Nuclear Engineering and Design 115 (1989) 349-357

North-Holland, Amsterdam

349

EFFECT OF COMMERCIAL CLADDING ON THE FRACTURE BEHAVIOR

OF PRESSURE VESSEL STEEL PLATES *
S.K. I S K A N D E R , D.J. A L E X A N D E R , S.E. B O L T , K.V. C O O K , W.R. C O R W I N , B.C. O L A N D ,
R.K. N A N S T A D a n d G.C. R O B I N S O N
Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA

Received 3 March 1988

The objective of this program is to determine the effect, if any, of stainless steel cladding upon the propagation of small
surface cracks subjected to stress states similar to those produced by thermal shock conditions. Preliminary results from
testing at temperatures 10 and 60C below the nil-ductility-transition temperature have shown that (1) a tough surface layer
(cladding and/or heat-affected zone) has arrested running flaws under conditions where unclad plates have ruptured, and (2)
the residual load-bearing capacity of clad plates with large subclad flaws significantly exceeded that of an unclad plate.

1. Introduction
A small crack near the inner surface of clad nuclear
reactor pressure vessels (RPV) is an important consideration in the safety assessment of the structural integrity
of the vessel. The behavior of such flaws is relevant to
the pressurized thermal shock (PTS) scenario and to the
plant life extension issue.
There is a dearth of information on the behaviour of
small flaws in the presence of cladding. This has led
some RPV integrity studies to the assumption of infinitely long flaws (although small flaws are certainly
more Credible). The basis for the assumption of long
flaws is experimental results which have shown that, in
the absence of cladding, a small surface flaw in an
embrittled material subjected to severe thermal shock
will become a long flaw [1]. Thus, the question remains
about the role a tough surface cladding will play in
preventing the propagation of small flaws along the
surface. Furthermore, the flaw could tunnel beneath the
cladding, in which case the residual strength of the
structure needs to be estimated.

* Research sponsored by the Office of Nuclear Regulatory

Research, Division of Engineering, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission under Interagency Agreement DOE 0551-0551A1 with the U.S. Department of Energy under contract
DE-AC05-840R21400 with Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Inc.

The objective of the research program described

(" the clad plate program") is to determine the behavior
of small flaws in or near cladding under stress fields
similar to those occurring during a PTS scenario. The
potential benefit to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is an improved predictive capability of
the fracture strength of a RPV with hypothetical flaws.
The objectives of this research are achieved by comparing the load-bearing capacity of clad and unclad flawed
plates. The clad plate program is conducted as part of
the Heavy-Section Steel Technology (HSST) program.
A special plate specimen has been developed to
investigate the cladding effects. It was commercially
clad using the three-wire series-arc technique and stainless steel type 308, 309, and 304 weld wires. The base
metal on which the cladding was applied, A533 grade B
steel, was heat treated to raise its transition temperature
so that it would be brittle at temperatures at which the
cladding would be tough. An electron-beam (EB) weld
is introduced into the base metal to provide a crack
initiation site [2]. The plate is loaded in four-point
bending to approximate the stresses due to thermal
shock and then hydrogen charged [2], while the load is
maintained constant. A flaw initiates in the EB weld
and propagates along the surface until the flaw encounters the clad region. The running flaw is either arrested
or leads to complete rupture of the plate. Plates which
do not rupture are heat-tinted to define the arrested
flaw shape and are then reloaded until either another
pop-in or plate rupture occurs.

0 0 2 9 - 5 4 9 3 / 8 9 / $ 0 3 . 5 0 Elsevier Science Publishers B.V.

350

S.K. lskander et al. / Fracture behavior of pressure vessel steel plates

The first series (Series 1) of such experiments indicated that the cladding employed may have had sufficient arrest toughness to stop running cracks [3]. The
bounding of the contribution of the stainless steel cladding on the arrest toughness was not realized.

