Repair welding of fusion reactor components
Experiments have shown that irradiated Type 316 stainless steel is susceptible to heat-affected-zone (HAZ) cracking upon cooling when welded using the gas tungsten arc (GTA) process under lateral constraint. The cracking has been hypothesized to be caused by stress-assisted helium bubble growth and rupture at grain boundaries. This study utilized an experimental welding setup which enabled different compressive stresses to be applied to the plates during welding. Autogenous GTA welds were produced in Type 316 stainless steel doped with 256 appm helium. The application of a compressive stress, 55 MPa, during welding suppressed the previously observed catastrophic cracking. Detailed examinations conducted after welding showed a dramatic change in helium bubble morphology. Grain boundary bubble growth along directions parallel to the weld was suppressed. Results suggest that stress-modified welding techniques may be used to suppress or eliminate helium-induced cracking during joining of irradiated materials.
- Research Organization:
- Auburn Univ., AL (United States). Dept. of Mechanical Engineering
- Sponsoring Organization:
- DOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- FG05-91ER54134
- OSTI ID:
- 6582650
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/ER/54134-2; ON: DE93015073
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Technique to eliminate helium induced weld cracking in stainless steels
Stress modified welding process for irradiated materials
Related Subjects
360106* -- Metals & Alloys-- Radiation Effects
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
700480 -- Fusion Technology-- Component Development
ALLOYS
ARC WELDING
AUSTENITIC STEELS
BUBBLE GROWTH
CHROMIUM ALLOYS
CHROMIUM-NICKEL STEELS
CHROMIUM-NICKEL-MOLYBDENUM STEELS
CORROSION RESISTANT ALLOYS
CRYSTAL STRUCTURE
EMBRITTLEMENT
FABRICATION
GAS METAL-ARC WELDING
GAS TUNGSTEN-ARC WELDING
GRAIN BOUNDARIES
HEAT AFFECTED ZONE
HEAT RESIS
HELIUM EMBRITTLEMENT
HIGH ALLOY STEELS
IRON ALLOYS
IRON BASE ALLOYS
JOINING
MICROSTRUCTURE
MOLYBDENUM ALLOYS
Ma
Materials Studies-- (1992-)
NICKEL ALLOYS
STAINLESS STEEL-316
STAINLESS STEELS
STEEL-CR17NI12MO3
STEELS
WELDING
ZONES