Weldability of tritium-charged 304L stainless steel
Attempts to repair the wall of C-Reactor Tank at the Savannah River Plant were halted when Gas Tungsten Arc (GTA) welds joining patches to the wall developed toe cracks in the heat affected zone (HAZ). The cause of the toe cracks was investigated by welding on 304L samples that were tritium charged and aged to produce helium. Helium embrittlement was shown to be the likely cause of weld toe cracking in C-Reactor Tank. GTA welds made on helium impregnated 304L produced toe cracks identical to those that caused leaking patches during C-Reactor Tank repair. Heating of a sample to remove deuterium and tritium without removing helium did not reduce cracking susceptibility. Low heat input and spot GTA welds also produced cracks, indicating possible problems using these techniques for reactor repair. However, cracks were not produced by solid state resistance welds, or by a very low heat GTA pass that did not produce melting. This indicates that non-melting or low tensile stress techniques could be used for repair.
- Research Organization:
- Du Pont de Nemours (E.I.) and Co., Aiken, SC (USA). Savannah River Lab.
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC09-76SR00001
- OSTI ID:
- 6879166
- Report Number(s):
- DP-1740; ON: DE87008554
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
220700 -- Nuclear Reactor Technology-- Plutonium & Isotope Production Reactors
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
360101* -- Metals & Alloys-- Preparation & Fabrication
ALLOYS
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
C REACTOR
CHROMIUM ALLOYS
CHROMIUM STEELS
CHROMIUM-NICKEL STEELS
CONTAINERS
CORROSION RESISTANT ALLOYS
EMBRITTLEMENT
HEAT RESISTANT MATERIALS
HEAT RESISTING ALLOYS
HEAVY WATER MODERATED REACTORS
HELIUM EMBRITTLEMENT
HYDROGEN ISOTOPES
IRON ALLOYS
IRON BASE ALLOYS
ISOTOPES
LIGHT NUCLEI
MATERIALS
NESDPS Office of Nuclear Energy Space and Defense Power Systems
NICKEL ALLOYS
NUCLEI
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
PRODUCTION REACTORS
RADIOISOTOPES
REACTORS
REPAIR
SPECIAL PRODUCTION REACTORS
STAINLESS STEEL-304L
STAINLESS STEELS
STEELS
TANKS
TRITIUM
WELDABILITY
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES