Objective
THE RESEARCH ACTIVITY IS AIMED AT IMPROVING THE WELD METAL DUCTILITY AND PREVENTION OF GRAIN BOUNDARY SEGREGATION AND GRAIN GROWTH IN THE HEAT-AFFECTED ZONE OF TYPE 316 AUSTENITIC STAINLESS STEEL FOR APPLICATION IN PERMANENT PRIMARY STRUCTURES OF LMFBR'S.
THE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF BOTH TYPES OF WELDS WILL BE PROVIDED AND COMPARED WITH THOSE OF THE METAL BASE.
THE EXPERIMENTAL DATA WILL BE THE INPUT TO VALIDATE THE MODELS WHICH ATTEMPT TO PREDICT JOINT BEHAVIOUR.
ELECTRON BEAM AND GAS METAL ARC WELDING OF 50 MM THICK AISI 3162 PLATE WILL BE REALIZED.
TENSILE, CREEP, LOW CYCLE FATIGUE AND IMPACT TESTS WILL BE EXECUTED AT 20 CELSIUS DEGREES AND 550 CELSIUS DEGREES ON A TOTAL OF 204 SPECIMENS MACHINED FROM THE TWO TYPES OF WELDS AND FROM THE BASE METAL.
MICROSTRUCTURAL EXAMINATIONS WILL BE CARRIED OUT BEFORE AND AFTER THE MECHANICAL TESTS.