2. Test specimen
The specimen used in Series 2 has been designed and
fabricated to avoid the problems encountered in the
first series. One of the problems was the unknown effect
of a groove (machined through the stainless steel cladding to put an EB weld in the base metal) on the stress
intensity factors. The specimen design for Series 2 allows the EB weld to be produced on the surface. Approximately, the EB weld zone is semi-elliptic in shape,
70 mm long with the major axis along the surface, and
15 mm deep. A drawing of a clad-plate specimen,
together with the load points to produce a constant
moment over the EB weld, is shown in fig. 1.
The Charpy impact energies as a function of temperature for the LS and LT orientations (reproduced from

ref. [4]) are shown in fig. 2. In the weld overlay cladding, the orientations referred to are those of the underlying base plate. The LT orientation is relevant to
flaws propagating along the surface and normal to the
plate roiling direction. With respect to the EB weld, the
LT orientation corresponds to that of a flaw initiating
in the EB weld and propagating in the direction of the
major axis of the EB weld. The LS orientation corresponds to flaws propagating in the thickness direction.
In particular note that the Charpy energy of the H A Z is
significantly higher than that of either cladding or base
metal over the temperature range - 2 5 to 2 5 C at
which the clad plates were tested.
The yield strength and ductility of the clad plate
materials, also from ref. [4], are shown in fig. 3. The
yield strength and ductility of the H A Z and base metal
are very similar, and at clad-plate test temperatures the
cladding is significantly more ductile but lower in yield
strength than the base metal and HAZ.
* The nomenclature used to designate crack plane orientations
such as LS and LT is that recommended in A S T M Standard
Terminoh)gy Relating to Fracture Testing (E 616).

/- J

/ /
P2

f,,~),j,.5~.~O
v
5

~ .

P2

P/2

DIMENSIONS

IN

CENTIMETE'RS

CLADDING

, ~ 3-4 m m T H I C K

Fig. 1. A drawing of a clad-plate specimen, together with the load points to produce a constant moment over the flaw.

S,K. Iskander et a L / Fracture behavior of pressure vessel steel plates

700

1 4 T BASE METAL

H~,Z

[3

351

175
[3 . . . . . . . . . .
150

O--

--

125

Cc

CLADDING

TEST

~,.~

- ~

M
i-i

TEMPERATURE/
RANGE

100

C]

.A

- ~

75

D."

~"

,5

0T

200

.......... 0

175

150

O--

--

"

1 4 T BASE METAL
HAZ

CLADDING
O

125

100

TEST
TEMPERATURE//

.,"'"

.'"""

[3

.1" ? I f

RANGE ~ ' ~

.' "

...

~,

. . . . .

~'""~/=o

so

,.,/~

".~-,
0. 200

"

&
100

NDT
,

, ,

100
TEMPERATURE

I
200

I
300

,
400

ICI

Fig. 2. Charpy impact energy as a function of temperature for the LS and LT orientations.

Both the higher Charpy energy of the H A Z and high

ductility of the cladding have played prominent roles in
the results of the clad plate tests.

3. General description of the test

In the six tests performed, the general test procedure
was essentially the same. The instrumented plate was
mounted in a 1 - M N Instron testing machine. For tests
at other than room temperature, the plate was cooled to
the specified temperature. The variation in temperature
at various locations was kept within 3 C. The plate was
then loaded in f6ur-point bending to induce a pure
bending m o m e n t over the span including the EB. The

loads were chosen to induce a specified strain level on

the surface of the base metal. The EB weld was then
hydrogen charged, while the load was maintained constant using stroke control until a flaw initiated. This
portion of the experiment on an initially unflawed plate
was thus essentially an "arrest" experiment, the purpose
of which was to study the effect of cladding on a
running flaw.
In cases in which the flaw arrested, the plate was
removed from the testing machine and heat-tinted * to
define the arrested flaw shape. Some nondestructive
* For a low-allow steel, no significant effects on the crack tip
material properties are expected from heat-tinting at 325 C
for 1 h.

352

S.K. Iskander et al. / Fracture behavior of pressure vessel steel plates

1200
O
"r-I

1/4--T BASE M E T A L
H AZ

'O

CLADDING

960

I~

TEST TEMPERATURE

r
720
L9
Z

LU

480

--1

.ANGE

I
a
I

I
I
I

I
I

I
I

240

I
i
I

100

I I
I
I

O
"0
O

1 / 4 - T BASE M E T A L

H AZ
CLADDING

7
E0

".

o
,.J
w

,~ 40

20
-

0
IOO

I
60

................... " -

I
- 20

o ..............

