans) for each individual transducer element of the array along with image reconstruction techniques using ''SynFoc'' algorithms. The reconstruction considers the sound propagation from each image pixel to the individual sensor element. For anisotropic media, where the sound beam is deflected and the sound path is not known a-priory, we implement a new phase adjustment called ''Reverse Phase Matching'' technique. This algorithm permits the acquisition of phase-corrected A-scans that represent the actual sound propagation in the anisotropic structure; this technique can be utilized for image reconstruction. (orig.)

Numerical simulation of residual stress in piping components at Framatome-ANP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gilies, P.; Franco, C.; Cipiere, M.-F.; Ould, P.

2005-01-01

Numerous manufacturing processes induce residual stresses and distortions in piping components and associated welds: quenching of cast pipings, machining and welding. In Pressurized Water Reactors, most of the components have a large thickness for sustaining pressure and distortions are a minor source of concern. This is not the case for residual stresses which may have a strong influence on several type of damage such as fatigue, corrosion, brittle fracture. In low toughness components, residual stress fields may contribute to ductile tearing initiation. These potential damages are mitigated after welding by stress relief heat treatment, which is applied in a systematic manner to ferritic components of the primary system in nuclear reactors. This treatment is not applied on austenitic piping for which the heat treatment temperature is limited due to the risk of sensitization and residual stresses are difficult to eliminate completely. Since on site measurements are costly and difficult to perform, numerical simulation appears to be an attractive tool for estimating residual stress distributions. Framatome-ANP is working on modelling manufacturing processes with that purpose in mind. This paper presents three kinds of applications illustrating efforts on welding, quenching and machining simulation. First a comparison is shown between computations and measurements of residual stress induced by welding of a dissimilar weld metal junction. Then numerical simulations of quenching of a cast stainless steel nozzle are presented. Finally quenching followed by machining and grinding of this cast component are considered in a full simulation of the manufacturing process. Computed distortions and residual stresses are compared with experimental measurements at different stages of the manufacturing process. (authors)

Feasibility study of pipe welding using a homopolar generator. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Keith, R.E.; Weldon, W.F.; Rylander, H.G.; Woodson, H.H.

1979-12-01

The technical feasibility was studied of making girth welds of the upset butt resistance type in type 304 stainless steel boiling water reactor pipe using a homopolar generator as the power supply and a preliminary study of the process economics as compared with the present arc welding practice was made. The design and construction of a welding fixture and its use in conjunction with a 5 megajoule homopolar generator to accomplish successful welds having a nominal 28.4 cm 2 (4.4 in. 2 ) area in less than 1 second are discussed. The nature of the homopolar pulse resistance welding (HPRW) process is such that the time to accomplish the weld is independent of the size of the weld. Welds were produced having 100 percent joint efficiency as measured by the tensile test. It proved possible to obtain smooth inner diameter weld contours, but the joint design that resulted in the best contour also resulted in harmless oxide particles in the weld interface. A slight modification to the joint design was shown to eliminate the oxide particles, but resulted in a somewhat less desirable inner contour. Because of the relatively short heating cycle of HPR welding, the heat-affected zone of the weld is in the 400 to 800 C sensitization region for a substantially shorter time than in multipass arc welding. ASTM A262 Procedure A tests did not show any sensitization in HPR welds. HPR welding promises substantial savings in variable costs (labor, overhead, and materials) compared to arc welding

Material property evaluations of bimetallic welds, stainless steel saw fusion lines, and materials affected by dynamic strain aging

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rudland, D.; Scott, P.; Marschall, C.; Wilkowski, G. [Battelle Memorial Institute, Columbus, OH (United States)

1997-04-01

Pipe fracture analyses can often reasonably predict the behavior of flawed piping. However, there are material applications with uncertainties in fracture behavior. This paper summarizes work on three such cases. First, the fracture behavior of bimetallic welds are discussed. The purpose of the study was to determine if current fracture analyses can predict the response of pipe with flaws in bimetallic welds. The weld joined sections of A516 Grade 70 carbon steel to F316 stainless steel. The crack was along the carbon steel base metal to Inconel 182 weld metal fusion line. Material properties from tensile and C(T) specimens were used to predict large pipe response. The major conclusion from the work is that fracture behavior of the weld could be evaluated with reasonable accuracy using properties of the carbon steel pipe and conventional J-estimation analyses. However, results may not be generally true for all bimetallic welds. Second, the toughness of austenitic steel submerged-arc weld (SAW) fusion lines is discussed. During large-scale pipe tests with flaws in the center of the SAW, the crack tended to grow into the fusion line. The fracture toughness of the base metal, the SAW, and the fusion line were determined and compared. The major conclusion reached is that although the fusion line had a higher initiation toughness than the weld metal, the fusion-line J-R curve reached a steady-state value while the SAW J-R curve increased. Last, carbon steel fracture experiments containing circumferential flaws with periods of unstable crack jumps during steady ductile tearing are discussed. These instabilities are believed to be due to dynamic strain aging (DSA). The paper discusses DSA, a screening criteria developed to predict DSA, and the ability of the current J-based methodologies to assess the effect of these crack instabilities. The effect of loading rate on the strength and toughness of several different carbon steel pipes at LWR temperatures is also discussed.

Friction Welding For Cladding Applications: Processing, Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Inertia Friction Welds of Stainless Steel to Low Carbon Steel and Evaluation of Wrought and Welded Austenitic Stainless Steels for Cladding Applications in Acidchloride Service

Science.gov (United States)

Switzner, Nathan

Friction welding, a solid-state joining method, is presented as a novel alternative process step for lining mild steel pipe and forged components internally with a corrosion resistant (CR) metal alloy for petrochemical applications. Currently, fusion welding is commonly used for stainless steel overlay cladding, but this method is costly, time-consuming, and can lead to disbonding in service due to a hard martensite layer that forms at the interface due to partial mixing at the interface between the stainless steel CR metal and the mild steel base. Firstly, the process parameter space was explored for inertia friction butt welding using AISI type 304L stainless steel and AISI 1018 steel to determine the microstructure and mechanical properties effects. A conceptual model for heat flux density versus radial location at the faying surface was developed with consideration for non-uniform pressure distribution due to frictional forces. An existing 1 D analytical model for longitudinal transient temperature distribution was modified for the dissimilar metals case and to account for material lost to the flash. Microstructural results from the experimental dissimilar friction welds of 304L stainless steel to 1018 steel were used to discuss model validity. Secondly, the microstructure and mechanical property implications were considered for replacing the current fusion weld cladding processes with friction welding. The nominal friction weld exhibited a smaller heat softened zone in the 1018 steel than the fusion cladding. As determined by longitudinal tensile tests across the bond line, the nominal friction weld had higher strength, but lower apparent ductility, than the fusion welds due to the geometric requirements for neck formation adjacent to a rigid interface. Martensite was identified at the dissimilar friction weld interface, but the thickness was smaller than that of the fusion welds, and the morphology was discontinuous due to formation by a mechanism of solid

Effect of composition on corrosion resistance of high-alloy austenitic stainless steel weld metals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marshall, P.I.; Gooch, T.G.

1993-01-01

The corrosion resistance of stainless steel weld metal in the ranges of 17 to 28% chromium (Cr), 6 to 60% nickel (Ni), 0 to 9% molybdenum (Mo), and 0.0 to 0.37% nitrogen (N) was examined. Critical pitting temperatures were determined in ferric chloride (FeCl 3 ). Passive film breakdown potentials were assessed from potentiodynamic scans in 3% sodium chloride (NaCl) at 50 C. Potentiodynamic and potentiostatic tests were carried out in 30% sulfuric acid (H 2 SO 4 ) ar 25 C, which was representative of chloride-free acid media of low redox potential. Metallographic examination and microanalysis were conducted on the test welds. Because of segregation of alloying elements, weld metal pitting resistance always was lower than that of matching composition base steel. The difference increased with higher Cr, Mo, and N contents. Segregation also reduced resistance to general corrosion in H 2 SO 4 , but the effect relative to the base steel was less marked than with chloride pitting. Segregation of Cr, Mo, and N in fully austenitic deposits decreased as the Ni' eq- Cr' eq ratio increased. Over the compositional range studied, weld metal pitting resistance was dependent mainly on Mo content and segregation. N had less effect than in wrought alloys. Both Mo and N enhanced weld metal corrosion resistance in H 2 SO 4

Device for the automatic X-ray testing of welded joints of pipes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ries, K.; Hannoschieck, K.; Rozic, K.M.; Basler, G.

1979-01-01

The notification flows of the tested pipes determined by the ultrasonic inspection are transmitted to the X-ray film automatic charger in the X-ray test room. The roll table for the pipes from the ultrasonic inspection to the X-ray test room is provided with an arrangement for weld detection and tube lathe, so that the X-ray films can be set on the corresponding spot by means of a cantilever. (RW) [de

Research and Development of Ultra-High Strength X100 Welded Pipe

Science.gov (United States)

Chuanguo, Zhang; Lei, Zheng; Ping, Hu; Bei, Zhang; Kougen, Wu; Weifeng, Huang

Ultra-high strength X100 welded pipe can be used in the construction of long distance oil and gas pipeline to improve transmission capacity and reduce operation cost. By using the way of thermo-simulation and pilot rolling, the CCT (Continuous Cooling Transformation) diagram and the relationship between ACC (Accelerated Cooling) parameters, microstructure and mechanical properties were studied for the designed X100 pipeline steel with low carbon, high manganese and niobium micro-alloyed composition in lab. The analysis of CCT diagram indicates that the suitable hardness and microstructure can be obtained in the cooling rate of 20 80°C/sec. The pilot rolling results show that the ACC cooling start temperature below Ar3 phase transformation point is beneficial to increase uniform elongation, and the cooling stop temperature of 150 350°C is helpful to obtain high strength and toughness combination. Based on the research conclusions, the X100 plate and UOE pipe with dimension in O.D.1219×W.T.14.8mm, O.D.1219×W.T.17.8mm, designed for the natural gas transmission pipeline, were trial produced. The manufactured pipe body impact absorbed energy at -10°C is over 250J. The DWTT shear area ratio at 0°C is over 85%. The transverse strength meets the X100 grade requirement, and uniform elongation is over 4%. The X100 plate and UOE pipe with dimension in O.D.711×W.T.20.0mm, O.D.711×W.T.12.5mm, designed for an offshore engineering, were also trial produced. The average impact absorbed energy of pipe body at -30°C is over 200J. The average impact absorbed energy of HAZ (Heat-affected zone) and WM (Welded Seam) at -30°C is over 100J. And the good pipe shapes were obtained

Investigations on penetration control for automated pipe welding system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fujiki, Daisuke; Sato, Akihiro; Funamoto, Takao; Matsumoto, Toshimi; Kobayashi, Masahiro

1995-01-01

We have been investigating process conditions forming sound root bead by orbital welding technique for nuclear power stations. Specimens used were stainless steel (SUS304) pipes (318.5 mm outside diameter and 15.4 mm thickness), and pulsed gas tungsten-arc (GTA) welder was adopted. We have found process conditions to form sound root bead by changing both heat input conditions and joint designs. It is found that reducing volume of molten metal is necessary to form sound root bead. And it is also found that changing joint designs is effective to reduce volume of molten metal. By selecting proper joint designs, we could form sound root bead in constant heat input conditions in every position of pipe. (author)

Evaluation of weld defects in stainless steel 316L pipe using guided wave

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Joon Hyun [School of Mechanical Engineering, Pusan National University, Busan (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Jin Kyung [Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Dongeui University, Busan (Korea, Republic of)

2015-02-15

Stainless steel is a popular structural materials for liquid-hydrogen storage containers and piping components for transporting high-temperature fluids because of its superior material properties such as high strength and high corrosion resistance at elevated temperatures. In general, tungsten inert gas (TIG) arc welding is used for bonding stainless steel. However, it is often reported that the thermal fatigue cracks or initial defects in stainless steel after welding decreases the reliability of the material. The objective of this paper is to clarify the characteristics of ultrasonic guided wave propagation in relation to a change in the initial crack length in the welding zone of stainless steel. For this purpose, three specimens with different artificial defects of 5 mm, 10 mm, and 20 mm in stainless steel welds were prepared. By considering the thickness of s stainless steel pipe, special attention was given to both the L(0,1) mode and L(0,2) mode in this study. It was clearly found that the L(0,2) mode was more sensitive to defects than the L(0,1) mode. Based on the results of the L(0,1) and L(0,2) mode analyses, the magnitude ratio of the two modes was more effective than studying each mode when evaluating defects near the welded zone of stainless steel because of its linear relationship with the length of the artificial defect.

