• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.60-68
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• 1991

The weld quality of end cap welds in Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) Fuel is extremely important for the fuel performance in the nuclear reactor. The quality of resistance upset welds is currently evaluated mainly by the metallographic examination although it reveals only two weld cross-sections in a circumference welds. This investigation was, firstly, carried out to determine whether the ultrasonic examination would be applied to detect weld defects in the end cap welds and, secondly, to measure the mechanical strength of upset butt welds as a function of phase shift percentage. The major results obtained in this study are as follows: 1. The weld current and amount of upset shrinkage linearly increased with increasing the phase shift percentage. 2. Above the phase shift 55%, the defects in the welds were completely eliminated with increasing the phase of sound weld was over the thickness of cladding tube. 3. The ultrasonic testing well detected such defects in the end cap welds as upset external crack, upset split, corner crack and irregular weld flash comparing with the results of metallography. 4. The micro-fissure in the corner of the end cap welds was reliably detected by ultrasonic testing. 5. The mechanical strength in the welds increased with increasing phase shift percentage but the fracture did't occur in the welds above 55%.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.60-69
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• 1989

The present study was aimed at investigating the effect of welding parameters such as welding current, electrode force(or squeeze force) and parts cleaning on the sound weld, and establishing the most reliable weld conditions for HWP(Heavy Water Reactor) fuel end capping with the resistance upset butt welding. Major results obtained are as follows. 1. The amount of sound weld was increased with increasing weld current(5.0-11KA) because the activated diffusion with increasing heat generation played an important role in eliminating the porosity and weld line in the weld interface. 2. It was found that weld current was not significantly influenced by the electrode force although the increase of it caused a slight increase of weld current and upset deformation. 3. Acetone rinsing before drying for the Zircaloy-4 end cap cleaning produced the reliable sound weld because it would remove the remaining solvent and surface films, and provided the uniform contact between the end cap and the tube. 4. The optimum welding conditions for fuel end capping by a resistance upset hytt welding are obtained as follows. weld current: 10-11KA, electrode force: 62-90KPa parts cleaning: vapor degreasing.rarw.water, acetone rinsing.rarw.drying.