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

TEMPERATURE

I
20

i
60

100

(CI

Fig. 3. The yield strength and ductility of the clad plate materials.

examination was performed on the first and second

plates tested to determine the extent of flaw propagation. After partial reinstrumentation, the plate was
put back into the testing machine and cooled to a
specified temperature. The load was increased at a
uniform rate until the plate either ruptured or further
pop-in occurred. In the case of the latter event, the
process was repeated. The purpose of reloading the
arrested flaws was to obtain data on the residual
load-bearing capacity of flawed clad plates. This portion of the experiment was designated an "initiation"
one, in contrast with the "arrest" portion previously
described.
A data acquisition system was used to record the
readings from the instrumentation on magnetic tape at

suitable time and load intervals. In addition to the

strains, crack opening displacement (COD), and the
temperature at various locations in the plate, the load
and the displacement of the testing machine ram were
also recorded.
Using an assumed flaw shape that corresponded
approximately to the EB weld zone, the loading rate
was chosen to be within the range prescribed by A S T M
Standard Test M e t h o d for Plane-Strain Fracture Toughness o f Metallic Materials (E 399), 0.55 to 2.75 MPa
V~

,S -1"

For the six plates tested, the target surface strains

and corresponding loads are given in table 1. For applicable cases the load that the specimen can support
after pop-in, the "arrest" load, is also given. The surface

353

S.K. Iskander et al. / Fracture behavior of pressure vessel steel plates

Table 1
Target surface strains and corresponding loads for the six plates tested.
Plate

Test
temperature a
(C)

Condition

Load (kN)
Pop-in

Arrest b

Target
surface
strain

(~)
CP-15

Clad

CP-17

CP-19

Clad
Several pop-ins
occurred
before rupture
Clad

CP-21
CP-18

Unclad
Clad

CP-20

Clad

RT
- 25
- 100
RT
- 25

676
759
600
890
756/725

654
709
R
823
R

0.31

RT
-50
RT
- 25
- 25
- 25

987
703
676
823
698
868

689
R
R
649
R
R

0.65

0.45

0.27
0.39
0.41

a RT = room temperature, approximately 25 o C.

b R = plate ruptured in two pieces.

strain (in the u n i f o r m b e n d i n g m o m e n t span of the

plate) is the i n d e p e n d e n t p a r a m e t e r used in the selection of the target load. All arrest experiments were
p e r f o r m e d at either - 2 5 or 2 5 C . The loads ( a n d
strains) were m a i n t a i n e d c o n s t a n t u n d e r stroke control
d u r i n g the period of h y d r o g e n charging a n d are a measure of the crack-driving force acting d u r i n g the i n s t a n t
the flaw initiated in the EB weld.
F o r the first plate tested, CP-15, the surface strain
was chosen to b e approximately the yield strain of the
base metal. T h e plate did not rupture. The target surface
strain was increased for each of plates CP-17 a n d CP-19.
In all three cases the flaw initiated a n d arrested after

CP-19

1000 B

O INITIAL LOAD
N0--

--

800--

o
,J

7~--

ARREST LOAD

CP-17

l
CP-21

O (FAILED)

CP-15

S00-UNCLAD
PLATE

CLAD PLATES

S00__

Fig. 4. Pop-in, arrest loads, and corresponding crack lengths

for the four plates tested at room temperature.

p r o p a g a t i n g b e n e a t h the cladding, a distance t h a t increased with increasing target strain. A n unclad plate,
CP-21, r u p t u r e d w h e n loaded to approximately the base
metal yield strain o n the surface. T h e pop-in, arrest
loads, a n d c o r r e s p o n d i n g crack lengths for the four
plates tested at r o o m t e m p e r a t u r e are s h o w n schematically in fig. 4.
T h e detailed description of the test o n only one of
the six plates is provided below. F o r details o n the
remaining plates the reader is directed to ref. [5].

4. Testing

of plate CP-15

Plate CP-15 was the first three-wire clad plate tested.

It was loaded at room t e m p e r a t u r e to a surface strain of
approximately 0.31% (in the u n i f o r m m o m e n t s p a n of
the plate), c o r r e s p o n d i n g to the yield stress at r o o m
t e m p e r a t u r e of the base metal of 590 MPa, requiring a
load of 676 kN. It was then h y d r o g e n charged while the
load was m a i n t a i n e d c o n s t a n t using stroke control. Popin occurred within a b o u t 1 h. T h e plate was removed
from the testing m a c h i n e a n d h e a t - t i n t e d at 3 2 5 C . The
plate was reinstalled, cooled to - 2 5 C , a n d loaded at a
c o n s t a n t d i s p l a c e m e n t rate. A second p o p - i n occurred
at a load of 759 kN. T h e plate was removed from the
testing m a c h i n e a n d h e a t - t i n t e d at 2 5 0 C . T h e plate
was reinstalled in the testing machine, cooled to
- 100C, a n d the load increased at a u n i f o r m rate until