Welding-induced local maximum residual stress in heat affected zone of low-carbon austenitic stainless steel with machined surface layer and its influential factors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Okano, Shigetaka; Ihara, Ryohei; Kanamaru, Daisuke; Mochizuki, Masahito

2015-01-01

In this study, the effects of work-hardening and pre-existing stress in the machined surface layer of low-carbon austenitic stainless steel on the welding-induced residual stress were experimentally investigated through the use of weld specimens with three different surface layers; as-cutout, mechanically-polished and electrolytically-polished. The high tensile and compressive stresses exist in the work-hardened surface layer of the as-cutout and mechanically-polished specimens, respectively. Meanwhile, no stress and work-hardened surface layer exist in the electrolytically-polished specimen. TIG bead-on-plate welding under the same welding heat input conditions was performed to introduce the residual stress into these specimens. Using these welded specimens, the distributions of welding-induced residual stress were measured by the X-ray diffraction method. Similarly, the distributions of hardness in welds were estimated by the Vickers hardness test. And then, these distributions were compared with one another. Based on the results, the residual stress in the weld metal (WM) is completely unaffected by the machined surface layer because the work-hardened surface layer disappears through the processes of melting and solidification during welding. The local maximum longitudinal tensile residual stress in the heat affected zone (HAZ) depends on the work-hardening but not on the existing stress, regardless of whether tensile or compressive, in the machined surface layer before welding. At the base metal far from WM and HAZ, the residual stress is formed by the addition of the welding-induced residual stress to the pre-existing stress in the machined surface layer before welding. The features of the welding-induced residual stress in low-carbon austenitic stainless steel with the machined surface layer and their influential factors were thus clarified. (author)

Progress report on the influence of higher interpass temperatures on the integrity of austenitic stainless steel welded joints

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yarmuch, M.; Choi, L. [Alberta Research Council, Edmonton, AB (Canada); Armstrong, K.; Radu, I. [PCL Industrial Constructors Inc., Nisku, AB (Canada)

2008-07-01

This report discussed the progress of the Welding Productivity Group (TWPG) interpass temperature assessment project (ITAP). The project was initiated to evaluate the influence of interpass temperatures on the metallurgical, corrosive, and mechanical properties of austenitic stainless steel, carbon steel, and low-alloy pressure weldments. To date, the project has conducted experiments to determine if interpass temperatures in austenitic stainless steel weldments are higher than temperatures recommended by API requirements. Elevated interpass temperatures for various base materials have been evaluated. Preliminary metallurgical, mechanical, and laboratory corrosion data from 3 experiments with 304/304L and 316/316L stainless steel weldment test specimens has shown that no significant changes occur as a result of elevated interpass temperatures. Results from side bend specimens have demonstrated that elevated interpass temperatures produce acceptable weldment ductility. No intergranular cracking was observed during oxalic acid etch tests conducted for the 316/316L samples. Huey tests performed on the 304/304L specimens indicated that elevated interpass temperatures did not adversely affect the intergranular corrosion resistance of weldments with less than 3 weld passes. Huey tests performed on the 316 specimens showed a marked increase in corrosion rates and normalized weight losses. It was concluded that rates of attack correlate with the maximum interpass temperature and not the average weld metal ferrite number. 22 refs., 11 tabs., 12 figs.

77 FR 41967 - Certain Circular Welded Carbon Steel Pipes and Tubes From India, Thailand, and Turkey; Certain...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-07-17

... Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Certain Circular Welded Non-Alloy Steel Pipe From Korea, 57 FR... pipe tubing used for farming and support members for reconstruction or load bearing purposes in the...

Effect of weld metal chemistry and heat input on the structure and properties of duplex stainless steel welds

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Muthupandi, V.; Bala Srinivasan, P.; Seshadri, S.K.; Sundaresan, S

2003-10-15

The excellent combination of strength and corrosion resistance in duplex stainless steels (DSS) is due to their strict composition control and microstructural balance. The ferrite-austenite ratio is often upset in DSS weld metals owing to the rapid cooling rates associated with welding. To achieve the desired ferrite-austenite balance and hence properties, either the weld metal composition and/or the heat input is controlled. In the current work, a low heat input process viz., EBW and another commonly employed process, gas tungsten-arc welding have been employed for welding of DSS with and without nickel enhancement. Results show that (i) chemical composition has got a greater influence on the ferrite-austenite ratio than the cooling rate, (ii) and even EBW which is considered an immature process in welding of DSS, can be employed provided means of filler addition could be devised.

Effect of welding process, type of electrode and electrode core diameter on the tensile property of 304L austenitic stainless steel

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Akinlabi OYETUNJI

2014-11-01

Full Text Available The effect of welding process, type of electrode and electrode core diameter on the tensile property of AISI 304L Austenitic Stainless Steel (ASS was studied. The tensile strength property of ASS welded samples was evaluated. Prepared samples of the ASS were welded under these three various variables. Tensile test was then carried out on the welded samples. It was found that the reduction in ultimate tensile strength (UTS of the butt joint samples increases with increase in core diameter of the electrode. Also, the best electrode for welding 304L ASS is 308L stainless steel-core electrode of 3.2 mm core diameter. It is recommended that the findings of this work can be applied in the chemical, food and oil industries where 304L ASS are predominantly used.

Ultrasonic wave propagation in real-life austenitic V-butt welds: Numerical modeling and validation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hannemann, R.; Marklein, R.; Langenberg, K. J.; Schurig, C.; Koehler, B.; Walte, F.

2000-01-01

In nondestructive testing the evaluation of austenitic steel welds with ultrasound is a commonly used method. But, since the wave propagation, scattering, and diffraction effects in such complicated media are hardly understood, computer simulations are very helpful to increase the knowledge of the physical phenomena in such samples. A particularly powerful numerical time domain modeling tool is the well established Elastodynamic Finite Integration Technique (EFIT). Recently, EFIT has been extended to simulate elastic waves in inhomogeneous anisotropic media. In this paper, the step-by-step evaluation of ultrasonic wave propagation in inhomogeneous anisotropic media will be described and the results will be validated against measurements. As a simplified model, a V-butt weld with perpendicular grain structure is investigated. The coincidence between the B Scans of the simulation and the measurement of an idealized V-butt weld is remarkable and even effects predicted by theory and simulation - the appearance of two coupled quasi-SV waves - can be observed. As a next step, an improved and more realistic model of the grain orientation inside the V-butt weld is introduced. This model has been implemented in the EFIT code and has been validated against measurements. For this verification, measured and simulated B-Scans for a real-life V-butt weld have been compared and a significant coincidence has been observed. Furthermore, the main pulses in the B-Scans are interpreted by analyzing the snapshot-movies of the wavefronts

Effect of Cr Contents and Heat Treating on Reverted Austenite in Maraging Steel Weldments

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, S. W.; Lee, H. W.

2018-05-01

By conducting flux cored arc welding (FCAW) on maraging steels with Cr contents of 1.4 and 5.2 wt%, this study observed the effects of Cr content and heat treating on reverted austenite formation in welded maraging steel. Aging treatment was carried out at the temperatures of 450, 480 and 530 °C for 3 h in each condition. As the aging temperature increased, reverted austenite was formed along the interdendritic and intercellular grain boundaries, and the proportion of reverted austenite increased with increasing Cr addition. The aging process led to the segregation of Ti and Mo along the interdendritic and intercellular grain boundaries. Some of the welded specimens were subjected to solution heat treatment at 820 and 1250 °C for 1 h after welding, resulting in a decrease in reverted austenite fraction.

Short cracks in piping and piping welds. Seventh program report, March 1993-December 1994. Volume 4, Number 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilkowski, G.M.; Ghadiali, N.; Rudland, D.; Krishnaswamy, P.; Rahman, S.; Scott, P.

1995-04-01

This is the seventh progress report of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's research program entitled open-quotes Short Cracks in Piping and Piping Weldsclose quotes. The program objective is to verify and improve fracture analyses for circumferentially cracked large-diameter nuclear piping with crack sizes typically used in leak-before-break (LBB) analyses and in-service flaw evaluations. All work in the eight technical tasks have been completed. Ten topical reports are scheduled to be published. Progress only during the reporting period, March 1993 - December 1994, not covered in the topical reports is presented in this report. Details about the following efforts are covered in this report: (1) Improvements to the two computer programs NRCPIPE and NRCPIPES to assess the failure behavior of circumferential through-wall and surface-cracked pipe, respectively; (2) Pipe material property database PIFRAC; (3) Circumferentially cracked pipe database CIRCUMCK.WKI; (4) An assessment of the proposed ASME Section III design stress rule changes on pipe flaw tolerance; and (5) A pipe fracture experiment on a section of pipe removed from service degraded by microbiologically induced corrosion (MIC) which contained a girth weld crack. Progress in the other tasks is not repeated here as it has been covered in great detail in the topical reports

76 FR 78614 - Welded ASTM A-312 Stainless Steel Pipe From South Korea and Taiwan: Continuation of Antidumping...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-12-19

... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE International Trade Administration [A-580-810, A-583-815] Welded ASTM A-312... revocation of the antidumping duty orders on welded ASTM A-312 stainless steel pipe from South Korea (Korea... December 30, 1992, the Department published the antidumping duty orders on welded ASTM A-312 stainless...

Testing of intergranular and pitting corrosion in sensitized welded joints of austenitic stainless steel

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bore V. Jegdic

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Pitting corrosion resistance and intergranular corrosion of the austenitic stainless steel X5Cr Ni18-10 were tested on the base metal, heat affected zone and weld metal. Testing of pitting corrosion was performed by the potentiodynamic polarization method, while testing of intergranular corrosion was performed by the method of electrochemical potentiokinetic reactivation with double loop. The base metal was completely resistant to intergranular corrosion, while the heat affected zone showed a slight susceptibility to intergranular corrosion. Indicators of pitting corrosion resistance for the weld metal and the base metal were very similar, but their values are significantly higher than the values for the heat affected zone. This was caused by reduction of the chromium concentration in the grain boundary areas in the heat affected zone, even though the carbon content in the examined stainless steel is low (0.04 wt. % C.

Experimental and Computational Investigation of Structural Integrity of Dissimilar Metal Weld Between Ferritic and Austenitic Steel

Science.gov (United States)

Santosh, R.; Das, G.; Kumar, S.; Singh, P. K.; Ghosh, M.

2018-03-01

The structural integrity of dissimilar metal welded (DMW) joint consisting of low-alloy steel and 304LN austenitic stainless steel was examined by evaluating mechanical properties and metallurgical characteristics. INCONEL 82 and 182 were used as buttering and filler materials, respectively. Experimental findings were substantiated through thermomechanical simulation of the weld. During simulation, the effect of thermal state and stress distribution was pondered based on the real-time nuclear power plant environment. The simulation results were co-related with mechanical and microstructural characteristics. Material properties were varied significantly at different fusion boundaries across the weld line and associated with complex microstructure. During in-situ deformation testing in a scanning electron microscope, failure occurred through the buttering material. This indicated that microstructure and material properties synergistically contributed to altering the strength of DMW joints. Simulation results also depicted that the stress was maximum within the buttering material and made its weakest zone across the welded joint during service exposure. Various factors for the failure of dissimilar metal weld were analyzed. It was found that the use of IN 82 alloy as the buttering material provided a significant improvement in the joint strength and became a promising material for the fabrication of DMW joint.

