Nuclear Services/Engineering Services

Westinghouse Solutions to
Mitigate Alloy 600 Cracking
Background
Pressurized water reactor (PWR) plant
construction involves Alloy 600 materials in a
wide variety of ways, including as a weld
material between dissimilar metals such as
stainless steel and carbon steel. Although
many believed that Alloy 600 weldments were
immune to corrosion, experience has shown
that it will crack when exposed to the high
temperatures in primary water. Cracking has
become a major industry issue for a number
of reasons:

tensile stresses. By minimally contracting or squeezing

a circumferential area of the pipe or nozzle on one side
of the weld, MSIP replaces residual tensile stresses
within the weld material with compressive stresses.
MSIP mitigates PWSCC in reactor vessel nozzles,
pressurizer nozzles, steam generator nozzles and safety
injection nozzles.
Advantages of using MSIP in PWR plan construction
include the following:
Continued solution of choice for mitigation of Alloy
600 dissimilar metal welds by the nuclear industry
Mitigates crack initiation and arrests existing cracks

A typical PWR plant hosts a number of

Alloy 600 locations.
Alloy 600 weld metal is already susceptible
to primary water stress corrosion cracking
(PWSCC).
Access to the susceptible locations can be
restrictive.
There are inspection limitations.
Description

Independently qualified and verified by the Electric

Power Research Institute (EPRI) and Argonne
National Labs
Demonstrated a low-dose technique
Minimal schedule impact, compared to competing
techniques
100 percent success rate on treatment of over 3,000
welds worldwide since 1986, with no rework

Mechanical Stress Improvement Process (MSIP)

Applied under the 10 CFR 50.59

MSIP is among the most successful industry measures

to mitigate PWSCC. Developed and patented in 1986
by NuVision Engineering, a partner of Westinghouse,
MSIP prevents and/or mitigates stress corrosion
cracking (SCC) in piping by removing as-welded

Accepted by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission (NRC) as a mitigation/repair method
for SCC in PWR applications
MSIP-generated compressive stresses are maintained
during plant operation by:

 MSIP permanently introduces compressive stresses

through approximately 50 percent of the inside
diameter (ID) surface of the weld/pipe wall
thickness.

Minimal equipment in containment

MSIP is applied using a hydraulically operated

clamp ring and contracts the pipe on one side of the
weldment.

ASME Code Acceptable (ASME Section IX and

Section XI Code Case N-516-3)

Once MSIP has been applied to a weld, the clamp is

removed from the pipe.

Optimizes outage schedule

Contracting forces plastically deform the weld

and pipe.
This reduction at the weld location results in
compressive stresses at the inner region of the weld
in both the axial and hoop directions.
There are several limitations when using MSIP in PWR
plant construction:
Not conducive to emergency implementation
Not typically applicable to cracks greater than 30
percent throughwall
- Can be applied to cracks greater than 30 percent if a
relief request is obtained
Pre-inspection required
Weld Inlay - Underwater Laser Beam Welding (ULBW)
Developed in conjunction with its parent company,
Toshiba, the Westinghouse ULBW inlay process is
especially applicable to RV nozzle welds where access to
the outside of the RV nozzle is limited or not available.
Laser beam welding is a process long recognized by the
American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
Codes as acceptable for use in piping and pressure
vessel applications.

Compact configuration; expansive lay-down area not

required

Maximizes safety and minimizes risk

With a level of precision superior to arc-based welding

processes, the ULBW system uniquely achieves an
optimal balance between weld fusion and base metal
melting. Submerged application within the reactor
pressure vessel has been proven by the Westinghouse
and Toshiba team through several years of research and
development.
ULBW offers a range of advantages in terms of
technology, weld integrity, site implementation and
outage schedule impact, including the following:
Radiation dose mitigated by underwater operations
Welding performed as cladding, eliminating the preweld machining required for a weld inlay
Negligible ULBW-related distortion in the
RCS system
Susceptible
Locations
All Wetted
Locations
Butt Welds

