Characterization of a Plate Specimen from Phase I of the NRC/EPRI Weld Residual Stress Program

Time-of-flight neutron diffraction and contour method residual stress measurements were conducted at Los Alamos National Lab (LANL) on a lab sized plate specimen (P4) from Phase I of the joint U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Electric Power Research Institute Weld Residual Stress (NRC/EPRI WRS) program. The specimen was fabricated from a 304L stainless steel plate containing a seven pass Alloy 82 groove weld, restrained during welding and removed from the restraint for residual stress characterization. This paper presents neutron diffraction and contour method results, and compares these experimental stress measurements to a WRS Finite Element (FE) model. Finally details are provided on the procedure used to calculate the residual stress distribution in the restrained or as welded condition in order to allow comparison to other residual stress data collected as part of the EPRI lead Phase I WRS program.