Welding Residual Stress Analysis Using Axisymmetric Modeling for Shroud Support Structure
Recently, several cracks caused by stress corrosion cracking (SCC) have been found on welds of shroud supports in Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) plants. The major cause of SCC in a weld joint is considered due to welding residual stress generated in the fabrication processes of the components. For continuous safety operations, it is necessary to estimate the structural integrity of such shroud supports with cracks based on the distribution of residual stresses induced by welding. In order to know and to validate the numerical method of residual stresses induced by welding of large scale and complex shaped components, a BWR shroud support mock-up with a hemispherical base of reactor pressure vessel (RPV) was fabricated by Japan Nuclear Energy Safety Organization (JNES) as a national project. The mock-up has a 32° section of actual BWR shroud supports with approximately the same configurations, materials and welding conditions of an actual component. During welding in the fabrication process of the mock-up, temperature was measured and after completion of the mock-up fabrication, surface residual stress distributions for each weld were also measured by the sectioning method. In addition, through-thickness residual stress distributions were investigated. Residual stress for each weld was calculated by using axisymmetric models considering temperature dependent elastic-plastic material properties. Though the actual structure of shroud supports is essentially complex, we simplified axisymmetric models in the center of the cross section. The analysis results show a similar profile and good agreement with the measured results on the surface of all the welds and through the welds at the upper and lower joints of the shroud support leg.