Analysis of Crack Propagation Behaviors in RPV Dissimilar Metal Welded Joints Affected by Residual Stress

In severe service environments, the presence of high local residual stress, significant organizational gradient, and nonlinear changes in material properties often leads to stress corrosion cracking (SCC) in dissimilar metal welded (DMW) joints. To accurately predict the crack growth rate, researching the initiation and propagation behavior of SCC cracks in DMW joints under residual stress (RS) is one of the most important methods to ensure the safe operation of nuclear power plants. Using the extended finite element method (XFEM), the crack propagation behaviors in DMW joints under different RS states are predicted and compared. The effects of RS, crack location, and initial crack length on crack propagation behavior are investigated. The crack in a DMW joint without RS deflects to the material of low yield strength. High residual stress urges the crack growing direction to deflect toward the material of high yield strength. Young’s modulus has little impact on the crack deflection paths. The distance between the specimen symmetric line and the boundary line has little effect on the crack initiation and propagation within the RS field. A long initial crack is more likely to initiate and propagate than a short crack. To a long crack and the crack that is far from the interface of two materials, the impact of residual stress on the crack propagation path is significant when it is located in a material with high yield strength, while when the initial crack is located in the material with low yield strength, RS has a great influence on the deflection of a short crack growth direction on the condition that the crack is adjacent to the interface.