Remediation of nuclear plant piping and components by weld reinforcement repairs and weld buildups

In-place weld repairs can offer significant benefits over piping replacement in nuclear power plants. More than 600 such repairs have been applied to primary pressure boundary welds in austenitic stainless steel piping in BWRs. Favorable laboratory results and field experience have led to the acceptance of these techniques as long term repairs. The use of the weld overlay repair for other piping materials, geometries, and causes of failure necessitated the expansion of the technology. The governing construction codes require post weld heat treatment and additional impact testing for non-austenitic materials. Procedures are described that address these concerns and permit an extension of the technology to a variety of nuclear applications