The continued safe and reliable operation of plant invariably has to consider the assessment of defects in welded structural components. This often requires some estimate of the residual stresses that have developed during the welding fabrication process. Increases in the computational power available to finite element analysts have made the prediction of welding residual stresses using finite element methods an increasingly viable option. Consequently recent years have seen many advances in the field of residual stress modelling. However, relatively little work has been conducted on the accurate modelling of welded ferritic components. This is largely due to the added complications associated with the solid-state phase transformations that occur during the heating and cooling of such steels. Against this background, a programme of work has been undertaken in order to investigate the effects that phase transformations have on the development of residual stresses in ferritic components and develop methods for their simulation. To facilitate this, generic components of increasing complexity are being studied. Reported in this paper is the first phase of this programme which considers SA508 beam specimens. These specimens have been subjected to autogenous TIG welds using two different torch travel speeds. In order to predict the resultant residual stresses, simulations have been conducted using the commercial finite element package SYSWELD. These predicted stresses are then compared with residual stress measurements conducted using the neutron diffraction technique.

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Plants in safety-critical industries comprise of a number of different components, including various sizes of pressure vessels, and their integrity is often paramount to the safe running of the plant. In many cases these vessels can contain highly corrosive liquids, which, over time can lead to a degree of thinning in the vessel walls. With corrosion wall-thinning come a number of issues, including a reduced plastic collapse load of the vessel and possible fatigue initiation from corrosion pits. Since failure of these vessels could lead to catastrophic failure and the escape of highly corrosive material, the assessment and maintenance of these vessels is of high importance. Current Fitness for Service Codes and Standards provide guidance on the assessment of cylinders and pipes with localized wall thinning and general corrosion, with respect to plastic collapse. This guidance, however, is not currently applicable to components with geometric discontinuities (the pressure vessel base-wall junction). This paper follows a preceding paper presented at the ASME PVP Conference 2010 which derived “First Estimate” plastic collapse solutions for flat-based, corroded, pressure vessels. These solutions have been expanded through further finite element studies to accommodate the estimation of plastic collapse in tori-spherical headed pressure vessels subjected to extensive corrosion wall-thinning. Results from this study are presented in graphical form to enable a quick and efficient first estimate of the effect of wall thinning on the collapse pressure to be attained.

A long-term UK research programme on environmentally assisted cracking (EAC), residual stresses [1, 2] and fracture mechanics [3, 4] was launched in 2004. It involves Rolls-Royce plc and Serco Technical Services, supported by UK industry and academia. The residual stress programme is aimed at progressing the understanding of residual stresses and on the basis of this understanding manage how residual stresses affect the structural integrity of plant components. Improved guidance being developed for the treatment of residual stresses in fracture assessments includes the use of stress intensity factor solutions for displacement controlled loading as opposed to the more commonly used load controlled solutions. Potential reductions in crack driving force are also being investigated in relation to (i) utilizing a residual stress field that has “shaken-down” due to operational loads, (ii) introducing a crack progressively as opposed to instantaneously, and (iii) allowing for the fact that a crack may have been initiated during the life of a component as opposed to being present from the start-of-life. This paper describes some of these latest developments in relation to residual stress effects