• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.26-31
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• 1999

An attempt was made in this study to investigate the brazing characteristics of Zr-Be binary amorphous alloys for the development of a new brazing filler metal for joining Zircaloy-4 nuclear fuel cladding tubes. This study was also aimed at the feasibility study of rapidly solidified amorphous alloys to substitute the conventional physical vapor-deposited(PVD) metallic beryllium. The $Zr_{1-x}Be_{x}$($0.3\leq$x$\leq0.5$) binary amorphous alloys were produced in the ribbon form by the melt-spinning method. It was confirmed by x-ray diffraction that the ribbons were amorphous. The amorphous. the amorphous alloys were used to join bearing pads on Zircaloy-4 nuclear fuel cladding tubes. Using Zr-Be amorphous alloys as filler metals, it was found that the reduction in the tube wall thickness caused by erosion was prevented. Especially, in the case of using $Zr_{0.65}Be_{0.35}$ and $Zr_{0.7}Be_{0.3}$ amorphousalloys, the smooth and spherical primary $\alpha$-Zr particles appeared in the brazed layer, which was the most desirable microstructure from the corrosion-resistance standpoint.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.415-428
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• 2023

Low-cost techniques with seismic isolation performance and excellent resilience need to be explored in the case of rural low-rise buildings because of the limited buying power of rural residents. As an inexpensive and eco-friendly isolation bearing, scrap tire pads (STPs) have the issue of poor resilience. Thus, a seismic isolation system under a column (SISC) integrated with STP needs to be designed for the seismic protection of low-rise rural buildings. The SISC, which is based on a simple exterior design, maintains excellent seismic performance, while the mechanical behavior of the internal STP provides elastic resilience. The horizontal behaviors of the SISC are studied through load tests, and its mechanical properties and the intrinsic mechanism of the reset ability are discussed. Results indicate that the average residual displacement ratio was 24.59%, and the reset capability was enhanced. Comparative experimental and finite element analysis results also show that the load-displacement relationship of the SISC was essentially consistent. The dynamic characteristics of isolated and fixed-base buildings were compared by numerical assessment of the response control effects, and the SISC was found to have great seismic isolation performance. SISC can be used as a low-cost base isolation device for rural buildings in developing countries.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.113-119
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• 2006

Brazing is an important manufacturing process in the fabrication of Heavy Water Reactor fuel rods, in which bearing and spacer pads are joined to Zircaloy-4 cladding tubes. The physical vapor deposition(PVD) technique is currently used to deposit metallic Be on the surfaces of pads as a filler metal. Amorphous Zr-Be binary alloys which are manufactured by rapid solidification process are under developing to substitute the conventional PVD-Be coating. In the present study, brazed joint with PVD and amorphous alloys of $Zr_{1-x}Be_{x}(0.3{\le}x{\le}0.5)$ as filler metals are compared by mechanism, microstructure and hardness. The thickness of brazed joint with amorphous alloys became much smaller than that of PVD-Be. The erosion of base metal did not occur in the brazed joint with amorphous alloys. The brazing mechanism for PVD-Be seems to be Be diffusion into Zr-4 with capillary action resulting from eutectic reaction while that for amorphous alloys are associated with the liquid phase formation in the brazed joint. The brazed joint microstructure with PVD-Be consists of dendrite while that with amorphous alloys is globular. The $Zr_{0.7}Be_{0.3}$ alloy shows the smooth interface with little erosion in the base metal and is recommended a most suitable brazing filler metal for Zircaloy-4.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.140-145
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• 2002

This study was conducted to investigate the brazing characteristics between Zircaloy-4 nuclear fuel cladding tubes and bearing pads with filler metals of amorphous $Zr_{1-x}Be_x$(0.3$\leq$x$\leq$0.5) binary alloy, in which they were produced in the ribbon form by the melt-spinning metod. The crystallization behavior, stability, hardness and micro-structure of brazed zone were examined by X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, micro-Vickers hardness test, optical microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. $Zr_{1-x}Be_x$(0.3$\leq$x$\leq$0.4) amorphous alloys were crystallized to $\alpha$-Zr with increasing the temperature, and the rest were transformed to ZrBe$_2$at higher temperatures. On the other hand, $Zr_{1-x}Be_x$(0.4$\leq$x$\leq$0.5) amorphous alloys were crystallized to $\alpha$-Zr and ZrBe$_2$, simultaneously. The thickness of the layer brazed with amorphous alloy was increased with increasing the beryllium content due to the higher diffusion of Be. The morphology of brazed layer with PVD Be filler metal showed dendrite while that brazed with amorphous alloys appeared globular. Micro-Vickers hardness of brazed zone increased as the beryllium content of filler metal was decreased.