Progress in Nuclear Energy 63 (2013) 7e11

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Progress in Nuclear Energy

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Stress corrosion cracking in dissimilar metal welds with 304L stainless steel and
Alloy 82 in high temperature water
Tsung-Kuang Yeh a, c, *, Guan-Ru Huang a, Mei-Ya Wang b, Chuen-Horng Tsai a, c
a

Department of Engineering and System Science, National Tsing Hua University, 101, Sec. 2, Kuangfu Rd., Hsinchu 300, Taiwan
Nuclear Science and Technology Development Center, National Tsing Hua University, 101, Sec. 2, Kuangfu Rd., Hsinchu 300, Taiwan
c
Institute of Nuclear Engineering and Science, National Tsing Hua University, 101, Sec. 2, Kuangfu Rd., Hsinchu 300, Taiwan
b

a r t i c l e i n f o

a b s t r a c t

Article history:
Received 24 October 2011
Accepted 4 October 2012

For a better understanding toward stress corrosion cracking (SCC) in dissimilar metal welds with 304L
stainless steel and Alloy 82, the SCC growth behavior in the transition regions of weld joints was
investigated via slow strain rate tensile (SSRT) tests in 280
C pure water with a dissolve oxygen level of
300 ppb. Prior to the SSRT tests, samples with dissimilar metal welds were prepared and underwent
various pretreatments, including post-weld heat treatment (PWHT), shot peening, solution annealing,
and mechanical grinding. In addition to the SSRT tests, measurements of degree of sensitization and
micro-hardness on the transition regions of the metal welds were also conducted. According to the test
results, the samples having undergone PWHTs exhibited relatively high degrees of sensitization. Distinct
decreases in hardness were observed in the heat-affected zones of the base metals in all samples.
Furthermore, the fracture planes of all samples after the SSRT tests were located at the stainless steel
sides and were in parallel with the fusion lines. Among the treating conditions investigated in this study,
a PWHT would pose a detrimental effect on the samples in the aspects of mechanical property and
degree of SCC. Solution annealing would lead to the greatest improvement in ductility and SCC retardation, and shot peening would provide the treated samples with a positive improvement in ductility
and corrosion retardation, but not to a great extent.
2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords:
Dissimilar metal weld
Stress corrosion cracking
Stainless steel
SSRT

1. Introduction
With increasing operation times of light water reactors, intergranular stress corrosion cracking (IGSCC) of stainless steel (SS)
components continues to be a concern. IGSCC in SS and nickelbased alloys in boiling water reactor (BWR) environments is
particularly pronounced due to the oxidizing nature of the BWR
coolant. In addition to IGSCC in single alloys with heat affected
zones or cold-worked regions, concerns have also been extended in
the past decade to the stress corrosion cracking (SCC) problems in
components with dissimilar metal welds in BWRs and pressurized
water reactors (PWRs). The combined impacts of residual stresses,
thermal sensitization, and possible galvanic effects between
dissimilar metals on the welded components after welding
processes are expected to result in more serious SCC.
SCC has been observed in dissimilar metal welds with base
metals of austenitic SS, low alloy steels, and nickel-based alloys and
* Corresponding author. Institute of Nuclear Engineering and Science, National
Tsing-Hua University, 101, Sec. 2, Kuangfu Rd., Hsinchu 300, Taiwan. Tel.: 886 3
5742373; fax: 886 3 5713849.
E-mail address: tkyeh@mx.nthu.edu.tw (T.-K. Yeh).
0149-1970/$ e see front matter 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pnucene.2012.10.001

weld metals of Alloys 82 and 182 (Peng et al., 2007). Incidents of

primary water stress corrosion cracking (PWSCC) in Alloys 82 and
182 weld metals resulting in leaks in the primary pressure
boundary of PWRs have been reported (Jenssen et al., 2002;
Bamford and Hall, 2003; Amzallag et al., 2002). These leaks
appeared in pressure vessel outlet nozzles (Jenssen et al., 2002),
upper head penetrations (Bamford and Hall, 2003), and vessel head
and bottom penetrations (Amzallag et al., 2002). Peng and coworkers investigated and proled SCC characteristics in the transition region of an Alloy 182/SA 508 dissimilar weld joint in the
primary water environment of a PWR, and they found SCC was
usually conned in the weld metal of Alloy 182 (Peng et al., 2005).
Heat affected zones (HAZs) usually present in dissimilar metal
welds along the fusion lines are particular susceptible to SCC. SCC
growth in the HAZ of a welded 316L SS was investigated by Lu et al.
(2008), and they found that hardening in the HAZ of 316L SS might
play an important role in promoting SCC growth. Although lowcarbon austenitic stainless steels generally have an excellent SCC
resistance in high-temperature water, they could still experience
various modes of SCC at relatively high corrosion potentials, coolant
conductivity, and degrees of sensitization (Saito et al., 2000).

