Wei Tang

The confinement boundaries of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) canisters are typically fusion welded. Welded microstructures, strain hardening, and residual stresses combined with a chemically aggressive, chloride-rich environment led to concerns that the welded canister may be susceptible to chloride-induced stress corrosion cracking (CISCC). A comprehensive understanding of the modification of stainless steel (SS) metallurgical and mechanical properties by fusion welding could accelerate the predictive analysis of CISCC susceptibility. This paper describes a submerged arc welding (SAW) procedure that was developed and qualified on 12.7 mm (0.5 in.) thick AISI 304/304L SS to produce joints in a way similar to actual SNF canister manufacturing. This procedure has the potential to reduce the production cost and weld CISCC susceptibility by using fewer welding passes and lower heat input than current industrial applications. Global and local mechanical behaviors and properties, as well as residual stress distributions on the welded joint, were studied. The results indicate that hardness values in the fusion zone (FZ) and heat-affected zone (HAZ) are slightly higher than that of the base metal. Strain localization was presented in the HAZ before the tensile stress reached its maximum value, and then it shifted to the FZ. The specimen finally broke in the FZ. High tensile residual stresses exhibited in the FZ and the nearby HAZ suggest the highest CISCC-susceptible spots. The maximum tensile residual stresses were along the welding direction, indicating that if cracks occur, they would be perpendicular to the welding direction. This study involved developing and qualifying a SAW procedure for SNF canister production. The new procedure yielded cost savings (SAW working efficiency increased by about 80%), improved mechanical properties, and presented moderate residual stresses. Analysis revealed that the welded joint’s low-stress and high-stress damage assessments may be affected by shifts in the strain localization spot under loading.

The welding task focuses on development of advanced welding technologies for repair and maintenance of nuclear reactor structural components to safely and cost-effectively extend the service life of nuclear power reactors. This paper presents an integrated research and development effort by the Department of Energy Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program through the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) to develop a patent-pending technology, Auxiliary Beam Stress Improved Laser Welding Technique, that proactively manages the stresses during laser repair welding of highly irradiated reactor internals without helium induced cracking (HeIC). Finite element numerical simulations and in-situ temperature and strain experimental validation have been utilized to identify candidate welding conditions to achieve significant stress compression near the weld pool during cooling. Preliminary welding experiments were performed on irradiated stainless-steel plates (Type 304L). Post-weld characterization reveals that no macroscopic HeIC was observed.

A wear characterization study was performed to determine the useful lifetime of polycrystalline cubic boron nitride (PCBN) tooling for the friction stir welding (FSW) of stainless steel samples in support of a nuclear repair welding research and development program. In situ and ex situ laser profilometry were utilized as primary methods of monitoring tool geometry degradation, and volumetric defects were detected through both nondestructive and destructive techniques, as repeated welds of a standard sample configuration were produced. These combined methods of characterization allowed for the successful correlation of defect formation with tool condition. Additionally, the spectral content of weld forces was examined to search for indications of evolving material flow conditions, caused by significant tool wear, that would result in the formation of defects; this analysis established the basis for a system that would automatically detect these conditions. To demonstrate this type of system, an artificial neural network was trained and evaluated, and a 95.2% classification rate of defined defect states in validation was achieved. This performance constituted a successful demonstration of in-process monitoring of tool wear and weld quality in FSW of a high melting temperature, high hardness material, with implications for remote monitoring capabilities in the specific application of nuclear repair welding.

Currently, the use of advanced high strength steels (AHSSs) is the most cost effective means of reducing vehicle body weight and maintaining structural integrity at the same time. However, AHSSs present a big challenge to the traditional resistance spot welding (RSW) widely applied in automotive industries because the rapid heating and cooling procedures during RSW produce hardened weld microstructures, which lower the ductility and fatigue properties of welded joints and raise the probability of interfacial failure under external loads. Changing process parameters or post-weld heat treatment may reduce the weld brittleness, but those traditional quality control methods also increase energy consumption and prolong cycle time. In recent years, a magnetically assisted RSW (MA-RSW) method was proposed, in which an externally applied magnetic field would interact with the conduction current to produce a Lorentz force that would affect weld nugget formation. This paper is a review of an experimental MA-RSW platform, the mode of the external magnetic field and the mechanism that controls nugget shape, weld microstructures and joint performance. The advantages of the MA-RSW method in improving the weldability of AHSSs are given, a recent application of the MA-RSW process to light metals is described and the outlook for the MA-RSW process is presented.

