Managing welded high-temperature components in power plant

Welds are the most common site of damage in high-temperature components. Th is involves large costs of control, repair and replacement. This paper disc usses this issue from the viewpoint of two end users, i.e. Enel in Italy, a nd Iberdrola in Spain. General information on the above two organisations, and to the relevance of this subject, is given. After a brief description o f the practices they apply to face relevant problems, experiences of failur e analysis and testing involving welds, exposed to high temperature, are re ported.