Abstract
Stress corrosion cracking (SCC) has been observed near the heat affected zone (HAZ) of welded pipe joint made of austenitic stainless steel type 316L, even though sensitization is not observed. Therefore, It can be considered that the effect of residual stress on SCC is more important. In the joining process of pipes, butt-welding is conducted after machining. Residual stress is generated by both processes. In case of welding after machining, it can be considered that residual stress due to machining is changed by welding thermal cycle. In this study, residual stress and microstructure evolution due to manufacturing processes is investigated. Change of residual stress distribution caused by processing history is examined by X-ray diffraction method. Residual stress distribution has a local maximum stress in the middle temperature range of the HAZ caused by processing history. Hardness measurement result also has a local maximum hardness in the same range of the HAZ. By using FE-SEM/EBSD, it is clarified that microstructure shows recovery in the high temperature range of HAZ. Therefore, residual stress distribution is determined by microstructure evolution and superposition effect of processing history. In summary, not only any part of manufacturing processes such as welding or machining but also treating all processes as processing history of pipes are important to evaluate SCC.
