Nondestructive residual-stress measurement on the inside surface of stainless-steel pipe weldments

The instrumentation, technique, and procedures are described for the nondestructive measurement of residual stresses on the inside surface of pipe as small as 10 in. in diam. The instrument is based upon a unique position-sensitive scintillation X-ray detector which provides for the most compact X-ray stress-measurement instrument available since the introduction of film cameras four decades ago. This instrument is capable of applying the single-exposure technique of X-ray stress measurements which results in unprecedented rapidity of stress measurement consistent with excellent precision and accuracy. The results of testing the precision and accuracy of the instrument on a zero-stress powder and four-point-bend specimen are given. Residual stresses in four austenitic stainless-steel girth-welded pipes are presented illustrating the effects of the different welding procedures. The results from the pipes confirm the beneficial residual-stress condition of heat-sink-welding procedures.     

Residual-stress measurements in time-controlled quenched austenitic stainless steel

This paper presents experiments to determine the residual stresses generated during the low-speed quenching of austenitic stainless steel. Austenitic stainless steel was chosen because it does not undergo any phase transformation during quenching. As a result, the resultant residual-stress pattern depends only on plastic deformation taking place during the quench. Different quenching rates were used in the experiment to quantify their effect on the generation of residual stresses. These stresses were measured along the surface of the specimen in a direction parallel to the quench direction and in depth below the surface.     

Residual-stress determination of concentric layers of cylindrically orthotropic materials

Equations have been obtained for determining residual stresses in the wall of a hollow, axially symmetric body consisting of concentric layers of elastically dissimilar materials, all having cylindrical elastic orthotropy. These equations permit residual normal stresses in the radial, circumferential, and axial directions and residual shear stresses on planes normal to the axis of the body to be calculated from measurements of the strains developed on the inner or outer cylindrical surface of the body as thin layers of stressed material are serially removed from the outer or inner surfaces, respectively. The equations are applied to a parametric study of stresses in an elastically isotropic, two-component body to determine the nature of the differences in stresses between the composite body and a homogeneous body as a function of the difference in elastic constants.     

Residual-stress analysis of an epoxy plate subjected to rapid cooling on both surfaces

This paper presents theoretical and experimental methods of finding the residual stress in an epoxy plate subjected to rapid cooling on both surfaces. The theoretical residual-stress distributions in a plate are calculated by using the fundamental equations based on the linear viscoelastic theory. The specimens in the experiment are subjected to rapid cooling. The residual stresses are measured by the layer-removal method. The theoretical and experimental results are compared and discussed.     

A Comparison of Residual-stress Measurements Using Blind-hole, Abrasive-jet and Trepan-ring Methods

This article describes the results of residual-stress measurements which were made on an artillery-projectile metal part to determine whether the state of the stress could be a factor in promoting a failure that had occurred during ballistic test firing. An additional objective of the work was to evaluate the suitability of several different methods for measuring residual stresses by the performance of these measurements on the same metal part.     

Evaluation of residual stresses in stainless-steel claddings

The residual-stress in-depth profiles have been evaluated in AISI 308L and 309L stainless-steel claddings using three different techniques: the X-ray diffraction, the neutron diffraction and the step-by-step hole-drilling method. These claddings are strongly textured and contain up to 10-percent ferritic phase. For this reason, the elastic characteristics of the material have been calculated from the single crystal compliances through a self consistent micromechanical approach. The results obtained with the three different experimental techniques are compared and discussed. The effect of a stress-relief heat treatment is also studied. Paper was presented at the 1994 SEM Spring Conference on Experimental Mechanics held in Baltimore, MD on June 9.     

Residual-stress determination through combined use of holographic interferometry and blind-hole drilling

Holographic interferometry is used to determine in-plane radial displacements due to release of residual stresses by hole drilling. A method is derived for relating radial displacements measured in three directions of illumination to the state of residual stress, analogous to relations used in the conventional strain-rosette technique. Residual stress is produced by an interference fit of two circular tubes. Agreement between stress determined holographically with a computed value and with that determined by the conventional technique is good. Advantages of the holographic technique in overcoming various shortcomings of the conventional technique are discussed. A modification of the holographic technique involving data collection in only two directions of illumination is described.     

Measurements of anisotropic elastic constants of type 308 stainless-steel electroslag welds

In austenitic-stainless-steel weld metal, mechanical anisotropy is caused by preferred local orientation of elongated subgrains and preferred crystallographic orientation. Ultrasonic and static tensile-test methods used to determine elastic stiffness and compliance matrices, respectively, demonstrated that orthotropic symmetry exists. Inversion of this compliance matrix gave a stiffness matrix which showed general agreement between the two methods. It is suggested that the data can be used directly in finite-element analyses of weldments containing Type 308 stainless steel.     

A study on the relief of residual stresses in weldments with explosive treatment

Explosive treatment is an efficient and economical technique in reducing welding residual stresses. The whole course of residual stress reduction is investigated both numerically and experimentally, in order to discover the mechanism of the explosive treatment and optimizing the technique. It is proved that the reflection and superposition of stress waves aroused by explosive loading lead to redistribution and remarkable reduction of welding residual stresses. Moreover, the optimum working conditions, such as detonator shape, width, location, explosive loading and velocities, are also discussed. The numerical results and the experimental ones are in reasonable agreement with each other.     

Hybrid experimental-numerical concept of residual stress analysis in laser weldments

The concept, methodology and instrumentation for hybrid experimental-numerical residual stress analysis in a laser weldment are presented. Grating interferometry and digital speckle photography are applied as complementary experimental methods for the determination of the initial model of residual strains and of the material properties at the various zones of a laser weldment. These data inserted into a finite element model enable one to analyze the formation of the residual stress state of the object, which is compared and modified by means of experimental data in a closed iterative loop. This full hybrid approach is tested successfully on a laser-welded steel specimen in uniaxial tensile tests.     

