Residual stress variation due to piping processes of austenitic stainless steel

In nuclear power plants, stress corrosion cracking (SCC) has been observed near the heat affected zone (HAZ) of the primary loop recirculation pipes made of austenitic stainless steel type 316L. Residual stress is a major cause of SCC. In the joining process of pipes, butt-welding is conducted after machining. Machining is performed to match the inside pipe diameter. Residual stress is generated by both machining and welding. In the case of welding after machining in manufacturing processes of pipes, it appears that residual stress due to machining is varied by the welding thermal cycle. In this study, residual stress variation caused by manufacturing processes was investigated. Residual stress variation was examined by the X-ray diffraction method. The residual stress distribution generated by welding after machining has a local maximum point in the HAZ. The Vickers hardness distribution also has a local maximum point. By the EBSD method, it is clarified that recovery and recrystallization due to welding heat do not occurred in the local maximum point. Residual stress distribution results from the superposition effect of hardening due to machining and welding. The location and value of the local maximum stress are varied by welding conditions. The region of the local maximum stress corresponds to the region where SCC has been observed. Therefore, in addition to a part of the manufacturing processes such as welding or machining, evaluation of all parts of the processes is important to investigate the effect of residual stress distribution on SCC.