Investigating optimal cutting configurations for the contour method of weld residual stress measurement

The mission of the NeT European collaborative network is to develop experimental and numerical techniques and standards for the reliable characterisation of residual stresses in structural welds. NeT achieves this by conducting parallel measurement and prediction round robins on closely controlled and well characterised benchmark weldments. NeT TG6 follows on from the successful TG1 and TG4 benchmarks, which both examined welds in AISI 316L material. NeT TG6 examines an Alloy 600 plate containing a three pass “slot” weld made with Alloy 82 consumables. This paper describes the NeT TG6 project as a whole, and presents preliminary materials characterisation, residual stress measurement, and residual stress modelling results.

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Investigation of the Performance of the Contour Residual Stress Measurement Method When Applied to Welded Pipe Structures

Volume 6: Materials and Fabrication, Parts A and B ◽

10.1115/pvp2009-77470 ◽

2009 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

R. J. Dennis ◽

N. A. Leggatt ◽

E. A. Kutarski

Keyword(s):

Residual Stress ◽

Residual Stresses ◽

Measurement Method ◽

Stress Measurement ◽

Complex Structure ◽

Cutting Process ◽

Residual Stress Measurement ◽

Contour Method ◽

Hole Drilling ◽

Welded Pipe

The ‘Contour Method’ is a relatively new relaxation method for residual stress measurement and may be seen as an evolution of established methods such as hole drilling. The general procedure when applying the Contour Method is cutting, measurement and calculation of residual stress normal to the cut plane using Bueckner’s principle of elastic superposition. That is the residual stresses are determined from the measured profile of a cut surface. While the Contour Method is simple in concept there are certain underlying issues relating to the cutting process that may lead to uncertainties in the measured results. Principally the issues are that of constraint and plasticity during the cutting process and the influence that they have on the measured residual stresses. Both of these aspects have been investigated in previous work by simulating the entire contour measurement method process using finite element techniques for ‘simple’ flat plate welded specimens. Here that work is further investigated and extended by application to a 316 Stainless Steel welded pipe structure containing a part-circumferential repair. This more complex structure and residual stress field is of significantly greater engineering interest. The key objective of this work is to ascertain the feasibility of and further our understanding of the performance of the Contour Method. Furthermore this work has the potential to provide a method to support the optimisation of the contour measurement process when applied to more complex engineering components.

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Measurement of Residual Stress in Reactor Nozzle Mock-Ups Containing Dissimilar Metal Welds

Volume 6B: Materials and Fabrication ◽

10.1115/pvp2014-28209 ◽

2014 ◽

Author(s):

Adrian T. DeWald ◽

Michael R. Hill ◽

Michael L. Benson ◽

David L. Rudland

Keyword(s):

Residual Stress ◽

Residual Stresses ◽

Stress Measurement ◽

Tensile Residual Stress ◽

Contour Method ◽

Two Dimensional ◽

Weld Residual Stress ◽

Accelerate Growth ◽

Primary Water ◽

Spatially Varying

Weld residual stresses can significantly impact the performance of structural components. Tensile residual stresses are of particular concern due to their ability to accelerate failure. For example, the presence of tensile residual stress can cause initiation and accelerate growth of primary water stress corrosion cracking (PWSCC). The contour method is a residual stress measurement technique capable of generating two dimensional maps of residual stress, which is particularly useful when applied to welds since they typically contain spatially varying residual stress distributions. The two-dimensional capability of the contour method enables detailed visualization of complex weld residual stress fields. This data can be used to identify locations and magnitude of tensile residual stress hot-spots. This paper provides a summary of the contour method and presents detailed results of contour method measurements made on a mock-up from the NRC/EPRI weld residual stress (WRS) program [1].

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