Assessment of Negligible Creep, Off-Normal Welding and Heat Treatment of Gr91 Steel for Nuclear Reactor Pressure Vessel Application

Two different topics of Grade 91 steel are investigated for Gen IV nuclear reactor pressure vessel application. On the first topic, negligible creep of Grade 91 is investigated with the motivation to design the reactor pressure vessel in negligible creep regime and eliminate costly surveillance programs during the reactor operation. Available negligible creep criteria and creep strain laws are reviewed, and new data needs are evaluated. It is concluded that modifications of the existing criteria and laws, together with their associated parameters, are needed before they can be reliably applied to Grade 91 for negligible creep prediction and reactor pressure vessel design. On the second topic, effects of off-normal welding and heat treatment on creep behavior of Grade 91 are studied with the motivation to better define the control over the parameters in welding and heat treatment procedures. The study is focused on off-normal austenitizing temperatures and improper cooling after welding but prior to post-weld heat treatment