Design and Manufacture of Industrially Representative Weld Mock-ups for the Quantification of Residual Stresses in a Nuclear Pressure Vessel Steel

Abstract

This paper describes work carried out under the NNUMAN research programme. This work focuses on the measurement and modelling of residual stresses in weld test pieces that have a thickness that is representative of primary components in a pressurised water reactor, such as the steam generators and the pressuriser. Weld test pieces at thicknesses of 30 mm and 130 mm have been and are being manufactured in SA508 Grade 3 Class 1 steel. Attention has been given to welding processes that are currently applied in nuclear manufacturing, such as narrow-groove arc-based welding processes, as well as to candidate processes for future build programmes, such as electron beam welding. The manufacture, characterisation and modelling of large test pieces each present challenges over and above those that arise when dealing with the smaller test pieces that are more typically manufactured in research laboratories. Some of those challenges, and the approaches that have been used to overcome them, are described. Plans for future work are briefly mentioned.