Corrosion fatigue crack growth behavior of 316NG heat affected zone in simulated pressurized water reactor environment

Abstract

The corrosion fatigue crack growth (FCG) behavior of the 316NG heat affected zone (HAZ) exposed to simulated pressurized water reactor (PWR) environment has been investigated. The results show that significant residual strains and lattice misorientations exist in the HAZ near the welding root. Z-phase precipitates are present in both the HAZ and annealed 316NG base metal. The FCG rate of the HAZ is much higher than that of the base metal. In PWR water, the corrosion FCG rate of the HAZ is strongly dependent on the cyclic loading frequency, but the effect of dissolved oxygen is negligible.