Effects of thermal aging on fracture toughness and Charpy-impact strength of stainless steel pipe welds

Degradation of fracture toughness, tensile, and Charpy-impact properties of Type 304 and 304/308 SS pipe welds due to thermal aging was studied at room temperature and 290 C. Thermal aging of SS welds results in moderate decreases in charpy-impact strength and fracture toughness. Upper-shelf energy decreased by 50-80 J/cm{sup 2}. Decrease in fracture toughness J-R curve or J{sub IC} is relatively small. Thermal aging had no or little effect on tensile strength of the welds. Fracture properties of SS welds are controlled by the distribution and morphology of second-phase particles. Failure occurs by formation and growth of microvoids near hard inclusions; such processes are relatively insensitive to thermal aging. The ferrite phase has little or no effect on fracture properties of the welds. Differences in fracture resistance of the welds arise from differences in the density and size of inclusions. Mechanical-property data from the present study are consistent with results from other investigations. The existing data have been used to establish minimum expected fracture properties for SS welds.

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