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U.S. Department of Energy
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Assessing braze quality in the actively cooled Tore Supra Phase III outboard pump limiter

Conference ·
OSTI ID:123260
The quality of brazing of pyrolytic graphite armor brazed to copper tubes in Tore Supra`s Phase III Outboard Pump Limiter was assessed through pre-service qualification testing of individual copper/tile assemblies. The evaluation used non-destructive, hot water transient heating tests performed in the high-temperature, high-pressure flow loop at Sandia`s Plasma Materials Test Facility. Surface temperatures of tiles were monitored with an infrared camera as water at 120{degrees}C at about 2.07 MPa (300 psi) passed through a tube assembly initially at 30{degrees}C. For tiles with braze voids or cracks, the surface temperatures tagged behind those of adjacent well-bonded tiles. Temperature tags were correlated with flaw sizes observed during repairs based upon a detailed 2-D heat transfer analyses. {open_quotes}Bad{close_quotes} tiles, i.e., temperature tags of 10-20{degrees}C depending upon tile`s size, were easy to detect and, when removed, revealed braze voids of roughly 50% of the joint area. Eleven of the 14 tubes were rebrazed after bad tiles were detected and removed. Three tubes were rebrazed twice.
Research Organization:
Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
DOE Contract Number:
AC04-94AL85000
OSTI ID:
123260
Report Number(s):
SAND--93-3917C; CONF-940664--38; ON: DE96001944
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English