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Investigation on effect of thermal aging embrittlement on residual stresses of austenitic stainless steel repair welds in nuclear components subject to seismic loads

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Abstract

This paper presents investigation results on effect of thermal aging embrittlement on residual stresses of austenitic stainless steel repair welds in nuclear components subject to seismic loads. First, the welds on austenitic stainless steel 316L plates were manufactured consisting of the austenitic stainless steel weld metal with the δ—ferrite content sensitive to the thermal aging embrittlement. One of the welds was embrittled via conducting thermal aging acceleration test. Second, validity of finite element weld residual stress analysis was verified by performing finite element residual stress analysis and holedrilling method for the unrepaired welds. Third, effect of the thermal aging embrittlement on the residual stresses of the repair welds was evaluated by comparing the residual stresses according to whether the original welds were thermally embrittled. Last, effect of seismic loads was reviewed for the case where the repair welding was performed on the original welds being thermally embrittled. As a result, it is found that the effect of the thermal aging embrittlement on the residual stresses of the unrepaired welds is insignificant whereas tensile residual stresses of the repair welds increase in proportion to the increase in yield strength at room temperature due to the thermal aging embrittlement. In addition, the residual stresses are significantly mitigated after the seismic loads.

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Abbreviations

J :

J-integral

J ic :

J-integral at crack initiation

P b :

Primary bending stress intensity range

P L :

Primary local membrane stress intensity range

R :

Fracture resistance parameter

Q :

Secondary membrane plus bending stress intensity range

RS 0 :

Residual stresses of the repair welds without the thermal aging embrittlement

RS 1 :

Residual stresses of the repair welds with the thermal aging embrittlement

S m :

Design stress intensity

Δσ b :

Transverse bending stress range

Δσ m :

Transverse membrane stress range

Δσ b-max :

Maximum transverse bending stress

Δσ b-min :

Minimum transverse bending stress

Δσ m-max :

Maximum transverse membrane stress

Δσ m-min :

Minimum transverse membrane stress

ANL:

Argonne national laboratory

API:

American petroleum institute

ARDMs:

Aging-related degradation mechanisms

ASME:

American society of mechanical engineers

ASS:

Austenitic stainless steel

ASTM:

American society for testing and materials

B&PV:

Boiler & pressure vessels

CASS:

Cast austenitic stainless steel

EPRI:

Electric power research institute

EU:

European union

FE:

Finite element

FEA:

Finite element analysis

FFS:

Finite-for-service

GTAW:

Gas tungsten arc welding

HAZ:

Heat affected zone

HDM:

Hold-drilling method

ISI:

In-service inspection

JIP:

Joint industry project

LWR:

Light water reactor

NeT:

Network on neutron techniques standardization for structural integrity

NPPs:

Nuclear power plants

OBE:

Operation basis earthquake

PVRC:

Pressure vessel research council

RSIs:

Residual stress increment

RT:

Room temperature

SSE:

Safe shutdown earthquake

US NRC:

United states nuclear regulatory commission

UTS:

Ultimate tensile strength

WRC:

Welding research council

YS:

Yield strength

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP) (No. 2017152010 1650) and Korea Hydro&Nuclear Power Co. (L18S054000).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nuclear Engineering, Sejong University, Seoul, 05006, Korea

    Jong-Sung Kim

  2. Central Research Institute, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Company, Daejoen, 34101, Korea

    Maan-Won Kim & Jun-Seok Yang

Authors
  1. Jong-Sung Kim
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  2. Maan-Won Kim
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  3. Jun-Seok Yang
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jong-Sung Kim.

Additional information

Recommended by Editor Chongdu Cho

Jong-Sung Kim is an Associate Professor of the Department of Nuclear Engineering, Sejong University, Seoul, Korea. He received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Yonsei University. His research interests include residual stresses, fatigue, fracture, and damage mechanics.

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Kim, JS., Kim, MW. & Yang, JS. Investigation on effect of thermal aging embrittlement on residual stresses of austenitic stainless steel repair welds in nuclear components subject to seismic loads. J Mech Sci Technol 34, 2821–2831 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-020-0615-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-020-0615-4

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