Experimental and Computational Investigation of Structural Integrity of Dissimilar Metal Weld Between Ferritic and Austenitic Steel

Science.gov (United States)

Santosh, R.; Das, G.; Kumar, S.; Singh, P. K.; Ghosh, M.

2018-06-01

The structural integrity of dissimilar metal welded (DMW) joint consisting of low-alloy steel and 304LN austenitic stainless steel was examined by evaluating mechanical properties and metallurgical characteristics. INCONEL 82 and 182 were used as buttering and filler materials, respectively. Experimental findings were substantiated through thermomechanical simulation of the weld. During simulation, the effect of thermal state and stress distribution was pondered based on the real-time nuclear power plant environment. The simulation results were co-related with mechanical and microstructural characteristics. Material properties were varied significantly at different fusion boundaries across the weld line and associated with complex microstructure. During in-situ deformation testing in a scanning electron microscope, failure occurred through the buttering material. This indicated that microstructure and material properties synergistically contributed to altering the strength of DMW joints. Simulation results also depicted that the stress was maximum within the buttering material and made its weakest zone across the welded joint during service exposure. Various factors for the failure of dissimilar metal weld were analyzed. It was found that the use of IN 82 alloy as the buttering material provided a significant improvement in the joint strength and became a promising material for the fabrication of DMW joint.

76 FR 72173 - Circular Welded Carbon-Quality Steel Pipe From India, the Sultanate of Oman, the United Arab...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-11-22

...-552-810] Circular Welded Carbon-Quality Steel Pipe From India, the Sultanate of Oman, the United Arab... Steel Pipe from India, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam, dated October 26, 2011 (hereinafter... pipe from India, the Sultanate of Oman (``Oman''), the United Arab Emirates (``the UAE''), and the...

Effect of post-weld heat treatments on strength and toughness behavior of T-250 maraging steel welded by laser beam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Kun; Shan, Jiguo; Wang, Chunxu; Tian, Zhiling

2016-01-01

This paper elucidates here the strength and toughness behavior of T-250 maraging steel welded by laser beam under different approaches of three post-weld heat treatments, i.e. aging (A), solutionizing+aging (SA) and homogenizing+solutionizing+aging (HSA). The microstructures of the weld metals with A and SA processes both comprised of finely dispersive Ni 3 (Ti, Mo) precipitates, small martensite lath and reverted austenite along the grain boundary. However, in the weld metal with HSA process, it exhibited the same Ni 3 (Ti, Mo) precipitate with the large martensite lath and the absence of reverted austenite. The ultimate tensile strength and static toughness of the welded joint with HSA process were 1350.6 MPa and 63.8 MJ m −3 , respectively. The static toughness has been remarkably improved from 71% to 91% of the applied parent metal compared with that of the welded joint with A process. The present study underscores that the Ni 3 (Ti, Mo) precipitate and martensite are significant to ensure the high strength of welded joints. Due to its inconsistent deformation with the matrix of martensite, the reverted austenite has a notable influence on the toughness of welded joints. It shows that the post-weld heat treatments of HSA process can influence the mechanical behavior of welded joints by eliminating the reverted austenite.

Effect of post-weld heat treatments on strength and toughness behavior of T-250 maraging steel welded by laser beam

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, Kun [Laser Processing Research Center, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); Shan, Jiguo, E-mail: shanjg@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn [Laser Processing Research Center, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials Professing Technology, Ministry of Education, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); Wang, Chunxu; Tian, Zhiling [Institute for Special Steel, Central Iron & Steel Research Institute, Beijing 100081 (China)

2016-04-29

This paper elucidates here the strength and toughness behavior of T-250 maraging steel welded by laser beam under different approaches of three post-weld heat treatments, i.e. aging (A), solutionizing+aging (SA) and homogenizing+solutionizing+aging (HSA). The microstructures of the weld metals with A and SA processes both comprised of finely dispersive Ni{sub 3}(Ti, Mo) precipitates, small martensite lath and reverted austenite along the grain boundary. However, in the weld metal with HSA process, it exhibited the same Ni{sub 3}(Ti, Mo) precipitate with the large martensite lath and the absence of reverted austenite. The ultimate tensile strength and static toughness of the welded joint with HSA process were 1350.6 MPa and 63.8 MJ m{sup −3}, respectively. The static toughness has been remarkably improved from 71% to 91% of the applied parent metal compared with that of the welded joint with A process. The present study underscores that the Ni{sub 3}(Ti, Mo) precipitate and martensite are significant to ensure the high strength of welded joints. Due to its inconsistent deformation with the matrix of martensite, the reverted austenite has a notable influence on the toughness of welded joints. It shows that the post-weld heat treatments of HSA process can influence the mechanical behavior of welded joints by eliminating the reverted austenite.

Effect of Welding Process on Microstructure, Mechanical and Pitting Corrosion Behaviour of 2205 Duplex Stainless Steel Welds

Science.gov (United States)

Mohammed, Raffi; Madhusudhan Reddy, G.; Srinivasa Rao, K.

2018-03-01

An attempt has been made to weld 2205 Duplex stainless steel of 6mm thick plate using conventional gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) and activated gas tungsten arc welding (A- GTAW) process using silica powder as activated flux. Present work is aimed at studying the effect of welding process on depth of penetration, width of weld zone of 2205 duplex stainless steel. It also aims to observe the microstructural changes and its effect on mechanical properties and pitting corrosion resistance of 2205 duplex stainless steel welds. Metallography is done to observe the microstructural changes of the welds using image analyzer attached to the optical microscopy. Hardness studies, tensile and ductility bend tests were evaluated for mechanical properties. Potentio-dynamic polarization studies were carried out using a basic GillAC electro-chemical system in 3.5% NaCl solution to observe the pitting corrosion behaviour. Results of the present investigation established that increased depth of penetration and reduction of weld width in a single pass by activated GTAW with the application of SiO2 flux was observed when compared with conventional GTAW process. It may be attributed to the arc constriction effect. Microstructure of the weld zones for both the welds is observed to be having combination of austenite and delta ferrite. Grain boundary austenite (GBA) with Widmanstatten-type austenite (WA) of plate-like feature was nucleated from the grain boundaries in the weld zone of A-GTAW process. Mechanical properties are relatively low in activated GTAW process and are attributed to changes in microstructural morphology of austenite. Improved pitting corrosion resistance was observed for the welds made with A-GTAW process.

Evolution of weld metal microstructure in shielded metal arc welding of X70 HSLA steel with cellulosic electrodes: A case study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghomashchi, Reza; Costin, Walter; Kurji, Rahim

2015-01-01

The microstructure of weld joint in X70 line pipe steel resulted from shielded metal arc welding with E6010 cellulosic electrodes is characterized using optical and electron microscopy. A range of ferritic morphologies have been identified ranging from polygonal inter- and intra-prior austenite grains allotriomorphic, idiomorphic ferrites to Widmanstätten, acicular and bainitic ferrites. Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD) analysis using Image Quality (IQ) and Inverse Pole Figure (IPF) maps through superimposition of IQ and IPF maps and measurement of percentages of high and low angle grain boundaries was identified to assist in differentiation of acicular ferrite from Widmanstätten and bainitic ferrite morphologies. In addition two types of pearlitic structures were identified. There was no martensite detected in this weld structure. The morphology, size and chemistry of non-metallic inclusions are also discussed briefly. - Highlights: • Application of EBSD reveals orientation relationships in a range of phases for shielded metal arc welding of HSLA steel. • Nucleation sites of various ferrite morphologies identified • Formation of upper and lower bainite and their morphologies

Evolution of weld metal microstructure in shielded metal arc welding of X70 HSLA steel with cellulosic electrodes: A case study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ghomashchi, Reza, E-mail: reza.ghomashchi@adelaide.edu.au; Costin, Walter; Kurji, Rahim

2015-09-15

The microstructure of weld joint in X70 line pipe steel resulted from shielded metal arc welding with E6010 cellulosic electrodes is characterized using optical and electron microscopy. A range of ferritic morphologies have been identified ranging from polygonal inter- and intra-prior austenite grains allotriomorphic, idiomorphic ferrites to Widmanstätten, acicular and bainitic ferrites. Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD) analysis using Image Quality (IQ) and Inverse Pole Figure (IPF) maps through superimposition of IQ and IPF maps and measurement of percentages of high and low angle grain boundaries was identified to assist in differentiation of acicular ferrite from Widmanstätten and bainitic ferrite morphologies. In addition two types of pearlitic structures were identified. There was no martensite detected in this weld structure. The morphology, size and chemistry of non-metallic inclusions are also discussed briefly. - Highlights: • Application of EBSD reveals orientation relationships in a range of phases for shielded metal arc welding of HSLA steel. • Nucleation sites of various ferrite morphologies identified • Formation of upper and lower bainite and their morphologies.

Fiber Laser Welding of Dissimilar 2205/304 Stainless Steel Plates

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ghusoon Ridha Mohammed

2017-12-01

Full Text Available In this study, an attempt on pulsed-fiber laser welding on an austenitic-duplex stainless steel butt joint configuration was investigated. The influence of various welding parameters, such as beam diameter, peak power, pulse repetition rate, and pulse width on the weld beads geometry was studied by checking the width and depth of the welds after each round of welding parameters combination. The weld bead dimensions and microstructural progression of the weld joints were observed microscopically. Finally, the full penetration specimens were subjected to tensile tests, which were coupled with the analysis of the fracture surfaces. From the results, combination of the selected weld parameters resulted in robust weldments with similar features to those of duplex and austenitic weld metals. The weld depth and width were found to increase proportionally to the laser power. Furthermore, the weld bead geometry was found to be positively affected by the pulse width. Microstructural studies revealed the presence of dendritic and fine grain structures within the weld zone at low peak power, while ferritic microstructures were found on the sides of the weld metal near the SS 304 and austenitic-ferritic microstructure beside the duplex 2205 boundary. Regarding the micro-hardness tests, there was an improvement when compared to the hardness of duplex and austenitic stainless steels base metals. Additionally, the tensile strength of the fiber laser welded joints was found to be higher when compared to the tensile strength of the base metals (duplex and austenitic in all of the joints.

Welding of nickel free high nitrogen stainless steel: Microstructure and mechanical properties

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Raffi Mohammed

2017-04-01

Full Text Available High nitrogen stainless steel (HNS is a nickel free austenitic stainless steel that is used as a structural component in defence applications for manufacturing battle tanks as a replacement of the existing armour grade steel owing to its low cost, excellent mechanical properties and better corrosion resistance. Conventional fusion welding causes problems like nitrogen desorption, solidification cracking in weld zone, liquation cracking in heat affected zone, nitrogen induced porosity and poor mechanical properties. The above problems can be overcome by proper selection and procedure of joining process. In the present work, an attempt has been made to correlate the microstructural changes with mechanical properties of fusion and solid state welds of high nitrogen steel. Shielded metal arc welding (SMAW, gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW, electron beam welding (EBW and friction stir welding (FSW processes were used in the present work. Optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and electron backscatter diffraction were used to characterize microstructural changes. Hardness, tensile and bend tests were performed to evaluate the mechanical properties of welds. The results of the present investigation established that fully austenitic dendritic structure was found in welds of SMAW. Reverted austenite pools in the martensite matrix in weld zone and unmixed zones near the fusion boundary were observed in GTA welds. Discontinuous ferrite network in austenite matrix was observed in electron beam welds. Fine recrystallized austenite grain structure was observed in the nugget zone of friction stir welds. Improved mechanical properties are obtained in friction stir welds when compared to fusion welds. This is attributed to the refined microstructure consisting of equiaxed and homogenous austenite grains.

