Residual macrostresses in a multipass circumferentially butt-welded P91 ferritic steel pipe have been determined numerically and experimentally. The welded joint in a pipe with an outer diameter of 290 mm and a wall thickness of 55 mm is typical of power generation plant components. An axisymmetric thermomechanical finite element model has been used to predict the resulting residual hoop and axial stresses in the welded pipe. The effects of the austenite to martensite phase transformation have been incorporated into the simulation. Residual stresses have been measured using the X-ray diffraction technique along the outer surface of the pipe and using the deep-hole drilling technique through the wall thickness at the center of the weld. Good correlation has been demonstrated between the residual hoop and the axial stresses obtained numerically and experimentally. The paper demonstrates the importance of using a mixed experimental and numerical approach to determine accurately the residual macrostress distribution in welded components.

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In this paper the challenges associated with the determination of within section macrostresses in the non-metallic materials porous reactor core graphites, glasses and thermally grown oxides, will be considered, with respect to the length-scale over which such measurements are required. Examples are briefly presented to demonstrate the capability of the methods selected, which include deep hole drilling and photoluminescence and Raman spectroscopy. These techniques span the length-scale from micro-metres to tens of millimetres. The measured values will be discussed with respect to the confidence with which these techniques may be applied and hence benefits for life/integrity evaluation.