Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Experimental and analytical evaluation of weldment creep strength reduction factors for elevated-temperature structural design

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/714514· OSTI ID:714514
 [1]
  1. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
The long-term creep-rupture and fatigue strength of liquid-metal reactor plant components operating at elevated temperatures is a major concern of structural designers, plant regulators, and design code bodies. Because of this concern, new explicit weldment strength criteria in the form of creep fatigue strength-reduction factors were recently introduced into the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Code Case N-47, which governs the design of elevated-temperature nuclear plant components in the United States. This report provides some of the background and logic for these factors and their use, and it describes the results of a series of four long-term creep-rupture tests of simple welded structures and the associated inelastic failure analyses. The structures (welded plates and cylinders) were made of 316 stainless steel base metal and 16-8-2 weld filler metal. The mechanical properties of the various zones of the weldments were well characterized and used in the analyses. Comparisons of the analytical predictions with the test results showed reasonable agreement, thus adding to an understanding of the nature and cause of creep-rupture failure in weldments. Overall, the results provide further substantiation of the validity of the strength-reduction factor approach for ensuring adequate life in elevated-temperature nuclear component weldments. 26 refs., 57 figs., 10 tabs.
Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725
OSTI ID:
714514
Report Number(s):
ORNL-6500
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English