• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• 제20권3호
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• pp.98-104
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• 2002

A study on microstructures of welds for Zircaloy-4 sheath end closure by the resistance upset welding methods was carried out. Two upset welding process variations such as magnetic farce and multi-impulse resistance welding were used. Grain size and microhardness across welds were analysed in terms of welding parameters. Magnetic farce resistance weld with one cycle of unbalanced mode has smaller upset length and $\alpha-grain$ size in heat affected zone than those of multi-impulse resistance weld because of lower heat input and shorter welding time. Heat affected zone formed by two upset resistance welding variations revealed fine Widmanstatten structure or martensitic ${\alpha}'$ structure due to the high heating rate and foster cooling rate. Magnetic force resistance welds showed recrystallized grains before grain growth, whereas multi-impulse resistance welds showed full grain growth.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• 제10권4호
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• pp.240-249
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• 1992

The objective of this study is to investigate the characteristics of welded joints on the Zircaloy-4 resistance upset welding for HWR(Heavy Water reactor)fuel rods. To estimate the characteristics of welded joints, the various tests were performed on the test coupons systematically with a wide range of each welding parameters in terms of a tensile test, burst test, knoop hardness test and metallography. Major results obtained in this study are as follows: 1. The tube and machined with 120.deg. projection was the reliable weld joint design for the nuclear fuel rod end cap welding. 2. As the weld current and the amount of upset increased linearly with increasing welding main heat input, it could make an estimate of their variation in accordance with the phase shift control. 3. It was found that an increase in squeeze force has an effect on the upset contour of welded joint because the amount of upset were increased by the change of squeeze force.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• 제7권2호
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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.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• 제9권4호
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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%.

• 대한용접접합학회:학술대회논문집
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• 대한용접접합학회 1992년도 특별강연 및 추계학술발표 개요집
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• pp.186-189
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• 1992

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제53권4호
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• pp.1049-1078
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• 2021

The review summarizes the published data on the widely applied electron-beam, laser-beam, as well as resistance upset, projection, and spot welding of zirconium alloys for nuclear applications. It provides the results of their analysis to identify common patterns in this area. Great attention has been paid to the quality requirements, the edge preparation, up-to-date equipment, process parameters, as well as post-weld treatment and processing. Also, quality control and weld repair methods have been mentioned. Finally, conclusions have been drawn about a significant gap between the capabilities of advanced welding equipment to control the microstructure and, accordingly, the properties of welded joints of the zirconium alloys and existing algorithms that enable to realize them in the nuclear industry. Considering the ever-increasing demands on the high-burnup accident tolerant nuclear fuel assemblies, great efforts should be focused on the improving the welding procedures by implementing predefined heat input cycles. However, a lot of research is required, since the number of possible combinations of the zirconium alloys, designs and dimensions of the joints dramatically exceeds the quantity of published results on the effect of the welding parameters on the properties of the welds.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제23권1호
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• pp.1-11
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• 1991

중수로형 핵연료봉단마개용접부의 품질검 사는 금속조직 검사에 따른 용접계면에 존재하는 불연속인 용접선(weld line) 길이가 가장 중요한 검사기준이다. 본 연구에서는 저항용접에서 가장 중요한 변수인 용접열의 변화에 따라 용접계면에서 용접선 소멸과 이 용접선이 용접부에 미치는 경향을 미세조직, 인장 및 파열시험으로 조사하였고, 또 주사전자현미경을 사용하며 파단면을 조사하였다. 용접열(main heat)의 변화에 따라 실제 용접에 사용된 전류와 업셋에 따른 시편길이 감소량은 증가하였으며 이들에 관한 상관관계식을 유도하였다. 용접열 50%근 용접된 용접부의 용접업셋 크기, 기계적 강도 및 용접선 소멸등을 고려한 결과 이것이 건전한 봉단마개 용접을 위한 임계치임을 알았다. 용접열을 50%에서 75%로 변화시킴에 따라 Zircaloy-4 용접부의 미세조직은 basketweave, Widmanstatten과 마르텐사이트로 변했고, 이는 용접시 최고도달 온도에 따라 냉각속도가 크게 변화했기 때문으로 사료된다. 인장시험에 의한 용접선 파단면에서 연성파괴의 dimple 형상은 2축응력에 의해 파열된 파단면의 dimple보다 크고 깊었음이 관찰되었다. 저항업셋용접부에서의 용접전류 증가에 따른 용접선의 소멸과정은 초기용접계면에 기공 존재, 이들의 수축과 소멸 및 초기계면 수축등 3단계로 구분할 수 있었다.

• 소성∙가공
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• 제33권3호
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• pp.193-199
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• 2024

The friction welding characteristics of stainless steels, mainly used in energy and chemical plant industries due to its excellent corrosion resistance and high strength, was evaluated in this study. Friction welding was introduced and conducted at a rotation speed of 2,000 RPM, friction pressure of 30 MPa, burn-off length of 5 mm and upset pressure of 110 ~ 200 MPa on rod typed specimens. The grain boundary characteristics distributions such a grain size, shape, misorientation angle and kernel average misorientation of the welds were clarified by electron backscattering diffraction method. The application of friction welding on SUS304 alloy resulted in a significant refinement of the grain size in the weld zone (5.11 mm) compared to that of the base material (48.09 mm). The mechanical properties of the welds, on the other hand, appeared to be relatively low or similar to those of the base material, which were mainly caused by dislocation density in the initial material and grain refinement in the welds.