Atom-Probe Tomographic Investigation of Austenite Stability and Carbide Precipitation in a TRIP-Assisted 10 Wt Pct Ni Steel and Its Weld Heat-Affected Zones

Science.gov (United States)

Jain, Divya; Seidman, David N.; Barrick, Erin J.; DuPont, John N.

2018-04-01

Newly developed low-carbon 10 wt pct Ni-Mo-Cr-V martensitic steels rely on the Ni-enriched, thermally stable austenite [formed via multistep intercritical Quench-Lamellarization-Tempering ( QLT)-treatment] for their superior mechanical properties, specifically ballistic resistance. Critical to the thermal stability of austenite is its composition, which can be severely affected in the weld heat-affected zones (HAZs) and thus needs investigations. This article represents the first study of the nanoscale redistributions of C, Ni, and Mn in single-pass HAZ microstructures of QLT-treated 10 wt pct Ni steels. Local compositions of Ni-rich regions (representative of austenite compositions) in the HAZs are determined using site-specific 3-D atom-probe tomography (APT). Martensite-start temperatures are then calculated for these compositions, employing the Ghosh-Olson thermodynamic and kinetics approach. These calculations predict that austenite (present at high temperatures) in the HAZs is susceptible to a martensitic transformation upon cooling to room temperature, unlike the austenite in the QLT-treated base-metal. While C in the QLT-treated base-metal is consumed primarily in MC and M2C-type carbide precipitates (M is Mo, Cr, V), its higher concentration in the Ni-rich regions in the HAZs indicates the dissolution of carbide precipitates, particularly M2C carbide precipitates. The role of M2C carbide precipitates and austenite stability is discussed in relation to the increase in microhardness values observed in the HAZs, relative to the QLT-treated base-metal. Insights gained from this research on austenite stability and carbide precipitation in the single-pass HAZ microstructures will assist in designing multiple weld cycles for these novel 10 wt pct Ni steels.

Local microstructures, Hardness and mechanical properties of a stainless steel pipe-welded joint

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao Yongxiang; Gao Qing; Cai Lixun

2000-01-01

An experimental investigation is carefully performed into the local microstructures, hardness values and monotonic mechanical properties of the three zones (the base metal, heat affecting zone and weld metal) of 1Cr18Ni9Ti stainless steel pipe-welded joint. The local microstructures are observed by a metallurgical test and a surface replica technology, the local hardness values are measures by a random Vickers hardness test, and the local mechanical properties are characterized by the Ramberg-Osgood and modified Ramberg-Osgood stress-stain relations. The investigation reveals that there are significant differences of the three zones in the local microstructures, hardness values and monotonic mechanical properties, especially of the three zones in the local microstructure, hardness values and monotonic mechanical properties, especially of the weld metal. The weld metal exhibits the largest heterogeneity of local microstructures and monotonic mechanical properties, and the largest scatter of local hardness values. It is necessary to consider these difference and introduce the reliability method to model the scatter in the pipe analysis. In addition, it is verified that a columnar grain structure, which is made up of matrix-rich δ ferrite bands, can characterize the weld metal and the distance between the neighboring rich δ ferrite bands is an appropriate measurement of the columnar grain structure. This measurement is in accordance with the transition point between the microstructural short crack and physical small crack stages, which are generally used for characterizing the short fatigue crack behavior of materials. This indicates that the microstructure controls the fatigue damage character of the present material

On residual stress prescriptions for fitness for service assessment of pipe girth welds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dong, Pingsha; Song, Shaopin; Zhang, Jinmiao; Kim, Myung H.

2014-01-01

This paper aims to provide a detailed assessment of some of the existing residual stress profiles stipulated in widely used fitness-for-service assessment codes and standards, such as BS 7910 Appendix Q and API 579 RP Annex E, by taking advantage of some comprehensive residual stress studies that have recently become available. After presenting a case study on which residual stress measurements are available for validating finite element based residual stress analysis procedure, residual stress profiles stipulated in BS 7910 for pipe girth welds are selected for detailed evaluation by comparing residual stress distribution characteristics shown in parametric finite element results. A shell theory based full-field residual stress profile estimation scheme is then presented to illustrate how an improved estimation of residual stress profiles can be achieved in light of some of the deficiencies in BS 7910 and API 579 identified in this study. - Highlights: • Critically assessed girth weld residual stress profiles in major FFS Codes and Standards. • Identified deficiencies in relating to pipe geometry, heat input, and axial distance from weld. • Presented a shell theory based scheme for prescribing full-field residual stress profiles

76 FR 67146 - Stainless Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings From Italy; Extension of Time Limit for Preliminary...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-10-31

... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE International Trade Administration [A-475-828] Stainless Steel Butt-Weld... antidumping duty order on stainless steel butt-weld pipe fittings from Italy in the Federal Register. See... preliminary results of this review within the original time frame because it needs to obtain additional...

Monitoring of Defects in a Pipe Weld by a Comparison of Magnetostrictive Guided Wave Signals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheong, Yong-Moo; Oh, Se-Beom; Lee, Duck-Hyun

2016-01-01

In this study a computer program for an accurate comparison and subtraction of guided wave signals were developed. The program contains an algorithm for calibration with the flight time and phases of ultrasonic signals in the time domain. Once the reference signals were acquired at the beginning of the monitoring, the signals can be compared to the reference. The signals due to the geometry can be eliminated clearly and an evolution of defect in a pipe can be monitored accurately. In order to improve the detectability and solve the problems of the guided wave methods, a magnetostrictive guided wave sensor technique was proposed. Because the waveforms by the magnetostrictive sensors are quite clear and repeatable, it is possible to detect the defects at the weld regions or even monitor the small variations of the defects after a permanent installation of the magnetostrictive strip sensors. In order to eliminate the signals from the geometry, such as weld, pipe support, branch connection, a computer algorithm and program were developed. A notch with 1.5% of CSA of the pipe can be detected with increased accuracy. The guided wave monitoring technique developed in this study can be a promising tool for inspection of the pipe with limited accessibility, such as insulated or buried pipe

Monitoring of Defects in a Pipe Weld by a Comparison of Magnetostrictive Guided Wave Signals

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cheong, Yong-Moo; Oh, Se-Beom; Lee, Duck-Hyun [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-10-15

In this study a computer program for an accurate comparison and subtraction of guided wave signals were developed. The program contains an algorithm for calibration with the flight time and phases of ultrasonic signals in the time domain. Once the reference signals were acquired at the beginning of the monitoring, the signals can be compared to the reference. The signals due to the geometry can be eliminated clearly and an evolution of defect in a pipe can be monitored accurately. In order to improve the detectability and solve the problems of the guided wave methods, a magnetostrictive guided wave sensor technique was proposed. Because the waveforms by the magnetostrictive sensors are quite clear and repeatable, it is possible to detect the defects at the weld regions or even monitor the small variations of the defects after a permanent installation of the magnetostrictive strip sensors. In order to eliminate the signals from the geometry, such as weld, pipe support, branch connection, a computer algorithm and program were developed. A notch with 1.5% of CSA of the pipe can be detected with increased accuracy. The guided wave monitoring technique developed in this study can be a promising tool for inspection of the pipe with limited accessibility, such as insulated or buried pipe.

Effects of post weld heat treatment and weld overlay on the residual stress and mechanical properties in dissimilar metal weld

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Campos, Wagner R.C.; Ribeiro, Vladimir S.; Vilela, Alisson H.F.; Almeida, Camila R.O.; Rabello, Emerson G.

2017-01-01

The object of this work is a dissimilar metal weld (DMW) pipe joint between carbon steel (A-106 Gr B) and stainless steel (A-312 TP316L) pipes and filler metals of Nickel alloy (82/182), which find wide application in the field of chemical, oil, petroleum industries, fossil fuel and nuclear power plant. A lot of the failures that have occurred in dissimilar metal welded are affected greatly by residual stresses. Residual stress is often a cause of premature failure of critical components under normal operation of welded components. Several methods have been tested and developed for removing the tensile residual stresses. The aim of the methods is to reduce the tensile stress state or to create compressive stresses at a predefined area, such as the inner surface of a welded pipe joint. Post weld heat treatment (PWHT) and weld overlay (WOL) are two of the residual stress mitigation methods which reduce the tensile residual stress, create compressive stresses and arrest crack initiation and crack growth. The technique used to substantially minimized or eliminated this failure development in the root weld is the post weld heat treatments (stress relief heat treatment) or the weld overlay. In this work was studied the effectiveness in reducing internal residual stress in dissimilar metal welded pipe joints subjected to post weld heat treatment and weld overlay, measurement by hole-drilling strain-gage method of stress relaxation. Also held was mechanical characterization of the welded pipe joint itself. (author)

Effects of post weld heat treatment and weld overlay on the residual stress and mechanical properties in dissimilar metal weld

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Campos, Wagner R.C.; Ribeiro, Vladimir S.; Vilela, Alisson H.F.; Almeida, Camila R.O.; Rabello, Emerson G., E-mail: wrcc@cdtn.br, E-mail: camilarezende.cr@gmail.com, E-mail: egr@cdtn.br, E-mail: vladimirsoler@hotmail.com, E-mail: ahfv02@outlook.com [Centro de Desenvolvimento da Tecnologia Nuclear (CDTN/CNEN-MG), Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil)

2017-07-01

The object of this work is a dissimilar metal weld (DMW) pipe joint between carbon steel (A-106 Gr B) and stainless steel (A-312 TP316L) pipes and filler metals of Nickel alloy (82/182), which find wide application in the field of chemical, oil, petroleum industries, fossil fuel and nuclear power plant. A lot of the failures that have occurred in dissimilar metal welded are affected greatly by residual stresses. Residual stress is often a cause of premature failure of critical components under normal operation of welded components. Several methods have been tested and developed for removing the tensile residual stresses. The aim of the methods is to reduce the tensile stress state or to create compressive stresses at a predefined area, such as the inner surface of a welded pipe joint. Post weld heat treatment (PWHT) and weld overlay (WOL) are two of the residual stress mitigation methods which reduce the tensile residual stress, create compressive stresses and arrest crack initiation and crack growth. The technique used to substantially minimized or eliminated this failure development in the root weld is the post weld heat treatments (stress relief heat treatment) or the weld overlay. In this work was studied the effectiveness in reducing internal residual stress in dissimilar metal welded pipe joints subjected to post weld heat treatment and weld overlay, measurement by hole-drilling strain-gage method of stress relaxation. Also held was mechanical characterization of the welded pipe joint itself. (author)

Head waves in ultrasonic testing. Physical principle and application to welded joint testing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wustenberg, H.; Erhard, A.

1984-01-01

A head wave sensor is developed from distinct emitter and receiver sensors using longitudinal waves under a 70 0 incidence. These heat wave sensors present a high sensitivity for underlying cracks and are not influenced by surface accidents like liquid drops or welding projection. They are multi mode sensors emitting simultaneously longitudinal head waves, a main longitudinal lobe and a transverse wave with a maximum at about 38 0 . This wave combination can be used for automatic testing of welded joints even with austenitic materials for defect detection near internal or external surfaces. This process can substitute or complete liquid penetrant inspection or magnetic inspection for testing pipes (13 references are given) [fr

Mechanized ultrasonic examination of piping systems in nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Edelmann, X.; Pfister, O.; Allidi, F.

