Study on Production Mechanism of Welding Residual Stress at the Juncture of a Pipe Penetrating a Thick Plate

This paper studies welding residual stresses at the intersection of a small diameter pipe penetrating a thick plate. The pipe is welded to the plate, and Tungsten Innert Gas (TIG) cladding is melted on the inner surface of the pipe to protect it from stress corrosion cracking due to long operation in nuclear power plants. Stresses are calculated by heat conduction analysis and thermal elasto-plastic analysis, and also measured by strain gauges. Welding residual stresses are shown to have no corrosive influence on the inner pipe surface, and the stresses are compressed enough to protect the pipe against stress corrosion cracking on the outer surface. It was also studied to make clear the production mechanism of the residual stresses which were generated by welding processes at the pipe.