Future increase in the unit capacity of hydraulic turbines and in hydroelectric-station heads are making it necessary to increase in the turbine-penstock characteristic P x D (product of pressure and penstock diam.), which basically determines the required strength of the penstock material [i, 2]. For the penstocks of modern high-capacity hydraulic turbines, the strength properties of the usual low-carbon and low-alloy steels are practically exhausted because the shell thickness of turbine penstocks in this case reaches critical values (60-70 ram). A further increase in penstock wall thickness is associated with a reduction in the technological and brittle strength of welded joints and the reliability of welded construction, in general, also with a sharp increase in the labor required for assembly and welding work.

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