Review of Dissimilar Metal Welding for the NGNP Helical-Coil Steam Generator

Technical Report · Mon Mar 01 00:00:00 EST 2010

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/984549· OSTI ID:984549

DuPont, John N

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is currently funding research and development of a new high temperature gas cooled reactor (HTGR) that is capable of providing high temperature process heat for industry. The steam generator of the HTGR will consist of an evaporator economizer section in the lower portion and a finishing superheater section in the upper portion. Alloy 800H is expected to be used for the superheater section, and 2.25Cr 1Mo steel is expected to be used for the evaporator economizer section. Dissimilar metal welds (DMW) will be needed to join these two materials. It is well known that failure of DMWs can occur well below the expected creep life of either base metal and well below the design life of the plant. The failure time depends on a wide range of factors related to service conditions, welding parameters, and alloys involved in the DMW. The overall objective of this report is to review factors associated with premature failure of DMWs operating at elevated temperatures and identify methods for extending the life of the 2.25Cr 1Mo steel to alloy 800H welds required in the new HTGR. Information is provided on a variety of topics pertinent to DMW failures, including microstructural evolution, failure mechanisms, creep rupture properties, aging behavior, remaining life estimation techniques, effect of environment on creep rupture properties, best practices, and research in progress to improve DMW performance. The microstructure of DMWs in the as welded condition consists of a sharp chemical concentration gradient across the fusion line that separates the ferritic and austenitic alloys. Upon cooling from the weld thermal cycle, a band of martensite forms within this concentration gradient due to high hardenability and the relatively rapid cooling rates associated with welding. Upon aging, during post weld heat treatment (PWHT), and/or during high temperature service, C diffuses down the chemical potential gradient from the ferritic 2.25Cr 1Mo steel toward the austenitic alloy. This can lead to formation of a soft C denuded zone near the interface on the ferritic steel, and nucleation and growth of carbides on the austenitic side that are associated with very high hardness. These large differences in microstructure and hardness occur over very short distances across the fusion line (~ 50 100 ?m). A band of carbides also forms along the fusion line in the ferritic side of the joint. The difference in hardness across the fusion line increases with increasing aging time due to nucleation and growth of the interfacial carbides. Premature failure of DMWs is generally attributed to several primary factors, including: the sharp change in microstructure and mechanical properties across the fusion line, the large difference in coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) between the ferritic and austenitic alloys, formation of interfacial carbides that lead to creep cavity formation, and preferential oxidation of the ferritic steel near the fusion line. In general, the large gradient in mechanical properties and CTE serve to significantly concentrate the stress along the fusion where a creep susceptible microstructure has evolved during aging. Presence of an oxide notch can concentrate the stress even further. Details of the failure mechanism and the relative importance of each factor varies.

• Research Organization: Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE - NE
• DOE Contract Number: DE-AC07-05ID14517
• OSTI ID: 984549
• Report Number(s): INL/EXT-10-18459; TRN: US1005977
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS
AGING
ALLOYS
CARBIDES
CREEP
FERRITIC STEELS
GAS COOLED REACTORS
HARDNESS
HEAT TREATMENTS
INCOLOY 800H
MARTENSITE
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
MICROSTRUCTURE
NUCLEATION
OXIDATION
OXIDES
PROCESS HEAT
STEAM GENERATORS
STEELS
SUPERHEATERS
THERMAL EXPANSION
WELDING
2.25Cr-1Mo
Alloy 800H
Dissimilar metal welds
Evaporator
High Temperature Gas Reactor
Next Generation Nuclear Plant
Superheater