Study on Integrity Improvement of Stainless Steel Pipe Welds in Nuclear Power Plant by Local Induction Heating Method

The effectiveness of the IHSI method in preventing the intergranular stress corrosion cracking have been proved. This method has also been found to be effective in reducing the fatigue crack propagation rate of cracks in pipes under the repeated loading associated with plant operation. Hydrostatic testing and external moment loading during operation may cause residual stresses to. relax. Test results showed that compressive residual stresses relax under certain circumstances, but that the compressive residual stresses on the inner surface of a pipe do not relax during operation enough to cause them to change into tensile stresses large enough to cause intergranular stress corrosion cracking.