Weld Residual Stress Activities Within the ATLAS+ Project

Abstract

Weld residual stresses can have significant effects on the service performance and structural integrity of pressure-retaining components in nuclear power plants. Reliable prediction and measurement of residual stress in plant-representative components can be challenging. The impact of residual stress on structural integrity can also be difficult to predict reliably. This paper describes the residual stress activities taking place within ATLAS+, and covers welded mock-up design and manufacture, residual stress measurements and simulation, the development of residual stress profiles for structural integrity assessment, and their incorporation into assessment procedures.