Optimum Injection Pressure of a Cavitating Jet for Introducing Compressive Residual Stress into Stainless Steel

Abstract

Introducing compressive residual stress by a cavitating jet into the sub-surface of components used in nuclear power plants can mitigate stress corrosion cracking in these components. Although applying the jet is an effective method for this purpose, it should be used without causing damage to the surface from water jet droplets arising from high-pressure injection of the water jet. Thus, in introducing compressive residual stress, the injection pressure needs to be optimized. In this paper, in order to determine the optimum injection pressure, the residual stress of stainless steel treated by a jet at various injection pressures was measured using an X-ray diffraction method. The injection pressure of the jet was varied from 5 MPa to 300 MPa, and the diameter of the nozzle throat of the jet was varied from 0.35 mm to 2.0 mm. The variation of residual stress with depth was measured by alternating X-ray diffraction measurements with electropolishing. It was revealed that a cavitating jet at an injection pressure of 10 MPa with a nozzle diameter of 2.0 mm can introduce higher compressive residual stress to deeper into stainless steel compared with a jet at 300 MPa with a nozzle diameter of 0.35 mm when the downstream pressure of the nozzle was constant.