1988-01-01

The success of mechanized ultrasonic examination applied on welds in piping systems in nuclear power plants is highly dependent on its careful preparation. From the development of an adequate examination technique to its implementation on site, many problems are to be solved. This is especially the case when dealing with austenitic welds or dissimilar metal welds. In addition to the specific needs for examination technique based on material properties and requirements for minimum flaw size detection, accessibility and radiation aspects have to be considered. A crew of skilled and highly trained examination personnel is required. Experience in various nuclear power plants, - BWR's and PWR's of different designs - has shown, that even difficult examination problems can be successfully solved, provided that there is a good preparation. The necessary step by step proceeding is illustrated by examples concerning mechanized examination. Preservice inspections and in-service inspections with specific requirements, due to the types of flaws to be found or the type of material concerned, are discussed

78 FR 34340 - Welded Carbon Steel Standard Pipe and Tube Products From Turkey: Preliminary Results of...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-06-07

... Pipe and Tube Products From Turkey: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2011... tube products (welded pipe and tube) from Turkey.\\2\\ The period of review is May 1, 2011, to April 30... A.S. (BMB) had reviewable sales during this period of review. DATES: As of June 7, 2013. FOR FURTHER...

Effect of nitrogen and boron on weldability of austenitic stainless steels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bhaduri, A.K.; Albert, S.K.; Srinivasan, G.; Divya, M.; Das, C.R.

2012-01-01

Hot cracking is a major problem in the welding of austenitic stainless steels, particularly the fully austenitic grades. A group of alloys of enhanced-nitrogen 316LN austenitic stainless steel is being developed for structural components of the Indian Fast Reactor programme. Studying the hot cracking behaviour of this nitrogen-enhanced austenitic stainless steel is an important consideration during welding, as this material solidifies without any residual delta ferrite in the primary austenitic mode. Nitrogen has potent effects on the solidification microstructure, and hence has a strong influence on the hot cracking behaviour. Different heats of this material were investigated, which included fully austenitic stainless steels containing 0.070.22 wt% nitrogen. Also, borated austenitic stainless steels, such as type 304B4, have been widely used in the nuclear applications primarily due to its higher neutron absorption efficiency. Weldability is a major concern for this alloy due to the formation of low melting eutectic phase that is enriched with iron, chromium, molybdenum and boron. Fully austenitic stainless steels are prone to hot cracking during welding in the absence of a small amount of delta ferrite, especially for compositions rich in elements like boron that increases the tendency to form low melting eutectics. Detailed weldability investigations were carried out on a grade 304B4 stainless steel containing 1.3 wt% boron. Among the many approaches that have been used to determine the hot cracking susceptibility of different alloys, Variable-Restraint (Varestraint) weld test and Hot Ductility (Gleeble) tests are commonly used to evaluate the weldability of austenitic alloys. Hence, investigations on these materials consisted of detailed metallurgical characterization and weldability studies that included studying both the fusion zone and liquation cracking susceptibility, using Varestraint tests at 0.254.0%, strain levels and Gleeble (thermo

Analysis of a multi pass weld of a thick walled tube made of austenitic stainless steel X6 CrNiNb 18 10

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scholtes, B.; Zinn, W.; Ilg, U.; Backfisch, W.; Gibmeier, J.; Kirch, D.

2006-01-01

In this paper, microstructure and residual stresses of a multi pass welding of a thick-walled tube made of austenitic stainless steel X6 CrNiNb 18 10 (1.4550) are systematically characterized and assessed. Results of microstructural and phase analyses, residual stress and hardness measurements as well as of a tensile test using micro specimen and SEM analyses are presented. Using these data, plastic deformations occurring during the welding process in the vicinity of the weld seam are evaluated. Finally, consequences of an additional heat treatment at 400 C/24 h are studied. (Abstract Copyright [2006], Wiley Periodicals, Inc.) [de

Corrosion behavior in high heat input welded heat-affected zone of Ni-free high-nitrogen Fe–18Cr–10Mn–N austenitic stainless steel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moon, Joonoh; Ha, Heon-Young; Lee, Tae-Ho

2013-01-01

The pitting corrosion and interphase corrosion behaviors in high heat input welded heat-affected zone (HAZ) of a metastable high-nitrogen Fe–18Cr–10Mn–N austenitic stainless steel were explored through electrochemical tests. The HAZs were simulated using Gleeble simulator with high heat input welding condition of 300 kJ/cm and the peak temperature of the HAZs was changed from 1200 °C to 1350 °C, aiming to examine the effect of δ-ferrite formation on corrosion behavior. The electrochemical test results show that both pitting corrosion resistance and interphase corrosion resistance were seriously deteriorated by δ-ferrite formation in the HAZ and their aspects were different with increasing δ-ferrite fraction. The pitting corrosion resistance was decreased by the formation of Cr-depleted zone along δ-ferrite/austenite (γ) interphase resulting from δ-ferrite formation; however it didn't depend on δ-ferrite fraction. The interphase corrosion resistance depends on the total amount of Cr-depleted zone as well as ferrite area and thus continuously decreased with increasing δ-ferrite fraction. The different effects of δ-ferrite fraction on pitting corrosion and interphase corrosion were carefully discussed in terms of alloying elements partitioning in the HAZ based on thermodynamic consideration. - Highlights: • Corrosion behavior in the weld HAZ of high-nitrogen austenitic alloy was studied. • Cr 2 N particle was not precipitated in high heat input welded HAZ of tested alloy. • Pitting corrosion and interphase corrosion show a different behavior. • Pitting corrosion resistance was affected by whether or not δ-ferrite forms. • Interphase corrosion resistance was affected by the total amount of δ-ferrite

Optimal design for laser beam butt welding process parameter using artificial neural networks and genetic algorithm for super austenitic stainless steel

Science.gov (United States)

Sathiya, P.; Panneerselvam, K.; Soundararajan, R.

2012-09-01

Laser welding input parameters play a very significant role in determining the quality of a weld joint. The joint quality can be defined in terms of properties such as weld bead geometry, mechanical properties and distortion. Therefore, mechanical properties should be controlled to obtain good welded joints. In this study, the weld bead geometry such as depth of penetration (DP), bead width (BW) and tensile strength (TS) of the laser welded butt joints made of AISI 904L super austenitic stainless steel were investigated. Full factorial design was used to carry out the experimental design. Artificial Neural networks (ANN) program was developed in MatLab software to establish the relationships between the laser welding input parameters like beam power, travel speed and focal position and the three responses DP, BW and TS in three different shielding gases (Argon, Helium and Nitrogen). The established models were used for optimizing the process parameters using Genetic Algorithm (GA). Optimum solutions for the three different gases and their respective responses were obtained. Confirmation experiment has also been conducted to validate the optimized parameters obtained from GA.

Comparison of critical circumferential through-wall-crack-lengths in welds between pieces of straight pipes to welds between straigth pipes and bends with and without internal pressure at force- and displacement-controlled bending load; Vergleich kritischer Umfangsdurchrisslaengen in Schweissnaehten zwischen Geradrohrstuecken mit Schweissnaehten an Rohrbogen-Geradrohrverbindungen mit und ohne Innendruck bei kraft- und wegkontrollierter Biegebelastung

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Steinbuch, R [Fachhochschule fuer Technik und Wirtschaft Reutlingen (Germany). Fachbereich Maschinenbau

1998-11-01

Methods for calculation of critical, circumferential through-wall crack lengths in pipes have been developed and verified by several research projects. In applications during the last few years it has been found that the force or displacement-controlled loads have to be considered separately, and this approach was integrated into the recent methods. Methods so far assumed cracks to be located in welds joining straight pipes. But this approach starts from an incomplete picture of reality, as with today`s technology, circumferential welds are less frequent in straight pipes and much more frequent in pipework of other geometry, as for instance in welds joining straight pipes and bends, or bends with longer legs, nozzles, or T-pieces. The non-linear FEM parameter study presented in the paper, covering cases with internal pressure of pipes and one-dimensional bending loads, is based on current geometries of pipework in the primary and secondary loops of industrial plants and compares the conditions induced by circumferential through-wall cracks in welds joining only straight pipes and in those joining bended and straight pipes. At the relevant, displacement-controlled bending loads due to hampered thermal expansion of the pipe system, the critical through-wall cracks lengths occurring in pipe-to-bend welds are of about the same size and importance as those in pipe-to-pipe welds. As for the case of force-controlled loads, the technical codes calculate more serious effects and require lower bending load limits. Within the range of admissible loads given in the codes, the critical through-wall crack lengths occurring in pipe-to-bend welds are similar in size to those in straight pipe welds. It is therefore a conservative or realistic approach to apply the values determined for critical through-wall crack lengths in pipe-to-pipe joints also to pipe-to-bend welds. (orig./CB) [Deutsch] Verfahren zur Berechnung kritischer Umfangdurchrisslaengen in Rohrleitungen wurden in

Mechanical properties of electron beam welds of 316LN austenitic steels at low temperature for ITER gravity support system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, P.Y.; Huo, B.L.; Kuai, K.W.

2007-01-01

The gravity support system in ITER not only sustains magnet system, the vacuum vessel and in-vessel components, but also endures several large forces, such as electromagnetic force, thermal load and seismic loads. Based on the ITER design report, the maximum displacement of the gravity support system is estimated to be 32 mm in radial direction at the top flange of the flexible plates during the TF coil cool down from room temperature to 80 k. Welds are located in the peak stress region and subject to cyclic loads in the top flange is a potential problem. Therefore, the mechanical properties of the welds are extremely important for this system. 316LN austenitic stainless steel has been selected as the gravity support structure materials. However, there is still lack of the related mechanical data of the welding components of 316LN stainless steel at present. In this study, we are systematically investigated the mechanical properties of the welding components at low temperature. (authors)

75 FR 27987 - Certain Welded Stainless Steel Pipes From the Republic of Korea: Final Results of Antidumping...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-05-19

... Republic of Korea (Korea). This review covers one producer/exporter of the subject merchandise to the... Steel Pipes From the Republic of Korea: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review AGENCY... WSSP from Korea. See Certain Welded Stainless Steel Pipes from the Republic of Korea: Preliminary...

76 FR 68208 - Circular Welded Carbon-Quality Steel Pipe From India, Oman, United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-11-03

... (Preliminary)] Circular Welded Carbon-Quality Steel Pipe From India, Oman, United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam... carbon-quality steel pipe from India, Oman, United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam, provided for in... Governments of India, Oman, United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam. Unless the Department of Commerce extends the...

Experimental Analysis of Residual Stresses in Samples of Austenitic Stainless Steel Welded on Martensitic Stainless Steel Used for Kaplan Blades Repairs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vasile Cojocaru

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Residual stresses occur in materials as a result of mechanical processes: welding, machining, grinding etc. If residual stresses reach high values they can accelerate the occurrence of cracks and erosion of material. An experimental research was made in order to study the occurrence of residual stresses in the repaired areas of hydraulic turbine components damaged by cavitation erosion. An austenitic stainless steel was welded in various layer thicknesses on a martensitic stainless steel base. The residual stresses were determined using the hole drilling strain gage method.

Experimental and numerical approach on fracture behaviour of four inches diameter carbon-manganese cracked welded pipes in four point bending

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Semete, P.; Faidy, C.; Lautier, J.L.

