Development of Pressurized Resistance Welding Technology for ODS Ferritic Steel Cladding Tube

Abstract

The pressurized resistance welding (PRW) method has been optimized to apply to the welding of cladding tube and end-plug of the oxide dispersion-strengthened ferritic steel (ODS) for the fuel rods in Na-FBR. The PRW method is based on electric resistance heating of the contact area for a short time while a sufficient continuous pressure (axial load) is maintained to forge weld without melting, and can avoid a remarkable decrease in strength caused by the TIG welding due to the generation of porosity and cohesive coarsening of the oxide particles.
Among various sets of such test parameters as current, time, and axial load, the optimum welding condition has been found by evaluating weld strength and microstructure.