Abstract
The basic remote sleeve repair-welding technology by the pulsed Nd:YAG laser for increasing the lifetime of the steam generator tube in a nuclear power plant has been developed. The relationship between the connection width and welding parameters have been investigated for the fundamental research to apply the sleeve-repair-welding technique to the nuclear industry. The Inconel 600 tube and Inconel 690 sleeve used for high temperature and high pressure service were welded as round lap welding by Nd:YAG laser. It was observed that the tensile shear strength, 340MPa of the welded specimen is equivalent to about 60% of that of the base metal (Inconel 600), 550MPa. The difference between the hardness of the base metal and that of the laser welds was about 10%. Ductile fracture was partly occurred in the weld but the cracking has not been observed. In spite of absence of the crack, the strength of welds was not sufficient in terms of the tensile shear strength.
