The results show that ultimate strength under static loading can not be used as a quality criterion for zirconium alloys welds. Increased shielding gas flow rate does not allow to protect weld metal totally and contributes to defect formation without using special nozzles. Several types of imperfections of the welds have been found, but the major problem is branching microcracks on the surface of the welds. | Pulsed laser welding of Zre1%Nb alloy Nuclear Engineering and Technology 51 (2019) 776e783 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Nuclear Engineering and Technology journal homepage: Original Article Pulsed laser welding of Zre1%Nb alloy Maxim A. Elkin, Alexey S. Kiselev, Mikhail S. Slobodyan* Tomsk Polytechnic University, Russia a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t Article history: Laser welding is usually a more effective method than electron-beam one since a vacuum chamber is not Received 16 July 2018 required. It is important for joining Zre1%Nb (E110) alloy in a manufacturing process of nuclear fuel rods. Received in revised form In the present work, effect of energy parameters of pulsed laser welding on properties of butt joints of 3 December 2018 sheets with a thickness of mm is investigated. The most efficient combination has been found (8e11 J Accepted 21 December 2018 Available online 24 December 2018 pulse energy, 10e14 ms pulse duration, 780e810 W peak pulse power, 3 Hz pulse frequency, mm/s welding speed). The results show that ultimate strength under static loading can not be used as a quality criterion for zirconium alloys welds. Increased shielding gas flow rate does not allow to protect weld Keywords: Zirconium alloys metal totally and contributes to defect formation without using special nozzles. Several types of im- Pulsed laser welding perfections of the welds have been found, but the major problem is branching microcracks on the surface Butt welds of the welds. It is difficult to identify the cause of their appearance without additional research on Mechanical properties improving the welding zone protection (gas composition and flow rate as well as nozzle configuration) Microstructure and studying the hydrogen content in the welds. Defects © 2018 Korean Nuclear Society, Published by Elsevier Korea LLC. This is an open access article under the CC .
