Development of a Welding Process for End Closures on NPR and KER Fuel Element (open access)

Development of a Welding Process for End Closures on NPR and KER Fuel Element

With the development of the zircaloy-2 clad uranium fuel element, it was necessary to develop a method of closing the end of the element after the extruded tubes were cut to the desired length. Regardless of the ultimate design of the closure, a satisfactory zircaloy-2 fusion welding technique had to be worked out. The first fully successful welding was performed with electron beam welding in a vacuum chamber. To make satisfactory welds, the electron beam welding involved time and equipment, plus undue maintenance on the equipment.
Date: February 22, 1960
Creator: Corey, T. B.; DeWitt, D. E. & Nelson, I. V.
System: The UNT Digital Library