Ultrasonic testing for detection of IGSCC

Technical Report · Tue Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1980

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/5510258· OSTI ID:5510258

Kupperman, D. S.

Beginning in the fall of 1974, numerous intergranular stress-corrosion cracks (IGSCC) have been found in the heat-affected zone (HAZ) of welded Type 304 stainless steel reactor piping. As a result of these findings, a 2-year program sponsored by EPRI was initiated at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) in 1975 to help establish the adequacy of conventional ultrasonic-testing techniques for the detection of IGSCC. This paper discusses the quantitative data describing the effect of transducer parameter variations on ultrasonic echo amplitude from a variety of artificial and natural reflectors and gives suggestions for improvements in ultrasonic in-service testing methods, including the use of focussed probes. The effect of variation in ultrasonic attenuation between HAZ and base metal, the importance of adequate reference standards, and geometric effects are also discussed, and recent efforts at ANL and other institutions to improve ultrasonic detection of cracks are reviewed.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Lab., IL (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: W-31109-ENG-38
• OSTI ID: 5510258
• Report Number(s): DOE/TIC-11127
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS
220200 -- Nuclear Reactor Technology-- Components & Accessories
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
360103* -- Metals & Alloys-- Mechanical Properties
ACOUSTIC TESTING
ALLOYS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CHROMIUM ALLOYS
CHROMIUM STEELS
CHROMIUM-NICKEL STEELS
CORROSION
CORROSION RESISTANT ALLOYS
CRACKS
GEOMETRY
HEAT AFFECTED ZONE
HEAT RESISTANT MATERIALS
HEAT RESISTING ALLOYS
INTERGRANULAR CORROSION
IRON ALLOYS
IRON BASE ALLOYS
MATERIALS
MATERIALS TESTING
MATHEMATICS
NICKEL ALLOYS
NONDESTRUCTIVE TESTING
PIPELINES
PROBES
STAINLESS STEEL-304
STAINLESS STEELS
STEELS
STRESS CORROSION
TESTING
ULTRASONIC TESTING