Abstract

Residual stresses in welded joints must be quantified in order to carry out structural integrity assessments on critical nuclear components. This usually requires the application of finite element models for components with wall thicknesses exceeding 50 mm. In ferritic steels, the development of residual stresses is made more complex by the strains associated with the solid-state phase transformations that occur during heating and cooling. Finite element models often do not account for factors that contribute to anisotropy in the transformation strains, such as Greenwood-Johnson plasticity and variant selection. In this work, we search for evidence that might reveal which mechanism (s) contributes to this anisotropy. Coupons of SA508 steel were subjected to simulated welding thermal cycles, with and without external loading, and in-situ X-ray diffraction was used to track changes in crystal structure. The results were checked for evidence of plastic deformation in austenite and variant selection in its daughter phases.

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