Analysis of delta-ferrite data from production stainless steel pipe welds

An American Society of Mechanical Engineers task group on stainless steel weld materials was organized to determine the need for ferrite measurements of production welds required by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission Regulatory Guide 1.31 (Rev. 1). The task group studied paired ferrite measurements (i.e., calculated and measured ferrite numbers (FNs) for the material qualifications versus measured ferrite numbers for corresponding production welds (PWs)). Our purpose was to compare delta-ferrite content as measured in the filler metal weld qualification pad with that in the resultant PW. Welds made predominantly by three common processes (submerged arc, shielded metal arc, and gas tungsten arc) were included in the study. Weld metals investigated included types 308, 308L, 316, and 316L stainless steel. An initial evaluation of the paired ferrite measurements was made by the task group, and specific conclusions and recommendations were made. We describe the analysis of the data and the conclusions drawn. The data base consisted of a heterogeneous collection of 1449 paired ferrite measurements for several forms and combinations of types 304 and 316 stainless steel pipe qualification pad and production welds. Qualification pad values ranged from 5 to 15 FN, and corresponding values for the PWs ranged from 2.3more » to 17.5 FN. Only two PW ferrite numbers were less than 3. For qualification weld ferrite numbers less than 14, the median PW ferrite number was in reasonable agreement. However, the results show a wide scatter. As a result of this analysis and the task group evaluation, we concluded that the requirements of Regulatory Guide 1.31 on the measurement of ferrite in PWs are not necessary and that a ferrite number of 5 in the qualification welds will, in most cases, result in PW ferrite contents greater than 3 FN.« less