Stress corrosion cracking of low-alloy reactor pressure vessel steels under boiling water reactor conditions

Seifert, Hans-Peter; Ritter, Stefan

doi:10.1016/j.jnucmat.2007.03.048

Cited by 63 publications

(54 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…The cracking was interdendritic (ID)/intergranular (IG) 1 and usually confined to the weld metal. None of the SCC cracks significantly penetrated the adjacent RPV base metal, which is consistent with the very high SCC resistance of LAS under light water reactor conditions [6,7]. Even after post-weld heat treatment (PWHT) significant residual stress is observed in such weld joints (see Appendix A.1) and, in particular in the context of repair welding, and has played a major role in many of these SCC incidents.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 57%

“…In contrast to the relatively high susceptibility of Alloy 182 to SCC growth, lab investigations revealed that LAS and their heat-affected zones (HAZ) have a very high resistance to SCC growth in chloride-free BWR environment at temperatures of 270-290°C up to very high stress intensity factor levels of 50-70 MPa Á m 0.5 (if excessive hardness > 350 HV5 is avoided by proper welding and PWHT parameters) [6,7]. It is stressed that for some very specific combinations of Alloy 182 dissimilar metal weld and cracking configurations, the residual stress can shift the stress intensity factors in the interface region to such high levels that accelerated sustained SCC in the adjacent LAS in high-purity BWR/normal water chemistry (NWC) environment cannot be fully excluded, in particular in high-sulphur LAS.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Environmentally-assisted cracking behaviour in the transition region of an Alloy182/SA 508 Cl.2 dissimilar metal weld joint in simulated boiling water reactor normal water chemistry environment

Seifert¹,

Ritter²,

Shoji³

et al. 2008

Journal of Nuclear Materials

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 57%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmentally-assisted cracking behaviour in the transition region of an Alloy182/SA 508 Cl.2 dissimilar metal weld joint in simulated boiling water reactor normal water chemistry environment

Seifert¹,

Ritter²,

Shoji³

et al. 2008

Journal of Nuclear Materials

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“…Many studies of stress corrosion cracking have also reported the need for concurrent straining and exposure to the corrosive environment, particularly for lower strength materials, e.g. [102,108,109,110].…”

Section: K Jh Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Other studies on rising load tests on hydrogen precharged specimens [111] and on low alloy steels in oxygenated water [109] have interrupted the test and found little or no continued crack growth. In the latter case this was demonstrated with the specimen interrupted and held at constant load, so load relaxation cannot account for the lack of continued crack extension.…”

Section: K Jh Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measurement and interpretation of threshold stress intensity factors for steels in high-pressure hydrogen gas.

Dadfarnia

Nibur²,

Marchi³

et al. 2010

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Threshold stress intensity factors were measured in high-pressure hydrogen gas for a variety of low alloy ferritic steels using both constant crack opening displacement and rising crack opening displacement procedures. The sustained load cracking procedures are generally consistent with those in ASME Article KD-10 of Section VIII Division 3 of the Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, which was recently published to guide design of high-pressure hydrogen vessels. Three definitions of threshold were established for the two test methods: K THi * is the maximum applied stress intensity factor for which no crack extension was observed under constant displacement; 3 K THa is the stress intensity factor at the arrest position for a crack that extended under constant displacement; and K JH is the stress intensity factor at the onset of crack extension under rising displacement. The apparent crack initiation threshold under constant displacement, K THi *, and the crack arrest threshold, K THa , were both found to be non-conservative due to the hydrogen exposure and crack-tip deformation histories associated with typical procedures for sustainedload cracking tests under constant displacement. In contrast, K JH , which is measured under concurrent rising displacement and hydrogen gas exposure, provides a more conservative hydrogen-assisted fracture threshold that is relevant to structural components in which subcritical crack extension is driven by internal hydrogen gas pressure.4 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

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“…8) In some cases, the EAC in boiling/pressurized water reactors (BWR/PWR) occurs in low-alloy steel piping components, such as nozzle safe ends, core shroud support welds and bottom head penetration housings, but rarely in the RPV itself. 9) Consequently, crackrelated problems, such as SCC and corrosion fatigue of dissimilar welds in high-temperature water, have become a major concern in the nuclear industry.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microstructure and Stress Corrosion Cracking Behavior of the Weld Metal in Alloy 52-A508 Dissimilar Welds

et al. 2011

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In the nuclear power industry, dissimilar metal welding is widely used for joining low alloy steel to austenite stainless steel components with nickel-base filler metals. In this study, attention was paid to the weld metal in multi-pass Alloy 52-A508 dissimilar welds. An approximately 2 mm wide transition zone was observed that consisted of a martensitic layer (10$20 um) along the weld interface and the austenite phase region with varying degrees of dilution. After post-weld heat treatment, the microstructures near the weld interface consisted of martensite, carbides and Type II boundaries. The presence of Type II boundaries significantly reduced the resistance to stress corrosion cracking (SCC) and formed intergranular cracking under simulated reactor coolant conditions. Constant extension rate tensile (CERT) tests were performed on the notched tensile specimens in 300 C water at two extension rates, 3 Â 10 À4 and 1 Â 10 À6 mm/s. A fast CERT test can be regarded to have no contribution of corrosion, and its results can be used as standards for comparison. In the slow CERT tests, the ductility losses of round-bar specimens with a circumferential notch at various regions in the weld metal were ranked accordingly. The relative susceptibility to SCC in terms of the ductility loss in increasing order of severity was as follows: the undiluted weld metal, the transition zone and the weld interface. SEM fractographic observations were consistent with the SCC results, i.e., an increased ductility loss or SCC susceptibility was associated with more brittle fractures.

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Stress corrosion cracking of low-alloy reactor pressure vessel steels under boiling water reactor conditions

Cited by 63 publications

References 8 publications

Environmentally-assisted cracking behaviour in the transition region of an Alloy182/SA 508 Cl.2 dissimilar metal weld joint in simulated boiling water reactor normal water chemistry environment

Environmentally-assisted cracking behaviour in the transition region of an Alloy182/SA 508 Cl.2 dissimilar metal weld joint in simulated boiling water reactor normal water chemistry environment

Measurement and interpretation of threshold stress intensity factors for steels in high-pressure hydrogen gas.

Microstructure and Stress Corrosion Cracking Behavior of the Weld Metal in Alloy 52-A508 Dissimilar Welds

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