Weld overlays have been used to remedy intergranular stress corrosion cracking (IGSCC) in boiling water reactors (BWRs) since the 1980s. Overlays have also been applied in the last few years in pressurized water reactors (PWRs) where primary water stress corrosion cracking (PWSCC) has developed. The weld overlay provides a structural reinforcement with SCC resistant material and favorable residual stresses at the ID of the overlaid component. Leak-before-break (LBB) had been applied to several piping systems in PWRs prior to recognizing the PWSCC susceptibility of Alloy 82/182 welds. The application of the weld overlay changes the geometric configuration of the component and as such, the original LBB evaluation is updated to reflect the new configuration at the susceptible weld. This paper describes a generic leak-before-break (LBB) analysis program which demonstrates that the application of weld overlays always improves LBB margins, relative to un-overlaid, PWSCC susceptible welds when all the other parameters or variables of the analyses (loads, geometry, operating conditions, analysis method, etc…) are kept equal. Analyses are performed using LBB methodology previously approved by the US NRC for weld overlaid components. The analyses are performed for a range of nozzle sizes (from 6″ to 34″) spanning the nominal pipe sizes to which LBB has been commonly applied, using associated representative loads and operating conditions. The analyses are performed for both overlaid and un-overlaid configurations of the same nozzles, and using both fatigue and PWSCC crack morphologies in the leakage rate calculations and the LBB margins are compared to show the benefit of the weld overlays.
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ASME 2011 Pressure Vessels and Piping Conference
July 17–21, 2011
Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Conference Sponsors:
- Pressure Vessels and Piping Division
ISBN:
978-0-7918-4451-9
PROCEEDINGS PAPER
Effects of Weld Overlays on Leak-Before-Break Margins
G. Angah Miessi,
G. Angah Miessi
Structural Integrity Associates, Inc., San Jose, CA
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Peter C. Riccardella,
Peter C. Riccardella
Structural Integrity Associates, Inc., Centennial, CO
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Peihua Jing
Peihua Jing
Structural Integrity Associates, Inc., San Jose, CA
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G. Angah Miessi
Structural Integrity Associates, Inc., San Jose, CA
Peter C. Riccardella
Structural Integrity Associates, Inc., Centennial, CO
Peihua Jing
Structural Integrity Associates, Inc., San Jose, CA
Paper No:
PVP2011-57982, pp. 153-158; 6 pages
Published Online:
May 21, 2012
Citation
Miessi, GA, Riccardella, PC, & Jing, P. "Effects of Weld Overlays on Leak-Before-Break Margins." Proceedings of the ASME 2011 Pressure Vessels and Piping Conference. Volume 1: Codes and Standards. Baltimore, Maryland, USA. July 17–21, 2011. pp. 153-158. ASME. https://doi.org/10.1115/PVP2011-57982
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