J-Welds

An Inside Diameter (ID) Weld Solution

Inspection
Mitigation Repair Options
Options
Options
Visual Test Zinc Addition
(VT)
Ultrasonic
MSIP*
MSIP*
Test (UT)
Weld Overlay Weld Overlay
Eddy Current
Weld Inlay Cut & Replace
Test (ECT)
Penetrant Test
(PT)
UT
Zinc Addition Mechanical
Nozzle Seal
ECT
Assembly (MNSA)
PT
Half-Nozzle Repair

The Westinghouse underwater laser welding system is a

remotely installed and controlled ID dissimilar metal
(DM) weld mitigation process for RV nozzles.
Automatically deposits high-quality cladding inside
an RV nozzle while submerged in water
Reduces reliance on weld operator skill
Reduces as-low-as-reasonably-achievable (ALARA)
dose

Embedded Flaw
Repair
- RV Heads

*MSIP is a registered trademark of NuVision Engineering, Inc.

Ready access to RV nozzle ID surfaces

Less complex design than Gas Tungsten Arc Welding
(GTAW)

Draining of refueling cavity not required

The laser welding process recognized as precision

welding method with reduced process variability

Coffer dams and shielded work platforms not

required

Equipment size minimized to permit RPV cavity to

remain flooded, ULBW significantly reduces critical

path and personnel radiation exposure.
Laser oscillators located outside the containment
during the welding operation thus containment
equipment footprint minimized
Parallel operations may be used to accommodate sitespecific requirements. Full accessibility of all nozzles
during the repair evolution enables flexibility to
address plant-specific concerns.
Since the weld deposits achieve required chemistry
with minimal deposit thickness, adverse effects on
RCS flow are minimized. Preliminary evaluations
show RCS flow reduction is insignificant.

SWOL PZR Nozzles Installed, to Date

Plant

Nozzles

Outage

Asco 1

Fall '07

Beaver Valley 1

Fall '07

Braidwood 1

Fall '07

Braidwood 2

Spring '08

Byron 1

Spring '07

Byron 2

Fall '06

MSIP PZR Nozzles Installed, to Date

Plant

Nozzles

Outage

Calvert Cliffs 1

Spring '06

Calvert Cliffs 2

Watts Bar 1

SWOL PZR Nozzles Installed, to Date

Plant

Nozzles

Outage

Callaway

Spring '07

Comanche Peak 1

Spring '07

Comanche Peak 2

Spring '08

DC Cook 1

Spring '05

Farley 1

Fall '07

Millstone 3

Fall '05

Millstone 3

Spring '07

South Texas 1

Fall '06

Vogtle 1

Spring '08

Vogtle 2

Spring '07

Wolf Creek

Fall '06

Spring '07

Spring '08

A Complementary ID Weld Solution

The ULBW ID weld solution will complement the
documented success of Westinghouse OD crack
mitigation methods. It will position Westinghouse as the
premier weld mitigation service supplier with the
capability to offer both OD and ID RV nozzle PWSCC
DM weld mitigation that will be unparalleled in terms
of value, technology, mitigation precision and reliability,
and minimal plant outage impact.
Weld Overlay
Weld overlay and the embedded flaw repair methods
encapsulate the crack to keep it from growing.
The advantages of using weld overlay are listed below:

The limitations, on the other hand, include:

Acceptable repair method for throughwall cracks

Industry accepted and regulation-compliant method
Installation of PWSCC resistant material
No need for ultrasonic test (UT) inspection of root
of weld
Simplified inspection due to UT-amenable surface
Production of favorable compressive inside diameter
(ID) stresses

Larger pipe diameters significantly increase process

duration
Relief request required for nickel (Ni) weld material
(N-504-2 covers stainless steel weld material)
Subsequent inspection requirements vary
- MRP-139

