A study on the change of microstructural and mechanical properties by the long-term thermal aging of dissimilar metal welds in nuclear power plants

In this study, the metallurgical analysis and mechanical property measurement have been performed to investigate the effect of long-term thermal aging on the microstructural evolution in the fusion boundary region between weld metal and low alloy steel in dissimilar metal welds. A representative dissimilar weld mock-up made of Alloy 690-Alloy 152-A533 Gr. B was fabricated and aged at 450??? for 2,750 hours. The microstructural characterization was conducted mainly near in a weld root region by using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy. And the mechanical properties were measured with Vickers microhardness test and nanoindentation method. A steep gradient was shown in the chemical composition profile across the interface between A533 Gr. B and Alloy 152. Type-II boundaries were found in weld side of DMW and the hardness was the highest at the narrow zone between Type-II boundary and fusion boundary.clos