Abstract
Corrosion-resistant welded alloys are frequently used as a leak-tight boundary in critical applications that require confinement of hazardous and/or radioactive substances, including an increasing population of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) canisters. The behavior of residual stresses generated as a result of irregular elastic–plastic deformation during processes such as welding is one of today's key issues to a full understanding of the aging mechanisms that may compromise the confinement boundary. Whether such processes and any subsequent weld repairs, not subjected to post-weld heat treatment, would negatively affect the initial material by introducing through-thickness tensile stresses remains an open question. Here we report the first residual stress measurements using neutron diffraction on the welded joints of a SNF canister. We found significant tensile residual stresses in the as welded sample, indicating that initiation and through-thickness growth of cracks may be possible. Following repair, we observed a stress redistribution and introduction of beneficial compressive stresses. We anticipate our results will improve understanding of confinement susceptibility to aging and guide improvements in repair techniques.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 104348 |
| Journal | International Journal of Pressure Vessels and Piping |
| Volume | 191 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jun 2021 |
Funding
This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy , under contract number DE-AC05-00OR22725 . A portion of this research used resources at the High Flux Isotope Reactor, a DOE Office of Science User Facility operated by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The authors would also like to thank Paris Cornwell for his technical assistance in the experiments and Doug Kyle who performed the repair welding. This manuscript has been authored by UT-Battelle, LLC, under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the US Department of Energy (DOE). The US government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the US government retains a nonexclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for US government purposes. DOE will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan ( http://energy.gov/downloads/doe-public-access-plan ). This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy, under contract number DE-AC05-00OR22725. A portion of this research used resources at the High Flux Isotope Reactor, a DOE Office of Science User Facility operated by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The authors would also like to thank Paris Cornwell for his technical assistance in the experiments and Doug Kyle who performed the repair welding.
Keywords
- Arc welding
- Neutron diffraction
- Residual stress
- Weld repair