Abstract
A study on microstructures of welds for Zircaloy-4 sheath end closure by the resistance upset welding methods was carried out. Two upset welding process variations such as magnetic farce and multi-impulse resistance welding were used. Grain size and microhardness across welds were analysed in terms of welding parameters. Magnetic farce resistance weld with one cycle of unbalanced mode has smaller upset length and $\alpha-grain$ size in heat affected zone than those of multi-impulse resistance weld because of lower heat input and shorter welding time. Heat affected zone formed by two upset resistance welding variations revealed fine Widmanstatten structure or martensitic ${\alpha}'$ structure due to the high heating rate and foster cooling rate. Magnetic force resistance welds showed recrystallized grains before grain growth, whereas multi-impulse resistance welds showed full grain growth.