 Five years, if cracked (NOTE: Per regulations, nozzles

not inspected prior to weld overlay will be treated
as cracked.)
Ten years, if not cracked
- American Society of Mechanical Engineers
(ASME) Draft Code Case
- Once during first or second refueling outage
(NOTE: If no cracks, 25 percent of population will
be examined in 10 years.)
Mechanical Nozzle Seal Assembly (MNSA)
MNSA is a mechanical sealing device for small-bore
nozzles and is an alternative to weld repairs. MNSA
provides both the sealing and structural functions of a
welded joint. MNSA, based on proprietary Grafoil
technology, is one of a family of mechanical sealing
devices created using more than 30 years of successful
applications in nuclear power plants. It is well suited for
applications such as bottom-mounted instrumentation
nozzles, pressurizer (PZR) heater sleeves and other small
RCS pressure boundary nozzles. The MNSA is an ASME
Code Class 1 qualified design and can be applied either as
a permanent or a temporary repair technique that
eliminates the need for emergency welding programs.
We recommend pre-outage design and analysis to
facilitate rapid response to any emergent applications.
Zinc Addition
All wetted Alloy 600 surfaces benefit from
Westinghouse's patented process of adding soluble zinc
salts to the reactor coolant system (RCS). Zinc addition
reduces radiation dose throughout the system and slows
PWSCC initiation. Empirical evidence also indicates
that zinc addition retards crack growth.

PWSCC has produced significant availability losses and

has attracted extensive regulatory attention. Further,
preventing and mitigating Alloy 600 PWSCC is driving
a significant share of utilities' operation and
maintenance and investment budgets. Westinghouse has
developed a portfolio of product offerings to address
Alloy 600 issues. Below is a matrix that summarizes the
product offerings with respect to inspection, mitigation
and repair options.

Experience
Westinghouse has been a leader in Alloy 600 since the
mid-1980s, when steam generator tube cracking became
prevalent. We found that outside diameter and ID
cracking were directly related to Alloy 600 material
properties. Over the years, Westinghouse has developed
numerous analytical, inspection, mitigation and repair
services to address Alloy 600 issues.
MSIP
The process has been used domestically on more than
1,450 welds, including more than 500 nozzle and safe
ends in both BWRs and PWRs. After numerous postMSIP inspections of the treated welds, there have been
no indications of new cracks or propagation of existing
cracks. MSIP has been proven to be 100 percent
successful. For more than 20 years, MSIP has been an
SCC mitigation technique of choice for BWRs. First
used on PWRs in 1996, MSIP is fast becoming the
mitigation technique of choice for PWRs as well.
Recent and Contracted PWR Mitigations
Plant

Year

Nozzles &
Safe-Ends

Palisades Surge Line and Shutdown Cooling

1996

V.C. Summer RV Nozzles

2002

Half-Nozzle Repair

Calvert Cliffs Unit 1 Pressurizer and RCS

2006

Half-nozzle repair is an integrated pad/sleeve repair

technique. Westinghouse's sleeve design is ideally suited
to MNSA removal locations. The integral pad footprint
does not require welding over MNSA bolt removal
areas. Half-nozzle repair readily converts MNSA sites to
permanent weld repairs.

Calvert Cliffs Unit 2 Pressurizer and RCS

2007

Watts Bar Unit 1 Pressurizer

2008

Watts Bar Unit 2 Pressurizer (under contract)

2009

Salem Unit 1 RV Nozzles (under contract)

2008

Salem Unit RV Nozzles (under contract)

2009

Benefits
PWSCC of Alloy 600 materials and Alloy 182/82 welds
has become a top industry concern for PWR plants.

Weld Overlay
Westinghouse has successfully applied structural weld
overlay (SWOL) to 86 PZR nozzles.

Westinghouse Electric Company

PO Box 355
Pittsburgh, PA 15230
www.westinghousennuclear.com

November 2008

NS-ES-0084 (75370)