Statistical analysis of residual stresses in austenitic pipe girth welds

Residual stresses created from welding have a direct influence on fracture mechanisms of cracks and flaws in and around welded regions. Excessive residual stress can lead to unexpected failures and an important property in fitness-for-service calculations. In this work, an experimental database of the residual stress of low heat input austenitic girth welds is analysed for statistical correlation. The combined measurement profiles indicate normality throughout the weld thickness. Two-sample tests of grouped datasets were additionally carried out to examine potential relationships within the data. Presented measurements were characterised by location from weld centre, and similarly, by pipe aspect ratio. Results indicate a moderate influence of dimension ratio on residual stress in piping components suggesting potential for additional consideration in fitness-for-service procedures.