Abstract
Some of the pressurized reactor pressure vessels used in many chemical plants are made of low alloy carbon steel plates internally clad with an austenitic stainless steel for improved anti-corrosion properties. In this study, metallurgic structure of the weld interface of A 387 Grade12Class1 low alloy carbon steel claded with A182-F321 austenitic stainless steel after thermal exposure simulation heat treatment was investigated to display a characteristic behavior of dissimilar metal weld interface with thermal exposure during service at high temperature and pressure. EPMA, STEM, vickers-hardness test were performed and the results were correlated with the microstructure. To estimate the depth of the carburized/decarburized bands quantitatively, a model for carbon diffusion was proposed. The validity of the proposed theoretical relationships was confirmed by the directly measured data from the welded parts failed during service.
