A set of circumferentially oriented thermal fatigue cracks (TFCs) were implanted into three cast austenitic stainless steel (CASS) pressurizer (PZR) surge-line specimens (pipe-to-elbow welds) that were fabricated using vintage CASS materials formed in the 1970s, and flaw responses from these cracks were used to evaluate detection and sizing performance of the phased-array (PA) ultrasonic testing (UT) methods applied. Four different custom-made PA probes were employed in this study, operating nominally at 800 kHz, 1.0 MHz, 1.5 MHz, and 2.0 MHz center frequencies. The CASS PZR surge-line specimens were polished and chemically etched to bring out the microstructures of both pipe and elbow segments. Additional studies were conducted and documented to address baseline CASS material noise and observe possible ultrasonic beam redirection phenomena.
Revised: June 27, 2011 |
Published: July 22, 2010
Citation
Diaz A.A., A.D. Cinson, S.L. Crawford, T.L. Moran, and M.T. Anderson. 2010.AN ULTRASONIC PHASED ARRAY EVALUATION OF CAST AUSTENITIC STAINLESS STEEL PRESSURIZER SURGE LINE PIPING WELDS. In ASME 2010 Pressure Vessels & Piping Division (PVP) Conference, July 18-22, 2010, Bellevue, WA, edited by K Hasegawa, 5, 255-264, PVP2010-25799. New York, New York:American Society of Mechanical Engineers.PNNL-SA-71595.