2001-01-01

EDF has conducted a research programme to demonstrate the fracture resistance of carbon-manganese welded pipes. The main task of this programme consisted of testing three four inches diameter (114.3 mm O.D.) thin welded pipes (8.56 mm thick) which are representative of those of the sites. The three pipes were loaded under four point bending at a quasi-static rate at -20 C till their maximum bending moment was reached. This paper presents the experimental results, finite element calculations and their comparison with the simplified fracture assessment method of the RSE-M Code. (author)

Development of the simplified local stress analysis methodology for the nuclear class 2 and 3 piping welded to the seal plate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Dae Hee; Park, Jun Soo; Jeong, Seung Ha; Kim, Jong Min; Eom, Se Yoon

1996-06-01

Lugs, brackets, stiffeners and other attachments may be welded, bolted and studded to the outside or inside of piping and the local stresses arise because of the radial thermal expansion of the piping, the dilatation of the piping due to its internal pressure, the circumferential contraction of the pipe as a results of an axial tensile force, etc., constrained by those. So the evaluation of the local stress for the piping constrained by the attachment in accordance with the ASME Section III, NB-3651.3, NC-3645 and ND-3645 are required for the Class 1, 2, and 3 piping. In this report, the formula for the local stress analysis for the piping welded to the seal plate was developed and the results from the theoretical analysis were compared with the results from the theoretical analysis were compared with the results analyzed by the ANSYS. The results from the theoretical analysis agree well to the results analyzed by the ANSYS with a conservatism. The conservatism in the theoretical analysis can be considered as a safety factor in the design stage. So, the formula developed in this report can be used very effectively for the design of the seal plate and the local stress analysis of the nuclear class 2 and 3 piping welded to the seal plate. 2 tabs., 7 figs., 5 refs. (Author) .new

Meeting the difficulties of an ASME calibration for pipe welds

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ginzel, E., E-mail: eginzel@mri.on.ca [Materials Research Inst., Waterloo, Ontario (Canada); Ginzel, R.; Buchholz, J., E-mail: rginzel@eclipsescientific.com [Eclipse Scientific, Waterloo, Ontario (Canada)

2013-11-15

The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Boiler and Pressure Vessel code Section V deals with Non-Destructive Testing (NDT). In North America the use of ASME Sec. V is not always limited to just ASME regulated projects. Even such seemingly unrelated Standards as CSA Z662 (the Canadian construction standard for Oil and Gas Pipeline Systems) references this document for some aspects of the NDT. ASME has several codes that are dedicated to piping welds, for example ASME 31.1, 31.3 and 31.8. All of them reference back to ASME Section V Article 4 for the accepted techniques to use when UT is the examination option, but sometimes ASME is not very helpful. As they try to leave options open in one area they close the doors in others, or so it seems when reading the clauses as mandatory where you see the word 'shall'. This paper will attempt to layout the issues with pipe weld inspections as per Article 4, 2011 edition. Like all other codes and standards, ASME is a regulated standard that is regularly reviewed and updated, and one must be careful to reference the year of the edition being used. For the purposes of this paper we have used the 2010/11 edition. (author)

Meeting the difficulties of an ASME calibration for pipe welds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ginzel, E.; Ginzel, R.; Buchholz, J.

2013-01-01

The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Boiler and Pressure Vessel code Section V deals with Non-Destructive Testing (NDT). In North America the use of ASME Sec. V is not always limited to just ASME regulated projects. Even such seemingly unrelated Standards as CSA Z662 (the Canadian construction standard for Oil and Gas Pipeline Systems) references this document for some aspects of the NDT. ASME has several codes that are dedicated to piping welds, for example ASME 31.1, 31.3 and 31.8. All of them reference back to ASME Section V Article 4 for the accepted techniques to use when UT is the examination option, but sometimes ASME is not very helpful. As they try to leave options open in one area they close the doors in others, or so it seems when reading the clauses as mandatory where you see the word 'shall'. This paper will attempt to layout the issues with pipe weld inspections as per Article 4, 2011 edition. Like all other codes and standards, ASME is a regulated standard that is regularly reviewed and updated, and one must be careful to reference the year of the edition being used. For the purposes of this paper we have used the 2010/11 edition. (author)

The Microstructure and Pitting Resistance of Weld Joints of 2205 Duplex Stainless Steel

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Mingfang; Liu, Fei; Pu, Juan; Anderson, Neil E.; Li, Leijun; Liu, Dashuang

2017-11-01

2205 duplex stainless steel (DSS) was welded by submerged arc welding. The effects of both heat input and groove type on the ferrite/austenite ratio and elemental diffusion of weld joints were investigated. The relationships among welding joint preparation, ferrite/austenite ratio, elemental diffusion, and pitting corrosion resistance of weld joints were analyzed. When the Ni content of the weld wire deposit was at minimum 2-4% higher than that of 2205 DSS base metal, the desired ratio of ferrite/austenite and elemental partitioning between the austenite and ferrite phases were obtained. While the pitting sensitivity of weld metal was higher than that of base metal, the self-healing capability of the passive film of weld metal was better than that of the base metal when a single V-type groove was used. Furthermore, the heat input should be carefully controlled since pitting corrosion occurred readily in the coarse-grained heat-affected zone near the fusion line of welded joints.

Residual stresses and their mechanisms of production at circumferential weld by heat-sink welding

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ueda, Yukio; Nakacho, Keiji; Ohkubo, Katsumi; Shimizu, Tsubasa.

1983-01-01

In the previous report, the authors showed effectiveness of the heat-sink welding (water cooling) to accomplish this end by conducting theoretical analysis and an experiment on residual stresses in the 4B pipe of SUS 304 by the conventional welding and the heat-sink welding at a certain standard heat-input condition. In this research, different pipe sizes and varied heat-input are applied. The welding residual stresses by the conventional welding and the heat-sink welding are obtained by the theoretical analysis and their production mechanisms are clarified. Hence the influence of the above changes of conditions on effectiveness of the heat-sink welding is investigated. The main results are summarized as follow. (1) In case of this pipes such as 2B and 4B pipes, it is important to minimize heat-input per one pass (especially for latter half passes) in order to improve the effectiveness of the heat-sink welding. The effectiveness can be predicted either by theoretical analysis of the temperature distribution history with consideration of the characteristic of heat transfer under spray-watering or by experimental measurement. (2) In case of 24B pipes, thick pipes, it is desirable to minimize heat-input for the first half passes, by which the heat-sink welding becomes more effective. In addition, no matter whether the conventional welding or the heat-sink welding, it is important to prevent angular distorsion which produces tensile axial stresses on the inner surface of the pipe in the weld zone. Possible measures to meet these requirements are to apply restraining jigs, to minimize the section area of the groove (ex. application of the narrow gap arc welding), and to change continuous welding to skip one. (J.P.N.)

77 FR 73015 - Circular Welded Non-Alloy Steel Pipe From the Republic of Korea: Preliminary Results of...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-12-07

... Steel Pipe From the Republic of Korea: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review... antidumping duty order on circular welded non-alloy steel pipe (CWP) from the Republic of Korea (Korea). The... preliminarily found that one respondent has made sales of the subject merchandise at prices below normal value...

Ultrasonic inspection of liquid-metal-filled austenitic stainless steel piping welds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mech, S.J.; Martin, J.D.

1982-01-01

The goal of this effort is to reliably detect a crack extending 25 to 50% through the wall of Schedule 40 sodium filled pipe at refueling temperatures (204 0 C [400 0 F]) using remote examination techniques. The task of demonstrating a prototype ultrasonic ISI system under simulated refueling conditions was laid out in two phases. The first phase was initiation of long-lead efforts which were key elements of a practical prototype system, including ultrasonic signal analysis efforts and laboratory prototype support systems. The second phase, dependent on successful completion of the first, consisted of development and demonstration of a prototype system in a simulated ISI environment

Effects of distance from center of a weld to fixed end on residual stress and stress intensity factor of a piping weld. Evaluation of SCC growth under residual stress field. Report 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miyazaki, Katsumasa; Numata, Masanori; Saito, Koichi; Mochizuki, Masahito

2006-01-01

The fixed conditions of butt welds between straight pipe and valve or pump in the actual piping system are different from those of straight pipes. However, the effect of fixed condition on the residual stress and the stress intensity factor for evaluation of structural integrity of cracked piping was not clear. In this study, the finite element analyses were conducted by considering the differences in the distance from the center of weld to the fixed end L to clarify the effect of fixed condition on the residual stress and the stress intensity factor. For the 600 A piping, the axial residual stress distribution was not affected by the distance L. Furthermore, the stress intensity factor of circumferential crack under the residual stress field with fixed condition could be estimated by using the existing simplified solution for piping. (author)

Residual stress measurement of large scaled welded pipe using neutron diffraction method. Effect of SCC crack propagation and repair weld on residual stress distribution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suzuki, Hiroshi; Katsuyama, Jinya; Tobita, Tohru; Morii, Yukio

2011-01-01

The RESA-1 neutron engineering diffractometer in the JRR-3 (Japan Research Reactor No.3) at the Japan Atomic Energy Agency, which is used for stress measurements, was upgraded to realize residual stress measurements of large scaled mechanical components. A series of residual stress measurements was made to obtain through-thickness residual stress distributions in a Type 304 stainless steel butt-welded pipe of 500A-sch.80 using the upgraded RESA-1 diffractometer. We evaluated effects of crack propagation such as stress corrosion cracking (SCC) and a part-circumference repair weld on the residual stress distributions induced by girth welding. Measured residual stress distributions near original girth weld revealed good agreement with typical results shown in some previous works using finite element method, deep hole drilling as well as neutron diffraction. After introducing a mock crack with 10 mm depth in the heat affected zone on the inside wall of the pipe by electro discharge machining, the axial residual stresses were found to be released in the part of the mock crack. However, changes in the through-wall bending stress component and the self-equilibrated stress component were negligible and hence the axial residual stress distribution in the ligament was remained in the original residual stresses near girth weld without the mock crack. Furthermore, changes in hoop and radial residual stress were also small. The residual stress distributions after a part repair welding on the outer circumference of the girth weld were significantly different from residual stress distributions near the original girth weld. The through-thickness average axial residual stress was increased due to increase of the tensile membrane stress and mitigation of the bending stress after repair welding. Throughout above studies, we evidenced that the neutron diffraction technique is useful and powerful tool for measuring residual stress distributions in large as well as thick mechanical

Study on laser welding of austenitic stainless steel by varying incident angle of pulsed laser beam

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Nikhil; Mukherjee, Manidipto; Bandyopadhyay, Asish

2017-09-01

In the present work, AISI 304 stainless steel sheets are laser welded in butt joint configuration using a robotic control 600 W pulsed Nd:YAG laser system. The objective of the work is of twofold. Firstly, the study aims to find out the effect of incident angle on the weld pool geometry, microstructure and tensile property of the welded joints. Secondly, a set of experiments are conducted, according to response surface design, to investigate the effects of process parameters, namely, incident angle of laser beam, laser power and welding speed, on ultimate tensile strength by developing a second order polynomial equation. Study with three different incident angle of laser beam 89.7 deg, 85.5 deg and 83 deg has been presented in this work. It is observed that the weld pool geometry has been significantly altered with the deviation in incident angle. The weld pool shape at the top surface has been altered from semispherical or nearly spherical shape to tear drop shape with decrease in incident angle. Simultaneously, planer, fine columnar dendritic and coarse columnar dendritic structures have been observed at 89.7 deg, 85.5 deg and 83 deg incident angle respectively. Weld metals with 85.5 deg incident angle has higher fraction of carbide and δ-ferrite precipitation in the austenitic matrix compared to other weld conditions. Hence, weld metal of 85.5 deg incident angle achieved higher micro-hardness of ∼280 HV and tensile strength of 579.26 MPa followed by 89.7 deg and 83 deg incident angle welds. Furthermore, the predicted maximum value of ultimate tensile strength of 580.50 MPa has been achieved for 85.95 deg incident angle using the developed equation where other two optimum parameter settings have been obtained as laser power of 455.52 W and welding speed of 4.95 mm/s. This observation has been satisfactorily validated by three confirmatory tests.

76 FR 77770 - Certain Circular Welded Non-Alloy Steel Pipe From Mexico: Final Results of Antidumping Duty...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-12-14

... previous review or the original less-than-fair-value (LTFV) investigation, the cash deposit rate will... Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Circular Welded Non-Alloy Steel Pipe From Mexico, 57 FR 42953... structural pipe tubing used for framing and support members for reconstruction or load-bearing purposes in...

Development of Weld Metal Microstructures in Pulsed Laser Welding of Duplex Stainless Steel

Science.gov (United States)

Mirakhorli, F.; Malek Ghaini, F.; Torkamany, M. J.

