Analysis of cracked core spray piping from the Quad Cities unit 2 boiling water reactor

The results of a metallurgical analysis of leaking cracks detected in the core spray injection piping of Commonwealth Edison Company's Quad Cities Unit 2 Boiling Water Reactor are described. The cracks were present in a welded 1050 elbow assembly in the line, and were found to be caused by intergranular stress corrosion cracking associated with the probable presence of dissolved oxygen in the reactor cooling water and the presence of grain boundary sensitization and local residual stresses induced by welding. The failure is unusual in several respects, including the very large number of cracks (approximately 40) present in the failed component, the axial orientation of the cracks, and the fact that at least one crack completely penetrated a circumferential weld. Virtually all of the cracking occurred in forged material, and the microstructural evidence presented suggests that the orientation of the cracks was influenced by the presence of axially banded delta ferrite in the microstructure of the forged components