Internal Attachment Of Laser Beam Welded Stainless Steel Sheathed Thermocouples Into Stainless Steel Upper End Caps In Nuclear Fuel Rods For The Loss-Of-Fluid-Test (LOFT) Reactor

Richard K. Welty; Raymond D. Reid

doi:10.1117/12.959377

31 October 1980 Internal Attachment Of Laser Beam Welded Stainless Steel Sheathed Thermocouples Into Stainless Steel Upper End Caps In Nuclear Fuel Rods For The Loss-Of-Fluid-Test (LOFT) Reactor

Richard K. Welty, Raymond D. Reid

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 0247, Advances in Laser Engineering and Applications; (1980) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.959377
Event: 24th Annual Technical Symposium, 1980, San Diego, United States

Abstract

The Exxon Nuclear Company, Inc., acting as a subcontractor to EG&G Idaho Inc., Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, Idaho Falls, Idaho, conducted a laser beam welding study to attach internal stainless steel thermocouples into stainless steel upper end caps in nuclear fuel rods. The fuel rods and thermocouples are used to test simulated loss-of-coolant-accident (LOCAL) conditions in a pressurized water reactor (LOFT reactor, Idaho National Laboratory). The objective of this study was to determine the feasibility of laser welding a single 0.063 inch diameter stainless steel (304) sheathed thermocouple into a stainless steel (316) upper end cap for nuclear fuel rods. A laser beam was selected because of the extremely high energy input in unit volume that can be achieved allowing local fusion of a small area irrespective of the difference in material thickness to be joined. A special weld fixture was designed and fabricated to hold the end cap and the thermo-couple with angular and rotational adjustment under the laser beam. A commercial pulsed laser and energy control system was used to make the welds. Process tests were performed and evaluated. Results indicated that successful welds could be made using the laser system. A process qualification was written specifying laser energy, spot size and weld overlay. This program was successfully concluded by welding seventeen (17) centerline fuel rods for the LOFT reactor.

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Richard K. Welty and Raymond D. Reid "Internal Attachment Of Laser Beam Welded Stainless Steel Sheathed Thermocouples Into Stainless Steel Upper End Caps In Nuclear Fuel Rods For The Loss-Of-Fluid-Test (LOFT) Reactor", Proc. SPIE 0247, Advances in Laser Engineering and Applications, (31 October 1980); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.959377

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Laser welding

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