2012-10-01

The microstructure of the weld metal of a duplex stainless steel made with Nd:YAG pulsed laser is investigated at different travel speeds and pulse frequencies. In terms of the solidification pattern, the weld microstructure is shown to be composed of two distinct zones. The presence of two competing heat transfer channels to the relatively cooler base metal and the relatively hotter previous weld spot is proposed to develop two zones. At high overlapping factors, an array of continuous axial grains at the weld centerline is formed. At low overlapping factors, in the zone of higher cooling rate, a higher percentage of ferrite is transformed to austenite. This is shown to be because with extreme cooling rates involved in pulsed laser welding with low overlapping, the ferrite-to-austenite transformation can be limited only to the grain boundaries.

Residual stress improvement in multi-layer welded plates using water-shower cooling during welding process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yanagida, Nobuyoshi; Koide, Hiroo

2006-01-01

To reduce tensile residual stress in a welded region, we developed a new welding method that applies a water-shower behind the welding torch. When this method is applied to welding of austenitic stainless steel plates, cooling conditions mainly determine how much the residual stress can be reduced. To determine the conditions, we first used FEM to evaluate the effects of interpass temperature on the residual stress. And we found effective conditions for reducing tensile residual stress. To verify the validity of the conditions, specimens welded with or without water shower cooling were manufactured. Residual stresses of the specimens were experimentally measured. It was found that tensile residual stresses were generated on the surface of the welds and those were reduced in the case that the water-shower was applied. These measurement results agree well with the FEM analyses. It can therefore be concluded that the water-shower cooling during welding is appropriate for reducing tensile residual stress in austenitic stainless steel welding. (author)

75 FR 1335 - Circular Welded Carbon Steel Pipes and Tubes from Taiwan; Extension of Time Limit for Preliminary...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-11

... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE International Trade Administration [A-583-008] Circular Welded Carbon Steel... review of the antidumping duty order on circular welded carbon steel pipes and tubes from Taiwan.\\1\\ On... review within the original time frame because we require additional time to obtain information from the...

Weld solidification cracking in 304 to 304L stainless steel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hochanadel, Patrick W [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Lienert, Thomas J [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Martinez, Jesse N [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Martinez, Raymond J [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Johnson, Matthew Q [Los Alamos National Laboratory

2010-01-01

A series of annulus welds were made between 304 and 304L stainless steel coaxial tubes using both pulsed laser beam welding (LBW) and pulsed gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW). In this application, a change in process from pulsed LBW to pulsed gas tungsten arc welding was proposed to limit the possibility of weld solidification cracking since weldability diagrams developed for GTAW display a greater range of compositions that are not crack susceptible relative to those developed for pulsed LBW. Contrary to the predictions of the GTAW weldability diagram, cracking was found. This result was rationalized in terms of the more rapid solidification rate of the pulsed gas tungsten arc welds. In addition, for the pulsed LBW conditions, the material compositions were predicted to be, by themselves, 'weldable' according to the pulsed LBW weldability diagram. However, the composition range along the tie line connecting the two compositions passed through the crack susceptible range. Microstructurally, the primary solidification mode (PSM) of the material processed with higher power LBW was determined to be austenite (A), while solidification mode of the materials processed with lower power LBW apparently exhibited a dual PSM of both austenite (A) and ferrite-austenite (FA) within the same weld. The materials processed by pulsed GT A W showed mostly primary austenite solidification, with some regions of either primary austenite-second phase ferrite (AF) solidification or primary ferrite-second phase austenite (FA) solidification. This work demonstrates that variations in crack susceptibility may be realized when welding different heats of 'weldable' materials together, and that slight variations in processing can also contribute to crack susceptibility.

Weld solidification cracking in 304 to 204L stainless steel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hochanadel, Patrick W [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Lienert, Thomas J [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Martinez, Jesse N [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Johnson, Matthew Q [Los Alamos National Laboratory

2010-09-15

A series of annulus welds were made between 304 and 304L stainless steel coaxial tubes using both pulsed laser beam welding (LBW) and pulsed gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW). In this application, a change in process from pulsed LBW to pulsed gas tungsten arc welding was proposed to limit the possibility of weld solidification cracking since weldability diagrams developed for GTAW display a greater range of compositions that are not crack susceptible relative to those developed for pulsed LBW. Contrary to the predictions of the GTAW weldability diagram, cracking was found.This result was rationalized in terms of the more rapid solidification rate of the pulsed gas tungsten arc welds. In addition, for the pulsed LBW conditions, the material compositions were predicted to be, by themselves, 'weldable' according to the pulsed LBW weldability diagram. However, the composition range along the tie line connecting the two compositions passed through the crack susceptible range. Microstructurally, the primary solidification mode (PSM) of the material processed with higher power LBW was determined to be austenite (A), while solidification mode of the materials processed with lower power LBW apparently exhibited a dual PSM of both austenite (A) and ferrite-austenite (FA) within the same weld. The materials processed by pulsed GTAW showed mostly primary austenite solidification, with some regions of either primary austenite-second phase ferrite (AF) solidification or primary ferrite-second phase austenite (FA) solidification. This work demonstrates that variations in crack susceptibility may be realized when welding different heats of 'weldable' materials together, and that slight variations in processing can also contribute to crack susceptibility.

Characterization of microstructure and texture across dissimilar super duplex/austenitic stainless steel weldment joint by super duplex filler metal

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Eghlimi, Abbas, E-mail: a.eghlimi@ma.iut.ac.ir [Department of Materials Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan 84156-83111 (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Shamanian, Morteza [Department of Materials Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan 84156-83111 (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Eskandarian, Masoomeh [Department of Materials Engineering, Shiraz University, Shiraz 71348-51154 (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Zabolian, Azam [Department of Natural Resources, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan 84156-83111 (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Szpunar, Jerzy A. [Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon SK S7N 5A9 (Canada)

2015-08-15

In the present paper, microstructural changes across an as-welded dissimilar austenitic/duplex stainless steel couple welded by a super duplex stainless steel filler metal using gas tungsten arc welding process is characterized with optical microscopy and electron back-scattered diffraction techniques. Accordingly, variations of microstructure, texture, and grain boundary character distribution of base metals, heat affected zones, and weld metal were investigated. The results showed that the weld metal, which was composed of Widmanstätten austenite side-plates and allotriomorphic grain boundary austenite morphologies, had the weakest texture and was dominated by low angle boundaries. The welding process increased the ferrite content but decreased the texture intensity at the heat affected zone of the super duplex stainless steel base metal. In addition, through partial ferritization, it changed the morphology of elongated grains of the rolled microstructure to twinned partially transformed austenite plateaus scattered between ferrite textured colonies. However, the texture of the austenitic stainless steel heat affected zone was strengthened via encouraging recrystallization and formation of annealing twins. At both interfaces, an increase in the special character coincident site lattice boundaries of the primary phase as well as a strong texture with <100> orientation, mainly of Goss component, was observed. - Graphical abstract: Display Omitted - Highlights: • Weld metal showed local orientation at microscale but random texture at macroscale. • Intensification of <100> orientated grains was observed adjacent to the fusion lines. • The austenite texture was weaker than that of the ferrite in all duplex regions. • Welding caused twinned partially transformed austenites to form at SDSS HAZ. • At both interfaces, the ratio of special CSL boundaries of the primary phase increased.

Strain measurements at the HDR-pipe-system under LOCA-load: Effects on elbows and displaced weldings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hunger, H.

1985-01-01

This paper characterizes some effects which have been detected during strain gauge measurements on a test piping with feed water check valve oscillating under blowdown-load. The ovalization of a pipe elbow subjected to in-plane-bending affects the connected straight pipe; this is shown by means of circumferential stresses. Very high LOCA-load produces plastic strain and changes the pipe dynamics. Artificial displaced welds increase the local strain but no defects have occurred. One example compares stresses from measurement and post-calculation. Moreover there are given some remarks on the optimization of the comparison of measurement and calculation. (orig.)

Heat Transfer Modeling of an Annular On-Line Spray Water Cooling Process for Electric-Resistance-Welded Steel Pipe.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Zejun; Han, Huiquan; Ren, Wei; Huang, Guangjie

2015-01-01

On-line spray water cooling (OSWC) of electric-resistance-welded (ERW) steel pipes can replace the conventional off-line heat treatment process and become an important and critical procedure. The OSWC process improves production efficiency, decreases costs, and enhances the mechanical properties of ERW steel pipe, especially the impact properties of the weld joint. In this paper, an annular OSWC process is investigated based on an experimental simulation platform that can obtain precise real-time measurements of the temperature of the pipe, the water pressure and flux, etc. The effects of the modes of annular spray water cooling and related cooling parameters on the mechanical properties of the pipe are investigated. The temperature evolutions of the inner and outer walls of the pipe are measured during the spray water cooling process, and the uniformity of mechanical properties along the circumferential and longitudinal directions is investigated. A heat transfer coefficient model of spray water cooling is developed based on measured temperature data in conjunction with simulation using the finite element method. Industrial tests prove the validity of the heat transfer model of a steel pipe undergoing spray water cooling. The research results can provide a basis for the industrial application of the OSWC process in the production of ERW steel pipes.

Heat Transfer Modeling of an Annular On-Line Spray Water Cooling Process for Electric-Resistance-Welded Steel Pipe

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Zejun; Han, Huiquan; Ren, Wei; Huang, Guangjie

2015-01-01

On-line spray water cooling (OSWC) of electric-resistance-welded (ERW) steel pipes can replace the conventional off-line heat treatment process and become an important and critical procedure. The OSWC process improves production efficiency, decreases costs, and enhances the mechanical properties of ERW steel pipe, especially the impact properties of the weld joint. In this paper, an annular OSWC process is investigated based on an experimental simulation platform that can obtain precise real-time measurements of the temperature of the pipe, the water pressure and flux, etc. The effects of the modes of annular spray water cooling and related cooling parameters on the mechanical properties of the pipe are investigated. The temperature evolutions of the inner and outer walls of the pipe are measured during the spray water cooling process, and the uniformity of mechanical properties along the circumferential and longitudinal directions is investigated. A heat transfer coefficient model of spray water cooling is developed based on measured temperature data in conjunction with simulation using the finite element method. Industrial tests prove the validity of the heat transfer model of a steel pipe undergoing spray water cooling. The research results can provide a basis for the industrial application of the OSWC process in the production of ERW steel pipes. PMID:26201073

Automatization of welding

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iwabuchi, Masashi; Tomita, Jinji; Nishihara, Katsunori.

1978-01-01

Automatization of welding is one of the effective measures for securing high degree of quality of nuclear power equipment, as well as for correspondence to the environment at the site of plant. As the latest ones of the automatic welders practically used for welding of nuclear power apparatuses in factories of Toshiba and IHI, those for pipes and lining tanks are described here. The pipe welder performs the battering welding on the inside of pipe end as the so-called IGSCC countermeasure and the succeeding butt welding through the same controller. The lining tank welder is able to perform simultaneous welding of two parallel weld lines on a large thin plate lining tank. Both types of the welders are demonstrating excellent performance at the shops as well as at the plant site. (author)

Numeric ultrasonic image processing method: application to non-destructive testing of stainless austenitic steel welds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Corneloup, G.