In this paper, the effect of pin features and orientation/placement of the materials on advancing side were investigated for friction stir welding (FSW) of dissimilar aluminum alloys AA2050 and AA6061. Pins for FSW were produced with a 2·12 mm pitch thread having three flats/flutes. Three sets of rotational speed/welding speed were used to perform a series of welds in a butt joint arrangement. The results show that, joint quality, process response variables and welding temperature are highly affected by pin features and material orientation in FSW. Defect free joints with effective material transportation in the weld nugget zone were obtained when welding was performed with AA2050 on the advancing side. The tool also encounters less in plane reaction force for welding with 2050 on the advancing side. Pin with thread+3 flats produces quality welds at low rotational and travel speed regardless of the location of alloys on advancing or retreating side.

Friction stir welds were prepared in different orientations in an aluminium single crystal. The welds were quenched to preserve the microstructure surrounding the tool and then electron backscattered diffraction was used to reveal the generation of grain boundaries and the evolution of crystallographic texture around the tool in each weld. The extent of both dynamic recrystallisation and conventional recrystallisation varied considerably as a function of weld orientation. As the base plate begins to interact with the deformation field surrounding the tool, regions of the single crystal rotate to new crystal orientations, producing new grain boundaries in the process. These refined grains develop a {112}<110> texture closer to the tool. Large conventionally recrystallised grains sometimes form in the outer regions of the refined grain structure, but become ever more deformed as they approach the tool until they are indistinguishable from the surrounding material.

In the present paper, an attempt has been made to link friction stir welding (FSW) process control and response variables. Substantial similarities among the relationships between torque, nugget grain size, x axis force and tool rotation rate have been elucidated for three different aluminium alloys. Comparison of the experimental work to results from process simulation indicates that in each case a temperature limit is reached above some critical value of tool rotation rate. A simple method of estimating the strain and strain rate in friction stir welds is presented. The flow stress during FSW is calculated from measured torque values and analysed with respect to aluminium alloy flow stresses measured in standard, high temperature torsion and tensile tests. Results indicate that perhaps either sticking friction conditions are not always applicable during FSW (on all or part of the tool) or that, above a critical tool rotation rate, intermittently lubricated contact is present due to local melting in the weld process zone.

Aluminium alloy 7050 was friction stir welded using three different ratios of tool rotation rate to weld travel speed. Welds were made using travel speeds of between 0·85 and 5·1 mm s⁻¹. Weld power and torque were recorded for each weld. An FEM simulation was used to calculate the time–temperature history for a subset of the welds. For each weld the hardness distribution with and without post-weld heat treatment was determined. The hardness distributions within the welds are rationalised based on the friction stir welding parameters and the resulting temperature histories. The analysis provides a basis for manipulation of weld parameters to achieve desired properties.

Hot rolled DH36 carbon steel, 6.4 mm in thickness, was friction stir welded at speeds of 3.4 mm s^-1 (8 in min^-1), 5.1 mm s^-1 (12 in min^-1), and 7.6 mm s^-1 (18 in min^-1). Single pass welds free of volumetric defects were produced at each speed. The relationships between welding parameters and weld properties are discussed. Optical microscopy, microhardness testing, and transverse and longitudinal tensile tests have been performed. Bainite and martensite are found in the nugget region of the friction stir welds whereas the base material is comprised of ferrite and pearlite. The maximum hardness is observed in the weld nugget, and the hardness decreases gradually from the weld nugget, through the heat affected zone, to the base metal. Tensile testing also indicates overmatching of the weld metal relative to the base metal. Maximum hardness and longitudinal (all weld metal) tensile strengths increase with increasing welding speeds. Weld transverse tensile strengths are governed by the base metal properties, as all transverse tensile bars fail in the base metal.

In the friction stir welding (FSW) process, heat is generated by friction between the tool and the workpiece. This heat flows into the workpiece as well as the tool. The amount of heat conducted into the workpiece determines the quality of the weld, residual stress and distortion of the workpiece. The amount of the heat that flows to the tool dictates the life of the tool and the capability of the tool for the joining process. In this paper, we formulate the heat transfer of the FSW process into two boundary value problems (BVP)—a steady state BVP for the tool and a transient BVP for the workpiece. To quantify the physical values of the process the temperatures in the workpiece and the tool are measured during FSW. Using the measured transient temperature fields finite element numerical analyses were performed to determine the heat flux generated from the friction to the workpiece and the tool. Detailed temperature distributions in the workpiece and the tool are presented. Discussions relative to the FSW process are then given. In particular, the results show that (1) the majority of the heat generated from the friction, i.e., about 95%, is transferred into the workpiece and only 5% flows into the tool and (2) the fraction of the rate of plastic work dissipated as heat is about 80%.