METHOD TO DETERMINE POST-WELD HEAT TREATMENT REQUIREMENTS FOR EXTERNAL WELDED ATTACHMENT TO AVOID ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS CORROSION CRACKING

A method is provided for determining whether post-weld heat treatments should be required for external attachment welds in applications where stress corrosion cracking is a possibility. According to the method, residual stress values are measured in test samples welded at high input heat levels and test samples welded at low input heat levels for a variety of different wall thickness. A threshold residual stress level is determined according to a method of selecting a common pipe used in industry and measuring the residual stress level in the longitudinal seam of the pipe. The measured residual stress values for the high and low heat input welds are compared against the threshold to determine whether for a particular wall thickness, the high and low input data exceeds the threshold, indicating whether post-weld heat treatments are required.