Improvement of Residual Stresses of Circumferential Joint of Pipe by Heat-Sink Welding

Abstract

Intergranular stress corrosion cracking may occur in some specific conditions on the inner surface of the welded joints of stainless steel pipes which are furnished in nuclear plants. One of the remedies for this cracking is to convert welding residual stress on this surface into compression. In this research, in order to improve welding residual stress, the authors investigated the effectiveness of the heat-sink welding (water cooling) by conducting theoretical analyses and experiments on SUS 304 pipes of different sizes in comparison with the conventional welding. The mechanisms of production of residual stresses by both methods are clarified and conditions for effective application of the heat-sink welding such as limitation of heat input, procedure of welding are indicated.