Ultrasonic inspection of austenitic stainless steel welds with artificially produced stress corrosion cracks

Austenitic stainless steel welds and nickel alloy welds, which are widely used in nuclear power plants, present major challenges for ultrasonic inspection due to the grain structure in the weld. Large grains in combination with the elastic anisotropy of the material lead to increased scattering and affect sound wave propagation in the weld. This results in a reduced signal-to-noise ratio, and complicates the interpretation of signals and the localization of defects. Mechanized ultrasonic inspection was applied to study austenitic stainless steel test blocks with different types of flaws, including inter-granular stress corrosion cracks (IGSCC). The results show that cracks located in the heat affected zone of the weld are easily detected when inspection from both sides of the weld is possible. In cases of limited accessibility, when ultrasonic inspection can be carried out only from one side of a weld, it may be difficult to distinguish between signals from scattering in the weld and signals from cracks.