Welding Characteristics of Inconel Plate Using Pulsed Nd : YAG Laser Beam

펄스형 Nd:YAG 레이저빔을 이용한 인코넬 판재의 용접 특성

The nuclear steam generators are subjected to corrosion environmental condition during operation that can result in stress corrosion in the tube wall. If any tube wall degradation is recognized, the tube must be repaired by plugging or sleeving. For the sleeving repair, Nd : YAG laser welded sleeving technology is one of the most promising when considering radioactive working conditions in the nuclear power plant. In this paper, the laser welding characteristics of steam generator tube and sleeve materials are investigated. The effects of average laser power, laser energy, welding speed, pulse duration and frequency are evaluated. Based on these results, Nd : YAG laser welded sleeving repair was applied to the degraded steam generator tubes in real environment.