Weld Residual Stress Predictions in Reactor Vessel Head Penetrations: FE Simulation

The penetrations in the early Pressurized Water Reactors Vessels are characterized by Alloy 600 tubes, welded by Alloy 182/82. The Alloy 600 tubes have been shown to be susceptible to PWSCC (Primary Water Stress Corrosion Cracking) which may lead to crack forming. The cracking mechanism is driven mainly by the welding residual stress and, in a second place, by the operational stress in the weld region. It is therefore of big interest to quantify the weld residual stress field correctly. In this paper the weld residual stress field is calculated by finite elements, using a common approach well known in nuclear domain. It includes a transient thermal analysis simulating the heating during the multipass welding, followed by a transient thermo-mechanical analysis for the determination of the stresses involved with it. The welding consists of a sequence of weld beads, each of which is deposited in its entirety, at once, instead of gradually. Central as well as eccentric sidehill nozzles on the vessel head are analyzed in the paper. For the former a 2-dimensional axisymmetrical finite element model is used, whereas for the latter a 3-dimensional model is set up. Different positions on the vessel head are compared and the influence of the sidehill effect is illustrated. In the framework of a common project for Angra 1, Tractebel Engineering (Belgium) and Eletronuclear (Nuclear Utility, Brazil) had the opportunity to compare their analysis method, which they applied to the Belgian and the Brazilian nuclear reactors, respectively. The global approach in both cases is very similar but is applied to different configurations, specific for each NPP. In the article the results of both cases are compared.