Weld Residual Stresses Modelling. Application to a Nuclear Power Plant Welded Joint

Abstract

Stress Corrosion Cracking (SCC) is a mechanism of failure associated to the growth of long circumferential cracks in welded pipes. Weld Residual Stresses (WRS) highly influence this mechanism of failure. Therefore, the knowledge of residual stresses becomes fundamental in order to predict the growth of cracks by SCC. In this work a weakly coupled thermo-mechanical model is used for modeling the welding process of a large nuclear power plant structure in order to predict WRS. Specifically, the simulation of the welding process of a nozzle weld that connects the reactor pressure vessel and the cold leg of a nuclear reactor facility is studied.