Computer modelling methods are being used to determine the residual stresses in nuclear reactor pressure vessel welds. It has been found that such models need to simulate the effects of solid state phase transformations. Transformations have an associated transformation strain which can significantly influence the evolution of residual stress. The predicted distribution of phases enables structural simulations to account for the distribution of mechanical properties throughout a weld. Factors such as heating or cooling rate and prior austenite grain size must be considered in order to accurately predict the distribution of phases during a transient thermal cycle since they influence transformation kinetics.
In this paper, a model to predict the prior austenite grain size and its effects on phase transformation kinetics is presented and calibrated using free dilatometry data. Validation experiments are conducted using a Gleeble thermo-mechanical simulator and are modelled in a commercial FE package to assess the accuracy of a phase transformation model. Samples have been heat treated to possess specific microstructures and have been tested at different temperatures to establish the properties of the phases that can form during weld thermal cycles.