T.-K. Yeh et al. / Progress in Nuclear Energy 63 (2013) 7e11

To alleviate hydrogen induced cracking or SCC resulting from

residual stresses in the weld joints of dissimilar metals, techniques
such as post-weld heat treatments, shot-peening, and annealing
may be adopted. A post-weld heat treatment (PWHT) is primarily
used to lower residual stress levels in the weld joints of structural
components fabricated from low alloy steels. Components with
weld joints comprising different alloys may require different durations of PWHT at different temperatures, but a temperature range of
500e625
C is usually considered (United Kingdom Atomic Energy
Authority, 1982). A shot peening treatment is usually adopted to
improve the fatigue resistance of a structural material and to reduce
the residual stress level in the surface of a welded component.
Benecial effects of shot peening on the PWSCC behavior of structural components in an operating PWR plant in Korea were reported
(Haeng Hura et al., 2004). Although not suitable for materials that
are in service, solution annealing is a well-known technique for
increasing the ductility and reducing the adverse impact of cold
work in alloys (ASM Handbook, 1991). For reduction of cold work on
the machined or rolled surfaces of alloys, deliberate surface polishing is sometimes used to deter crack initiation in austenitic stainless
steels, nickel-based alloys, and weld metals of Alloys 182 and 131
(Offer et al., 2007). Furthermore, an adequate surface polishing
process may also assist in residual stress reduction.
Structural components of austenitic stainless steels welded to
components of low alloy steels with Alloy 82 or 182 as the welding
metal are commonly seen in BWRs. According to the internal data of
Taiwan Power Company, indications of IGSCC on a 304L SS structure
welded to a low alloy steel component with Alloy 182 as the weld
metal were found in a domestic BWR in Taiwan. These indications
initiated from the stainless steel side and penetrated into the low
alloy side. In order to explore the mechanism of IGSCC in dissimilar
metal welds, a series of slow strain rate tensile (SSRT) tests in high
temperature oxygenated pure water were arranged and conducted
in this study. Welded rod samples of Type 304L SS with Alloy 182 as
the weld metal were prepared, followed by various pre-treating
conditions of solution annealing, PWHT, shot peening, and surface
grinding prior to the SSRT tests. Micro-hardness and residual
stresses were proled adjacent to and in the welded joints of the
samples. Degrees of sensitization in the thermally treated samples
were measured. After the SSRT tests, morphologies of the fractured
surfaces of the samples were also analyzed. Mechanical properties
and SCC characteristics of the samples are presented.
2. Experimental
2.1. Sample preparation
Rod samples in round shape with dissimilar metal welds in their
gages for SSRT tests were prepared. Design of the rod samples

Fig. 2. Proles of micro-indentation hardness across the weld joints of four selected
samples.

fullled the requirements described in ASTM E8, and the physical

dimensions of these samples are shown in Fig. 2. The gage length of
each sample was machined to be 18 mm. The base metal used in the
samples was Type 304L SS, and the weld metal was Alloy 82. The
weld metal was designed to fully reside within the gage with an
allowance of 3 mm at both ends as shown in Fig. 1. The chemical
compositions of 304L SS and Alloy 82 used in this study are listed in
Tables 1 and 2, respectively. Prior to the SSRT tests, the samples
were treated under different conditions of solution annealing,
PWHT, shot peening, and mechanical grinding, and they were
designated as DWM-SA, DWM-PWHT, DWM-SP, and DWM-MG,
respectively. One additional sample that received both the PWHT
and the shot peening treatment was designated as DMW-PWSP.
The one without any treatment was designated as DWM-0. The
solution annealing process was conducted at 1050
C for 30 min,
while the post-weld heat treatment was conducted at 650
C for
24 h. Shot peening was applied to the gage portion of the sample
with corundum particles ranging from 0.125 to 0.300 mm in size at
a pressure of 207 kPa (30 psi). Mechanical grinding was performed
using emery paper up to 800 grits.

2.2. Measurements of degree of sensitization and micro-hardness

To distinguish the degrees of sensitization in the DWM-series
test samples, double-loop electrochemical potentiokinetic reactivation (DL-EPR) tests were conducted in an electrolyte solution of
0.5 M H2SO4 and 0.01 M KSCN at a controlled temperature of
30  1
C (Katsura et al., 1992). A forward potentiodynamic
sweeping from 0.5 VSCE to 0.3 VSCE at a rate of 1.67 mV/s was
performed, immediately followed by a reverse (reactivation)
sweeping from the potential in the passive state (i.e. 0.3 VSCE)
back to 0.5 VSCE. The degree of sensitization (DOS) in a sample was
determined by the ratio of the maximum current density during
the forward sweeping (ia) to the maximum reactivation current
Table 1
Chemical composition of the 304L stainless steel used in this study (wt %).

