Abstract
Plates 6.4 mm thick of V-Cr-Ti alloys, mostly V-4Cr-4Ti, were welded in a glove box argon atmosphere. A hot titanium getter led to excessive hydrogen concentrations. A cold zirconium-aluminum getter was used to reduce both oxygen and hydrogen. It was observed that a major source of hydrogen was dissociation of water vapor by the electric arc of the welding torch. Careful monitoring of atmospheric impurities and successive pumping and backfilling cycles permitted welds of higher quality than previously achieved. Welds were evaluated primarily by the Charpy impact test. A ductile-to-brittle transition temperature (DBTT) of -28°C was achieved in V-4Cr-4Ti. Previous GTA welds in the same material seldom had a DBTT below room temperature. Electron beam welding can achieve a DBTT of below -90°C in the V-4Cr-4Ti alloy, indicating a lower limit to the DBTT by impurity control.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1356-1360 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | Journal of Nuclear Materials |
| Volume | 283-287 |
| Issue number | PART II |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2000 |
Funding
This research was sponsored by the Office of Fusion Energy Science, US Department of Energy, under contract DE-AC05-96OR22464 with the Lockheed Martin Energy Research Corporation. The authors extend their appreciation to R.L. Klueh and J. Bentley for many helpful discussions and assistance. The authors are also grateful to R.W. Reed, J.D. McNabb, E.T. Manneschmidt and R.L. Swain for their experimental work.