Three-Dimensional Thermomechanical Simulation and Experimental Validation on Failure of Dissimilar Material Welds

Dissimilar material weld joints, consisting of low-alloy steel and 304LN austenitic stainless steel (SS), have critical application in boiling water reactors in the nuclear industry. It was predicted that phase transformation adjacent to the fusion boundary and stress distribution across the transition joint play a key role in the structural degeneration of these welds. Quantitatively, to evaluate their contribution, two different joints were considered. One was fabricated with buttering material 309L SS (M/S Mishra Dhatu Nigam Limited, Hyderabad, India), and the other was produced with buttering material IN182 (M/S Mishra Dhatu Nigam Limited, Hyderabad, India). Base materials remained the same for both. Thermomechanical simulation on dissimilar material welds was performed using finite-element modeling to predict the thermal effect and stress prone area. Temperature-dependent thermal and structural properties were considered for simulation. Simulation results were compared with microstructural characteristics, and data were obtained from the in-situ tensile test. Simulation results exhibited that stress was at maximum in the buttering material and made the zone weaker with respect to adjacent areas. During the validation of results, it was observed that failure occurred through buttering material and endorsed the inference. The variation in mechanical properties of the two welds was explained considering the effect of thermal state and stress distribution.