Electron beam weldability of Niobium

니오븀의 전자빔 용접성

Electron beam (EB) weldability of pure grade Nb sheet was studied. One of Nb sheets was as-annealed and the other was cold rolled. Microstructures, Vickers hardness, and transverse weld tensile test were carried out for the base metal, the heat affected zone (HAZ) and weld metal. In the case of the EB welds made using the annealed Nb sheeet, fine equiaxed grains and coarse grains were dominant at the base metal and the HAZ, respectively, and columnar grains were observed at the weld metal. For the EB welds made using the cold rolled Nb sheet, elongated grains in the rolling direction at the base metal, and the microstructures of the weld metal and the HAZ are similar to those of the EB welds made using the annealed Nb sheet, respectively. For both annealed and cold rolled Nb sheet, the width of the HAZs are unusually wide in spite of using high density heat source, i.e. electron beam, and the grain sizes of both HAZs are similar. When tensile test was carried out using the transverse weld specimens, the failure occurred at the HAZ for both EB welds made using Nb sheets annealed and cold rolled, respectively and the tensile strengths of both specimens were 161MPa. Vickers hardness of EB welds made using annealed Nb was 56-57 Hv at both base metal and weld metal, 52-53 Hv at the HAZ. On the other hand, Vickers hardness of EB welds made using cold rolled Nb was 97-99 Hv at the base metal, but the hardness values of weld metal were similar to those obtained at the weld metal of annealed Nb.