354

S.K. Iskander et al. / Fracture behavior of pressure vessel steel plates

Fig. 5. The broken halves of the 150-kg test specimen CP-15 with heat-tinted shapes of the first and second pop-ins.

the plate broke completely at 600 kN. Fig. 5 shows the

two broken halves of the 150-kg test specimen with
heat-tinted shapes of the first and second pop-ins. The
fracture surface has been examined in detail and is
described in a later section.
After the first pop-in, a surface crack in the H A Z of

Fig. 6. Surface crack in the HAZ of the EB weld of plate CP-15

after the second pop-in (top center), extending as dimples into
the cladding on either side. The crater on the left of the crack
was formed during EB welding and not during testing.

the EB weld could be discerned, but it did not appear to

have extended on the surface. Instead, a small concave
dimple extended axially from the ends of the flaw,
indicating that perhaps the flaw extended under the
surface. The extension of the axial dimple stopped short
of the cladding. The crack had actually propagated in
the base metal just below the surface until it encountered the H A Z with a very thin layer of metal covering
the flaw.
During the second pop-in, the surface flaw appeared
to have extended in the base metal along the previously
dimpled surface to a length of about 7 cm, but still
short of the 10 cm needed to reach the cladding. However, the dimple extended into the cladding about 5 - 1 0
mm. The surface extension of the flaw in the base metal
was merely the rupturing of the thin layer mentioned
above. Fig. 6 shows the surface crack in the H A Z of the
EB weld after the second pop-in (top center), extending
as dimples into the cladding on either side. The crater
on the left of the crack was formed during EB welding
and not during testing. N o t e the buckled weldable
strain gages, indicating the large C O D to which they
had been subjected.
After the second pop-in, due to the lack of observable flaw extension along the surface, the plate was
X-rayed, and e x a m i n e d ultrasonically with dye
penetrant. The X-ray and ultrasonic examinations indicated a subsurface flaw about 27 cm long. The dye
penetrant failed to reveal any extensions of the flaw on
the surface beyond those observed visually (see fig. 7).
The thin surface layer over the portion of the flaw
residing in the base metal had only partially ruptured,
thus blocking the dye penetrant from indicating that
portion of the flaw.

S.K. Iskander et al. / Fracture behavior of pressure vessel steel plates

355

Fig. 7. Dye penetrant (examination of plate CP-15 after the second pop-in) failed to reveal any extensions of the flaw on the surface
beyond those observed visually.

5. Fraetography of plate CP-15

The fracture surface of plate CP-15 was examined to
determine the profile of the crack front at the arrest
events. F o r this specimen, the initial fracture and arrest
occurred at r o o m temperature, the second fracture and
arrest occurred at - 2 5 o C, and the final fracture of the

plate was at - 1 0 0 C . Heat-tinting was used to mark

the crack front after the two arrest events.
Preliminary examinations were m a d e of the fracture
surface after the final fracture. Optical micrographs
were also made. The fracture surfaces were then cut off
the fractured specimen halves. One of the resulting
pieces was then cut into 11 sections to allow portions of

Fig. 8. Fractography of clad plate CP-15. There is no evidence of ductility at the arrest locations. The second event resulted in crack
arrest in the cladding on the right-hand side of the flaw.

356

S.K. Iskander et a L / Fracture behavior of pressure vessel steel plates

the surface to be inserted into the scanning electron

microscope (SEM) for further examination.
5.1. First fracture event

The initial event, which occurred at room temperature, initiated in the HAZ of the EB weld and propagated down into the plate as well as extending out to
either side. Near the surface, the crack was arrested on
either end by the HAZ associated with the cladding.
The result was the bowed-out shape shown in fig. 5. The
fracture mode during this event was cleavage, all the
way to the arrest location. There is no evidence of
ductile fracture at the arrest point, as is shown in fig. 8.
5.2. Second fracture event

The second fracture and arrest occurred at - 2 5 o C.