Fig. 1. Dimensions of the rod samples used in the SSRT tests.

Fe

Si

Mn

Cr

Ni

Cu

Mo

Co

Bal.

0.027

0.495

1.51

0.049

0.005

17.9

8.59

0.545

0.281

0.0288

T.-K. Yeh et al. / Progress in Nuclear Energy 63 (2013) 7e11

Table 2
Chemical composition of Alloy 82 used in this study (wt %).
Ni

Mn

Cr

Nb

Co

Ta

Fe

Cu

Si

Ti

74.3

2.15

19.0

2.32

0.0717

0.0185

1.9

0.1

0.015

0.5

0.5

0.75

0.03

density (ir) during the reverse sweeping, and a DOS of greater than
0.07 would indicate a signicant sensitization in the tested sample
(Katsura et al., 1992). For quantifying the variations in microindentation hardness near and across the weld joints of the
samples, micro-indentation tests made with Vickers indenters
under a test force of 300 gf were carried out.
2.3. SSRT tests
SSRT tests were conducted in an autoclave at strain rates of
5.5  107 s1 on a tensile test machine that was incorporated to
a pure-water circulation loop system, simulating BWR environments in the absence of radiation. The coolant temperature and
conductivity were maintained at 280
C in the autoclave and less
than 0.1 mS/cm at the autoclave outlet, respectively. The coolant
conductivity was measured on line using a GLI conductivity meter
(Model C53). The ow rate of coolant in the loop was measured to
be 20 mL/min. Gaseous oxygen was pumped into a reservoir that
was also connected to the loop system through a ow regulator
located on the compressed oxygen bottle. An additional highprecision metering valve was used to ne-tune the oxygen ow
rate and to maintain dissolved oxygen concentration ([O2]dis) of
300 ppb in the circulation coolant. The [O2]dis was monitored at
ambient temperature with an Orion dissolved oxygen meter
(Series, 1816). Testing conditions for all samples are summarized in
Table 3.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Degrees of sensitization and micro-hardness
In order to quantify the effect of thermal treatment on the IGSCC
characteristics of the DWM-series samples in the subsequent SSRT
tests, DL-EPR tests were conducted, and the results are shown in
Table 3. It was clearly observed that the samples having undergone
PWHTs (DWM-PWHT and DWM-PWSP) exhibited degrees of
sensitization of greater than 0.01 but were not deemed heavily
sensitized. The other samples did not show signicant degrees of
sensitization. In addition to quantifying the DOS in the samples, we
also examined the changes in micro-indentation harness near and
across the weld joints of certain samples, including DWM-0, DWMPWHT, DWM-SP, and DWM-PWSP. The Vickers hardness of these
samples is shown in Fig. 2. The overall hardness of the samples that
received shot peening treatments (DWM-SP and DWM-PWSP)
was relatively higher than that of the other two as expected.
Furthermore, the nominal hardness in the Alloy 82 weld metal was
higher than that in the 304L SS base metal. However, distinct

decreases in hardness were observed in the heat-affected zones

(HAZs) of the base metals, highlighting a common degradation in
mechanical property near the fusion line in the base metals of the
DWM-series samples. For the low-carbon austenitic stainless steels
used in this work, hardening in HAZs did not occur, although this
material could be hardened by cold work. Instead, softening in
HAZs was observed on all selected specimens, and it could be
attributed to local recrystallization.
3.2. SSRT test results
A total of six samples underwent SSRT tests in pure water at
280
C with a [O2]dis of 300 ppb, and the strainestress curves of all
samples are shown in Fig. 3. SSRT test results of these samples are
summarized in Table 4. One important and common phenomenon
to note is that the fractured planes of all samples were found in
parallel with the fusion lines and located in the base metals, where
the micro-indentation hardness discussed earlier was comparatively smaller. Morphologies of fractured surfaces of all samples are
shown in Fig. 4. For the DWM-series samples, DWM-0 exhibited
a yield stress of 268 MPa, a tensile stress of 457 MPa, and a strain of
0.368. No sign of IGSCC was observed on the fractured surface of
this sample, but a 13% of the fractured surface was found to be
TGSCC. This level of TGSCC could be attributed to the combination
of the applied slow strain rate exerted on the sample, the presence
of an HAZ in the sample due to welding, and the oxidizing test
environment. In the meantime, DWM-SP exhibited the highest
yield stress, tensile stress, and fracture stress of all samples along
with a relatively large strain of 0.372, while DWM-MG showed
a reduced yield stress but an elevated fracture stress with a strain of
0.364. Both samples did not show any sign of IGSCC, and 12% and
16% of the fractured surfaces exhibited evidences of TGSCC on
DWM-SP and DWM-MG, respectively. Mechanical treatments such
as shot peening and grinding seemed to slightly benet the

