Evaluation of Residual Stresses in Dissimilar Weld Joints
Abstract
Dissimilar metal joints between pipes of ferritic and austenitic steels are present in primary coolant circuit of pressurized water reactors. Over the last years in particular in USA and Japan, stress corrosion cracks, often associated with weld repairs, have been observed for some dissimilar welds made with an Inconel filler metal. The integrity of this type of components is thus a major safety issue. In this context, the goal of this work is to evaluate the welding residual stresses field for a dissimilar weld joint. A representative bi-metallic tubular weld joint was fabricated and residual stresses profiles in the different weld zones were evaluated by means of the hole drilling and neutron diffraction methods.