The crack extended from the first arrest point into the
plate, extending much further to either side and also
through the thickness of the plate. SEM examination
showed that the crack was again arrested by the HAZ
boundary on one end of the crack, here termed the
"left-hand side". Again, the fracture mode was cleavage, all the way to the arrest point. In the center of the
plate the crack also extended by cleavage to its arrest
location. However, at the other end of the flaw, here
referred to as the "right-hand side", the flaw was able
to penetrate the HAZ and did actually come into contact with the cladding. In this case, the HAZ was
fractured over a distance of roughly 2.54 cm, at which
point the flaw deviated and returned to follow the HAZ
boundary. The distance over the which the HAZ was
penetrated matched the width of the initial strip of
cladding. The crack front deflection occurred at the
point where the HAZ of the second strip of cladding
encountered the HAZ from the first strip. The crack
grew through the first strip of HAZ by a cleavage
mechanism, and then hit the stainless steel cladding.
Near the edge of the cladding, the flaw penetrated into
the cladding for as much as 0.8 mm. The amount of
penetration decreased further from the edge of the
cladding until the flaw followed the cladding-base metal
interface. Fracture of the stainless steel cladding occurred by a ductile mechanism, as the primarily
austenitic material will not cleave.
5.3. Final structure

The final fracture at - 1 0 0 C resulted in the complete fracture of the plate. Fracture occurred by cleavage through the remaining areas of base metal and

HAZ. Fracture in the cladding tended to follow the

ferrite phase, resulting in a relatively brittle fracture
appearance. In this case, however, there was no indication that the crack had stopped at the interface between
the cladding and the HAZ, or at the H A Z - b a s e metal
boundary.

6. Discussion of results
The tough surface layer of cladding and H A Z seemed
to have contributed significantly to the load-bearing
capacity of the plates by arresting flaws at loads and
temperatures that have ruptured unclad plates, as seen
by comparing the results of the tests given in table 1 for
plates CP-15 and CP-21. In fact, the clad plate CP-19
arrested a flaw subjected to a driving force (as measured
by the target load) almost 50% high than that which
broke an unclad plate. Moreover, the residual loadbearing capacity of plates, as measured by the critical
loads in initiation experiments with fairly large flaws,
was generally greater than required to break the unclad
plate, even though the test temperatures were lower by
50C.
The tests indicate a propensity of propagating flaws
to tunnel, even without the aid of the tough surface
layer composed of cladding/HAZ, as has occurred in
the base metal portion of the clad plates and in the
unclad plate. This potential for tunneling is due to the
location of the maximum stress intensity factor for
short flaws occurring somewhat below the surface when
the flaw is in a stress gradient, as in these tests.
The ductility of cladding appears to have been a
necessary ingredient in increasing the load-bearing
capacity of clad plates. However, it is not clear at this
time whether cladding alone, without benefit of the
tough HAZ which played a pronounced role in arresting
propagating flaws, would have also elevated the loadbearing capacity. In the case of radiation embrittled
reactor pressure vessels, the HAZ will most likely undergo toughness degradation similar to that of base
metal, and would therefore not play such a prominent
role in arresting propagating flaws.

Nomenclature
COD
CP-n
EB
HAZ
HSST

Crack opening displacement

Clad plate number n
Electron beam
Heat-affected zone
Heavy Section Steel Technology

S.K. lskander et al. / Fracture behavior of pressure vessel steel plates

NRC
ORNL
PTS
RPV
SEM

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Pressurized thermal shock
Reactor pressure vessel
Scanning electron microscope

References
[1] S.K. Iskander, A method of LEFM analysis of RPV during
SBLOCA, Int. J. Pressure Vessels Piping 25 (1986) 279-298.
[2] P.P. Holz, Flaw preparations for HSST program vessel
fracture mechanics testing: Mechanical cyclic pumping and
electron beam weld-hydrogen-charge cracking schemes,
NUREG/CR-1274 ( O R N L / N U R E G / T M - 3 6 9 ) , Oak
Ridge National Laboratory (May 1980).

357

[3] W,R. Corwin et al., Effect of stainless steel weld overlay

cladding on the structural integrity of flawed steel plates in
bending - Series 1, NUREG/CR-4015 (ORNL/TM-9390),
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (April 1985).
[4] W.R. Corwin, Stainless steel cladding investigations, in:
Heavy-Section Steel Technology Program Semiannual Prog.
Rep. October 1985-March 1986, NUREG/CR-4219, Vol.
3, No. 1 (ORNL/TM-9593/V3&N1), Oak Ridge National
Laboratory (June 1986) pp. 70-87.
[5] S.K. Iskander et al., Crack arrest behavior in clad plates,
in: Heavy-Section Steel Technology Program Semiann.
Prog. Rep. April-September 1987, NUREG/CR-4219, Vol.
4, No. 2 (ORNL/TM-9593/V4&N2), Oak Ridge National
Laboratory (April 1988) pp. 222-242.