Analysis of the development of damage in a welded junction in the hot intermediate superheat steam duct of 800-MW generator units

Data from a metallographic study of a damaged weld junction in a hot intermediate superheat steam duct and a computational model for crack development (in the damaged zone) by a creep mechanism are described. Anumerical calculation confirms the possibility of crack development to the known final size over a time of approximately 15,000 h, which corresponds to the operating time for the steam duct from the last time it was inspected until the time of a through fault, under conditions such that a 2.5-mm-deep surface crack (with a length of ∼50 mm along the surface) had been overlooked during this last inspection.