Overlay welding irradiated stainless steel

Conference · Sun Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 1993

OSTI ID:10178743

Kanne, W R; Chandler, G T; Nelson, D Z; Franco-Ferreira, E A

An overlay technique developed for welding irradiated stainless steel may be important for repair or modification of fusion reactor materials. Helium, present due to n,{alpha} reactions, is known to cause cracking using conventional welding methods. Stainless steel impregnated with 3 to 220 appm helium by decay of tritium was used to develop a welding process that could be used for repair. The result was a gas metal arc weld overlay technique with low-heat input and low-penetration into the helium-containing material. Extensive metallurgical and mechanical testing of this technique demonstrated substantial reduction of helium embrittlement damage. The overlay technique was applied to irradiated 304 stainless steel containing 10 appm helium. Surface cracking, present in conventional welds made on the same steel at lower helium concentrations, was eliminated. Underbead cracking, although greater than for tritium charged and aged material, was minimal compared to conventional welding methods.

• Research Organization: Westinghouse Savannah River Co., Aiken, SC (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC09-89SR18035
• OSTI ID: 10178743
• Report Number(s): WSRC-MS-93-091; CONF-930928-1; ON: DE93018767; TRN: 93:019027
• Resource Relation: Conference: 6. international conference on fusion reactor materials,Stresa (Italy),27 Sep - 1 Oct 1993; Other Information: PBD: [1993]
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
STAINLESS STEELS
GAS METAL-ARC WELDING
THERMONUCLEAR REACTOR MATERIALS
REPAIR
STAINLESS STEEL-304
HELIUM EMBRITTLEMENT
IRRADIATION
PHYSICAL RADIATION EFFECTS
TRITIUM
CRACKS
MECHANICAL TESTS
700480
360101
COMPONENT DEVELOPMENT
MATERIALS STUDIES
PREPARATION AND FABRICATION