Stress measurement of stainless steel piping welds by complementary use of high-energy synchrotron X-rays and neutrons

Miura, Yasufumi*; Suzuki, Kenji*; Morooka, Satoshi  ; Shobu, Takahisa  

Probabilistic fracture mechanics (PFM) is expected as a reasonable structural integrity assessment method for nuclear components such as piping, whose main degradation phenomenon is stress corrosion cracking (SCC). Some input parameters are necessary for PFM analysis, and welding residual stress is one of the most important parameters because welding residual stress affects SCC initiation and propagation. Recently, a double exposure method (DEM) with synchrotron X-ray has been proposed, and the method is an expected candidate for the measurement of welding residual stress with a high spatial resolution. In this paper, the DEM was applied to measure the residual stress of the plate specimen, which was cut from the welded pipe using electrical discharge machining, and detailed stress maps under a plane stress state were obtained. Furthermore, the residual stress distributions of the welded pipe under a triaxial stress state were also evaluated using neutron diffraction. From these results, the method for obtaining a detailed stress map of the welded pipe by the complementary use of high-energy synchrotron radiation X-rays and neutrons was proposed.