Mechanics Evaluations of Stress Corrosion Cracking for Dissimilar Welds in Nuclear Piping System

원자력 배관 이종금속 용접부 웅력부식균열의 역학적 평가

Fracture mechanics evaluation of stress corrosion cracking (SCC) in the dissimilar metal weld (DMW) for the nuclear piping system is performed; simulating the transition joint of the ferritic nozzle to austenitic safe-end fabricated with the Inconel Alloy A82/182 buttering and welds. Residual stresses in the DMW are computed by the finite element (FE) analyses Then, to investigate the SCC in the weld root under the combined residual and system operation stresses, the fracture mechanics parameters for a semi-elliptical surface crack are evaluated using the finite element alternating method (FEAM). As a result, it is found that the effect of weld residual stresses on the crack-driving forces is dominant, as high as three times or more than the operation stresses.