A Study on the Laser Welding of Cladding Tube with Temp. Sensor for Fuel Irradiation Test

핵연료 조사시험용 온도센서 피복재의 레이저용접 연구

The instrumented fuel irradiation test at a research reactor is needed to evaluate the performance of the developed nuclear fuel. The fuel elements can be designed to measure the center line temperature of fuel pellets during the irradiation test by using temperature sensor. The thermal sensor was composed of thermocouple and sensor sheath. Micro-laser welding technology was adopted to seal between seal tube and sensor sheath with thickness of 0.15 mm. The soundness of welding area has to be confirmed to prevent fission gas of the fuel from leaking out of the element during the fuel irradiation test. In this study, fundamental data for micro-laser welding technology was proposed to seal temperature sensor sheath of the instrumented fuel element. And, micro-laser welding for dissimilar metals between sensor sheath and seal tube was characterized by investigating welding conditions. Moreover, the micro-laser welding technology is closely related to advanced industry. It is expected that the laser material processing technology will be adopted to various a pplications in the industry.