Quality assurance on the welding work during the assembly of Wendelstein 7-X

Abstract

At the Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik (IPP) in Greifswald (Germany) the stellarator experiment W7-X is presently being assembled. During this assembly many different weld connections are made, which are very important for the proper functionality of the experiment. This concerns mainly the structural integrity and the leak tightness. The quality requirements for the weld seams are high (mainly class B according to DIN EN ISO 5817), because the complex machine must operate reliably for more than 15 years and the possibility of any repair or change of important components is very small. To guarantee a high quality of the welds they are submitted to different tests. The applied test methods are depending on the function of the weld, the wall thickness, the seam geometry, and the material. The main test methods are visual testing (VT), penetrant testing (PT), radiographic testing (RT), ultrasonic testing (UT), leak testing (LT), permeability testing and macros. The paper will describe the application of these test methods and show their need by examples of typical weld imperfections.