Table 3
Pre-treating conditions and degrees of sensitization of all samples.
Specimen

Pre-treating condition

Degree of
sensitization (ir/ia)

DWM-0
DWM-PWHT
DWM-SP
DWM-PWSP
DWM-SA
DWM-MG

None
Post weld heat treatment
Shot peening
PWHT Shot peening
Solution annealing
Mechanical grinding

0.0026
0.0820
0.0003
0.0545
0.0048
0.0006

Fig. 3. Stress-strain curves for six different treatments in simulated BWR water
environment.

10

T.-K. Yeh et al. / Progress in Nuclear Energy 63 (2013) 7e11

Table 4
SSRT results of all samples.
Sample

DWM-0 DWMPWHT

Yield stress (MPa) 268

Tensile stress
457
(MPa)
Fracture stress
291
(MPa)
Strain
0.368
Ductile fracture (%)
87
TGSCC (%)
13
IGSCC (%)
0

DWMSP

DWMPWSP

DWMSA

DWMMG

216
383

289
470

260
436

168
441

234
467

281

319

309

281

328

0.321
71
28
<1%

0.372
88
12
0

0.350
82
18
0

0.489
97
3
0

0.364
84
16
0

samples in terms of SCC retardation, although no signicant

changes in strain were observed.
PWHTs actually posed a detrimental effect on the samples in
this study in view of the changes in mechanical property and in
degree of SCC. The yield stress, the tensile stress, and the strain of
DWM-PWHT after the SSRT test exhibited the lowest values among
all samples. In addition, traces of IGSCC, as shown in Fig. 4, were
observed on this sample along with a signicant TGSCC of 28%. This
outcome was consistent with the relatively high DOS measured on
DWM-PWHT. A shot peening treatment immediately after the
PWHT would improve the mechanical property and SCC characteristics of the sample. The yield stress and the tensile stress of
DWM-PWSP were found distinctly larger than those of DWMPWHT. In addition, no IGSCC was observed on this sample, and
the percentage of TGSCC was reduced to 18%.

Fig. 4. SEM images of the fractured surfaces of the (a) DMW-0, (b) DMW-PWHT, (c) DMW-SP, (d) DMW-PWSP, (e) DMW-SA, and (f) DMW-MG samples after the SSRT tests.

T.-K. Yeh et al. / Progress in Nuclear Energy 63 (2013) 7e11

The solution-annealed sample DWM-SA showed the best

performance in the SSRT test of all as expected. Although the yield
stress and the tensile stress were lower than those of DWM-0, the
strain was signicantly increased to 0.489, along with a comparatively low percentage of TGSCC at 3%.
Among all treating conditions adopted in this study, solution
annealing would lead to the greatest improvement in ductility and
SCC retardation in samples with dissimilar metal welds. Shot
peening would provide the treated samples with a positive
improvement in ductility in view of the relatively higher percentage
of ductile fracture, but not to a great extent. On the other hand, it was
not clear if any of the adopted treatments would have a distinctly
benecial effect on IGSCC retardation, since no specimens exhibited
a signicant amount of IGSCC after the SSRT tests in the designated
oxidizing environment with a [O2]dis of 300 ppb.
4. Conclusions
The effects of various treating conditions on the mechanical
properties and the SCC characteristics of samples with dissimilar
metal welds were investigated in simulated BWR environments.
The samples having undergone PWHTs (DWM-PWHT and DWMPWSP) exhibited relatively high degrees of sensitization of
greater than 0.01. The nominal hardness in the Alloy 82 weld metal
was higher than that in the 304L SS base metal. Distinct decreases
in hardness were observed in the HAZs of the base metals in all
samples. The fractured planes of all samples after the SSRT tests
were found in parallel with the fusion lines and located in the base
metals, where the micro-indentation hardness was comparatively
smaller. Among the treating conditions investigated in this study,
PWHTs would pose a detrimental effect on the samples in the
aspects of mechanical property and degree of SCC. The only sample
exhibiting IGSCC after the SSRT test was the one having undergone
the PWHT. Solution annealing would lead to the greatest
improvement in ductility and SCC retardation, and shot peening
would provide the treated samples with a positive improvement in
ductility and corrosion retardation, but not to a great extent. On the

11

other hand, it was not clear in this study if any of the adopted
treatments would have a distinctly benecial effect on IGSCC
retardation for 304L SS with dissimilar metal welds.
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