Steady-state creep analysis of pressurized pipe weldments by perturbation method

The stress analysis of pressurized circumferential pipe weldments under steady state creep is considered. The creep response of the material is governed by Norton’s law. Numerical and analytical solutions are obtained by means of perturbation method, the unperturbed solution corresponds to the stress field in a homogeneous pipe. The correction terms are treated as stresses defined with the help of an auxiliary linear elastic problem. Exact expressions for jumps of hoop and radial stresses at the interface are obtained. The proposed technique essentially simplifies parametric analysis of multi-material components.     

Fatigue behaviour of FSW and MIG weldments for two aluminium alloys

The increasing use of aluminium alloys in transportation, such as railways, shipbuilding and aeronautics, calls for more efficient and reliable welding processes that would require more in depth understanding of fatigue failure. The objective of this work focuses on the contrasting difference of fatigue behaviour of joints made from the traditional process of metal inert gas (MIG) welding, and the emerging process of friction stir welding (FSW). Effort is made to relate the macroscopic mechanical behaviour to the microstructural feature of the weldments.     

Prediction of failure in weldments - Part I: Smooth joint

This investigation is concerned with predicting failure initiation sites ina butt weld joint under bending. The nonuniform load transmission characteristics through the weld metal, heat-affected zone and base material resulting from alteration in their microstructure are reflected through the macroscopic yield strength parameter. Elastic-plastic stress and strain redistribution is obtained for each increment of load increase. Analyzed in detail are the contours of constant strain energy density for determining the local and global stationary values which are assumed to be related to failure and stability of the system. Failure is predicted to initiate in the heat affected zone at the site of maximum of the minimum local strain energy density function. This corresponds to the experimental observation where cracking starts from the side of the butt joint where local stretching is maximum.     

Investigation on two-phase flow-induced vibrations of a piping structure with an elbow

The dynamic behaviors of a horizontal piping structure with an elbow due to the two-phase flow excitation are experimentally investigated. The effects of flow patterns and superficial velocities on the pressure pulsations and vibration responses are evaluated in detail. A strong partition coupling algorithm is used to calculate the flow-induced vibration (FIV) responses of the pipe, and the theoretical values agree well with the experimental results. It is found that the lateral and axial vibration responses of the bend pipe are related to the momentum flux of the two-phase flow, and the vibration amplitudes of the pipe increase with an increase in the liquid mass flux. The vertical vibration responses are strongly affected by the flow pattern, and the maximum response occurs in the transition region from the slug flow to the bubbly flow. Moreover, the standard deviation (STD) amplitudes of the pipe vibration in three directions increase with an increase in the gas flux for both the slug and bubbly flows. The blockage of liquid slugs at the elbow section is found to strengthen the vibration amplitude of the bend pipe, and the water-blocking phenomenon disappears as the superficial gas velocity increases.     

Stress analysis of weldments by holographic moiré and the finite element method

The research work presented in this paper deals with the determination of the stress concentration at the root of the fillet of a weldment on a T steel specimen. A finite element model was developed for the specimen. Measurements were carried out using the holographic moiré technique. Strain gages were added to evaluate extrapolation techniques proposed in the literature. Good agreement was found between the finite element results and the optically measured values. The strain gage extrapolation technique yielded very low values.     

Measurement of residual stress in the weld overlay piping components

In general industry, especially in the nuclear industry, welding overlay repair is an important repair method mainly used to rebuild piping systems suffering from intergranular stress-corrosion cracking (IGSCC).The pipe surface is mechanically ground to obtain a smooth surface after the welding overlay repair. A better understanding of the effect of repair and grinding processes on the residual stresses at the surface of weld overlay is required. To obtain this understanding, it is necessary to measure directly the distribution of residual stresses on the specimen. It is expected that compressive residual stress should be induced at the inner wall surface of the pipe for prevention of IGSCC.The performance evaluation of welding overlay repair relies on whether or not the level and characteristic of the residual stress can be measured accurately. In this study, the hole-drilling strain-gage method, using the incremental drilling technique, was adopted to estimate the residual stresses on the inner and outer walls of the weld overlay pipe. The experimental results indicate that the residual stress at the pipe inner surface is compressive while that of the outer surface is tensile. Also, it is found that the depth affected by grinding is about 1.016 mm.     

Testing of large piping components under mechanical and pressure loadings

This paper describes a facility designed to impose mechanical and pressure loadings on large piping tees, the instrumentation used in testing the tees, and the data-processing system. The various types of tests imposed on the tees are discussed. Typical test results are presented.     

Measurements of junction coupling during water hammer in piping systems

For the analysis of the effects of fluid–structure interaction (FSI) during water hammer in piping systems, a test facility has been designed and constructed. The research objective is to show on the basis of two specific examples that the necessity of considering FSI is strongly dependent on the boundary conditions of the system. Resonance experiments on movable bends in two piping system configurations focused on junction coupling were carried out. These configurations differ in the length of the hydraulic system and in the geometry of the oscillating bend. The displacement of the bend and the pressure inside the pipe were measured for various free oscillating lengths of the bend while the rest of the piping system was restrained. The results are displayed in resonance curves and frequency spectra for the different configurations. In both cases a correlation between the pressure and the displacement spectrum shows a transfer of momentum from the fluid to the structure, but only in the configuration with the long oscillating pipe section can a reaction of the fluid on the motion of the structure be identified. Frequency shifts of the pressure and a splitting of the pressure peak were observed. The time signals confirm that the effects of FSI are most significant in one system configuration which is strongly influenced by the bend geometry. Furthermore a parameter is presented which quantifies the effects of junction coupling based on the geometrical and hydraulic properties of the bend and the system.