MICROSTRUCTURAL CHARACTERIZATION AND TENSILE PROPERTIES ASSESSMENT OF GTAW WELDED INCOLOY 800H ALLOYS FUEL CLADDING FOR SCWR

Abstract

Incoloy 800H is one of several candidates for a fuel cladding material in super-critical water nuclear reactor concepts. The objective of this work is to determine the effect of the gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) process on the microstructure and resulting tensile properties of Incoloy 800H tubes. In this work, GTAW was used to join Incoloy 800H. During welding, the weld thermal cycle produces differently featured heat-affected zone and fusion zone (FZ) microstructures. Microstructural examination revealed that weld-characteristic columnar and equiaxed dendritic structures were formed in the FZ. In comparison with the optimum heat input, both increase and decrease of heat input led to the formation of more columnar dendritic structures in the FZ. The chemical element distribution analysis using scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy showed the segregation of Ti in the form of Ti-rich carbides and nitrides; other elements did not display any obvious segregation. Tensile test results revealed that Incoloy 800H alloy welds exhibit an excellent combination of strength and ductility almost equal to the base metal (BM) at the optimum and higher than optimum heat input conditions with full penetration. The welding process has no obvious effect on the microhardness across the whole welding zone. The refinement of grain size and morphology in the FZ can contribute to the improvement in the mechanical properties. As a result, the Incoloy 800H weldment shows the comparable mechanical properties to the BM.