1988-09-01

A bibliographic research on the means used to improve the ultrasonic inspection of heterogeneous materials such as stainless austenitic steel welds has shown, taking into account the first analysis, a signal assembly in the form of an image (space, time) which carries an original solution to fault detection in highly noisy environments. A numeric grey-level ultrasonic image processing detection method is proposed based on the research of a certain determinism, in the way which the ultrasonic image evolves in space and time in the presence of a defect: the first criterion studies the horizontal stability of the gradients in the image and the second takes into account the time-transient nature of the defect echo. A very important rise in the signal-to-noise ratio obtained in welding inspections evidencing defects (real and artificial) is shown with the help of a computerized ultrasonic image processing/management system, developed for this application [fr

Stress relief cracking by relaxation in austenitic stainless steels welded junctions; Fissuration differee par relaxation des jonctions soudes en aciers inoxydables austenitiques

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Allais, L.; Auzoux, Q.; Chabaud-Reytier, M

2003-07-01

During service at high temperature (450 to 650 C), austenitic stainless steels are well known to present a risk of cracking near the welded junctions for times under the service life. This intergranular cracking in affected zones has been identified on titanium stabilized steels and is known as relief cracking by relaxation or reheat cracking. In order to control this cracking of welded junctions on titanium stabilized stainless steel AISI 321, a simulation of the affected zone has been realized. The results have been extended to non stabilized steels. (A.L.B.)

Weldability of newly developed austenitic alloy for cryogenic service

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ogawa, T.; Koseki, T.

1986-01-01

The testing reported in this paper involved typical steels of the new grades such as STEEL-A (0.025C-14Ni-25Cr-0.35N), STEEL-B (0.04C-23Mn-13Cr-0.22N) and STEEL-C (0.20C-25Mn-5Cr), and commercial steels of Type 300 series. Weldments were made mainly using the GTAW, SMAW and SAW processes with experimental and commercial filler metals. Strength and toughness of weldments were examined at 77 K (-321 0 F) and 4 K. The strengthening of material through the addition of nitrogen was far greater in the weld metal that in the base metal at cryogenic temperature. In fact, 0.2% proof stress of weld metals bearging 0.20% to 0.40% nitrogen at 77 K exhibited a higher value by 60 to 150 MPa (8,740 to 21,760 psi) than that of the base metal. Impact absorbed energy of weld metals at 77 K decreased rapidly with nitrogen content, 60-90 J at 0.20%N to 20-50J at 0.35% N. Rather high impact absorbed energy was obtained when the weld metal solidified as primary austenitic phase, resulting in fully austenitic microstructure or austenite-eutectic ferrite mixture at ambient temperature. In addition, oxide inclusions, the number of which strongly depends on welding processes, were detrimental to toughness of weld metals at cryogenic temperature

Life prediction of repaired welds in a pressurised CrMoV pipe with incorporation of initial damage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hyde, T.H.; Sun, W.; Becker, A.A.; Williams, J.A.

2004-01-01

Creep damage FE modelling was performed for fully and partially repaired, thick-walled, circumferential pipe weldments, in which initial damage was incorporated into the calculations to take account of the material degradation of the aged materials. The pipe welds were subjected to a realistic internal pressure and axial loading, the latter of which is allowed to vary within the range allowed by design codes. The material properties used are related to a CrMoV weldment at 640 deg. C. The initial damage distribution was numerically determined using an established procedure. A full post weld heat treatment is assumed to be carried out and the effects of welding induced residual stresses were neglected. The results obtained cover a number of initial damage levels, magnitudes of axial load, and repair excavation depth. On this basis, the sensitivities of the failure life of the repaired welds to these important factors can be evaluated. It was found that both the peak initial damage and the total life are very sensitive to the repair time, particularly when system load is high. The effect of the repair depth for depth: thickness ratios ≥0.5 is generally small for these loadings. There could be a significant benefit if the initial damage in the HAZ of the repair weld, which could be relatively high when the repair time is relatively large, could be reduced by repair welding or by post weld heat treatment

Remote-controlled welding during replacement of components and piping

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Faeser, K.; Huemmeler, A.; Pellkofer, D.

1986-01-01

Only on the basis of a thorough fundamental knowledge of nuclear power stations in general and the relevant codes and regulations in particular can extended repair measures, such as the replacement of components or pipelines, be planned and prepared. The application of effective decontamination procedures and shielding measures and a high degree of mechanization of the machining and welding operations will lead to a drastic reduction of the radiation load to which the personnel is exposed. By using highly sophisticated pipe assembling and welding systems the exposure period can be minimized. At the same time a very high level of quality is being reached. The close adherence to the schedule of individual detail operations confirms and justifies the necessity of thorough planning and training of personnel. It may be assumed that in the field of nuclear engineering some pioneer work has been done that will have a stimulating effect on other areas with similar or transferable applications. (orig.) [de

Metallurgical phenomena in laser finishing: Interdependences between solidification morphologies and hot cracking in laser welding of mostly austenitic materials. Final reportc; Metallkundliche Phaenomene der Laserstrahlmaterialbearbeitung. Teilvorhaben: Zusammenhaenge zwischen Erstarrungsmorphologien und Heissrissentstehung beim Laserschweissen von vornehmlich austenitischen Werkstoffen. Abschlussbericht

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schobbert, H.

2000-06-01

Austentic stainless steels are widely used in safety relevant applications such as chemical plant industry or off-shore industry. Due to the rapid development of laser welding processes, the economical efficiency increases and leads to a growing interest in industry for the production of, for example, straight bead welded pipes. A specific problem of laser welding is the economically desirable high welding speed, which leads in austenitic stainless steels to a change of solidification mode and thus, to a restricted hot cracking resistance. Thus, the solidification morphologies of austenitic stainless steels near the eutectic trough during laser welding were investigated. Thereby, the main aspect was the evaluation of a short-term metallurgical kinetic effects under rapid solidification conditions. It was proven that three widely used stainless steels (1.4828, 1.4306, and 1.4404) show a transition of primary solidifcation mode from primary ferritic to primary austenitic solidification depending on the solidification rate. The approximate value of the critical soldification rate can be determined using a newly developed model by analyzing the geometric structures of solidification. The critical solidification rate for the transition of the solidification mode depends on the chemical composition of the base metal. It was shown that austenitic stainless steels have a critical solidification rate of approximately 1 m/min. As a main result, it was proven that a transition of the solidification mode to primary austenitic solidification promotes the predicted susceptibiliyy of hot cracking. For this, a hot cracking test assembly has been developed in order to determine the hot cracking behavior under laser beam conditions. In contrast to existing hot crack tests, a critical strain rate for hot crack initiation could be measured. A classification of the materials with respect to their hot cracking susceptibility under the solidification conditions during laser welding can

Inspection technology for high pressure pipes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Jae H.; Lee, Jae C.; Eum, Heung S.; Choi, Yu R.; Moon, Soon S.; Jang, Jong H

2000-02-01

Various kinds of defects are likely to be occurred in the welds of high pressure pipes in nuclear power plants. Considering the recent accident of Zuruga nuclear power plant in Japan, reasonable policy is strongly requested for the high pressure pipe integrity. In this study, we developed the technologies to inspect pipe welds automatically. After development of scanning robot prototype in the first research year, we developed and implemented the algorithm of automatic tracking of the scanning robot along the weld line of the pipes. We use laser slit beam on weld area and capture the image using digital camera. Through processing of the captures image, we finally determine the weld line automatically. In addition, we investigated a new technology on micro systems for developing micro scanning robotic inspection of the pipe welds. The technology developed in this study is being transferred to the industry. (author)

75 FR 44763 - Certain Circular Welded Non-Alloy Steel Pipe From Mexico; Extension of Time Limit for Preliminary...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-29

...-Alloy Steel Pipe From Mexico; Extension of Time Limit for Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty... review of the antidumping duty order on certain circular welded non- alloy steel pipe from Mexico. We... preliminary results of this review within the original time frame because we require additional time with...

Numerical investigation on residual stress distribution and evolution during multipass narrow gap welding of thick-walled stainless steel pipes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, C.; Zhang, J.X.; Xue, C.B.

2011-01-01

Research highlights: → We performed pass-by-pass simulation of stresses for welding of thick-walled pipes. → The distributions and evolution of the residual stresses are demonstrated. → After the groove is filled to a height, the through-wall stress is almost unchanged. - Abstracts: The detailed pass-by-pass finite element (FE) simulation is presented to investigate the residual stresses in narrow gap multipass welding of pipes with a wall thickness of 70 mm and 73 weld passes. The simulated residual stress on the outer surface is validated with the experimental one. The distribution and evolution of the through-wall residual stresses are demonstrated. The investigated results show that the residual stresses on the outer and inner surfaces are tensile in the weld zone and its vicinity. The through-wall axial residual stresses at the weld center line and the HAZ line demonstrate a distribution of bending type. The through-wall hoop residual stress within the weld is mostly tensile. After the groove is filled to a certain height, the peak tensile stresses and the stress distribution patterns for both axial and hoop stresses remain almost unchanged.

Evaluation of the strong performance of the circular welded pipe connections with corrosion defects

OpenAIRE

Tarayevskyi, O. S.

2013-01-01

The paper shows the results of experimental studies and the analysis of the impact of long service life of the main gas pipelines, as well as of natural concentrators of stresses on the physical and mechanical p roperties of welded joints of steel 17G1S. A methodology was developed and patterns of gas pipeline welded joint material failure at static and low-frequency loads were established, as well as impact of stress concentrators during prolonged use. Some aspects of the mechanism of pipeli...

Tensile properties of a titanium modified austenitic stainless steel and the weld joints after neutron irradiation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shiba, K.; Ioka, I.; Jitsukawa, S.; Hamada, A.; Hishinuma, A. [and others

1996-10-01

Tensile specimens of a titanium modified austenitic stainless steel and its weldments fabricated with Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) and Electron Beam (EB) welding techniques were irradiated to a peak dose of 19 dpa and a peak helium level of 250 appm in the temperature range between 200 and 400{degrees}C in spectrally tailored capsules in the Oak Ridge Research Reactor (ORR) and the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR). The He/dpa ratio of about 13 appm/dpa is similar to the typical helium/dpa ratio of a fusion reactor environment. The tensile tests were carried out at the irradiation temperature in vacuum. The irradiation caused an increase in yield stress to levels between 670 and 800 MPa depending on the irradiation temperature. Total elongation was reduced to less than 10%, however the specimens failed in a ductile manner. The results were compared with those of the specimens irradiated using irradiation capsules producing larger amount of He. Although the He/dpa ratio affected the microstructural change, the impact on the post irradiation tensile behavior was rather small for not only base metal specimens but also for the weld joint and the weld metal specimens.

Repair welding of cracked steam turbine blades

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bhaduri, A.K.; Gill, T.P.S.; Albert, S.K.; Shanmugam, K.; Iyer, D.R.

1999-01-01

The procedure for repair welding of cracked steam turbine blades made of martensitic stainless steels has been developed using the gas tungsten arc welding process. Weld repair procedures were developed using both ER316L austenitic stainless steel filler wire and ER410 martensitic stainless steel filler wire. The repair welding procedure with austenitic filler wire was developed to avoid preheating of the blade as also hydrogen induced cold cracking, and involved evaluation of three different austenitic filler wires, viz. ER309L, ER316L and ERNiCr-3. The overall development of the repair welding procedure included selection of welding consumables (for austenitic filler metal), optimisation of post weld heat treatment parameters, selection of suitable method for local pre-heating and post-weld heat treatment (PWHT) of the blades, determination of mechanical properties of weldments in as-welded and PWHT conditions, and microstructural examination. After various trials using different procedures, the procedure of local PWHT using electrical resistance heating on the top surface of the weldment and monitoring the temperature by placing a thermocouple at the bottom of the weld, was found to give the most satisfactory results. A similar procedure was used for preheating while using ER410 filler metal. Mechanical testing of weldments before and after PWHT involved tensile tests at room temperature, face and root bend tests, and microhardness measurements across the fusion line and heat affected zone. During procedure qualification, mock-ups and actual repair welding, dye penetrant testing was used at different stages and where ever possible radiography was carried out. These procedures were developed for repair welding of cracked blades in the low-pressure (LP) steam turbines of Indian nuclear power plants. The procedure with ER316 L filler wire has so far been applied for repair welding of 2 cracked blades (made of AISI 410 SS) of LP steam turbines, while the procedure