Experimental Design for Evaluation of Co-extruded Refractory Metal/Nickel Base Superalloy Joints
Prior to the restructuring of the Prometheus Program, the NRPCT was tasked with delivering a nuclear space reactor. Potential NRPCT nuclear space reactor designs for the Prometheus Project required dissimilar materials to be in contact with each other while operating at extreme temperatures under irradiation. As a result of the high reactor core temperatures, refractory metals were the primary candidates for many of the reactor structural and cladding components. They included the tantalum-base alloys ASTAR-811C and Ta-10W, the niobium-base alloy FS-85, and the molybdenum base alloys Moly 41-47.5 Rhenium. The refractory metals were to be joined to candidate nickel base alloys such as Haynes 230, Alloy 617, or Nimonic PE 16 either within the core if the nickel-base alloys were ultimately selected to form the outer core barrel, or at a location exterior to the core if the nickel-base alloys were limited to components exterior to the core. To support the need for dissimilar metal joints in the Prometheus Project, a co-extrusion experiment was proposed. There are several potential methods for the formation of dissimilar metal joints, including explosive bonding, friction stir welding, plasma spray, inertia welding, HIP, and co-extrusion. Most of these joining methods are not viable options because they result in the immediate formation of brittle intermetallics. Upon cooling, intermetallics form in the weld fusion zone between the joined metals. Because brittle intermetallics do not form during the initial bonding process associated with HIP, co-extrusion, and explosive bonding, these three joining procedures are preferred for forming dissimilar metal joints. In reference to a Westinghouse Astronuclear Laboratory report done under a NASA sponsored program, joints that were fabricated between similar materials via explosive bonding had strengths that were directly affected by the width of the diffusion barrier. It was determined that the diffusion zone should not exceed a critical thickness (0.0005 in.). A diffusion barrier that exceeded this thickness would likely fail. The joint fabrication method must therefore mechanically bond the two materials causing little or no interdiffusion upon formation. Co-extrusion fits this description since it forms a mechanical joint between two materials by using heat and pressure. The two materials to be extruded are first assembled and sealed within a co-extrusion billet which is subsequently heated and then extruded through a die. For a production application, once the joint is formed, it is dejacketed to remove the outer canister. The remaining piece consists of two materials bonded together with a thin diffusion barrier. Therefore, the long-term stability of the joint is determined primarily by the kinetics of interdiffusion reaction between the two materials. An experimental design for co-extrusion of refractory metals and nickel-based superalloys was developed to evaluate this joining process and determine the long-term stability of the joints.
- Research Organization:
- Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory (BAPL), West Mifflin, PA
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC12-00SN39357
- OSTI ID:
- 884672
- Report Number(s):
- B-MT(SRME)-46; TRN: US0603661
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Solid state bonding of beryllium-copper for an ITER first wall application
METALLURGY DIVISION QUARTERLY PROGRESS REPORT FOR PERIOD ENDING OCTOBER 31, 1951
Related Subjects
42 ENGINEERING
22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS
ALLOY-NI43FE33CR16MO3
ASTAR 811C
DESIGN
DIFFUSION BARRIERS
DRILLING EQUIPMENT
EVALUATION
HEAT RESISTING ALLOYS
IRRADIATION
KINETICS
MOLYBDENUM BASE ALLOYS
NICKEL BASE ALLOYS
NIMONIC
NIOBIUM BASE ALLOYS
REACTOR CORES
REFRACTORY METALS
RHENIUM
NESDPS Office of Nuclear Energy Space and Defense Power Systems
NRPCT