Title: Development of joining procedure for pole pieces of the electromagnet of the diverse safety rod in a fast breeder reactor

Authors: H.C. Dey, V. Shankar, R. Vijayashree, P. Sivaraman, A. Banerjee

Addresses: Materials Joining Section, Materials Technology Division, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam 603102, India. ' Materials Joining Section, Materials Technology Division, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam 603102, India. ' Reactor Components Division, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam 603102, India. ' Central Workshops Division, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam 603102, India. ' Physical Metallurgy Section, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam 603102, India

Abstract: In the prototype fast breeder reactor, the electromagnet for the diverse safety rod is welded using a non-magnetic filler to separate the magnetic poles. The pole pieces are made of soft iron, and the non-magnetic nickel base ERNiCr-3 was chosen as non-magnetic filler wire. The procedure followed for joining the pole pieces consisted of weld build-up of the inner and outer core pieces with ERNiCr-3 filler material and machining to the required dimensions. The final joining of the electromagnet was by a circular joint at the contact end. The joints were qualified by stringent inspection procedures, including leak testing.

Keywords: electromagnets; soft iron; 316LN stainless steel; ERNiCr-3; overlay; gas tungsten arc welding; GTAW; dissimilar welding; diverse safety rods; fast breeder reactors; nuclear reactors; nuclear energy; nuclear power; leak testing; electromagnet welding.

DOI: 10.1504/IJNEST.2007.012442

International Journal of Nuclear Energy Science and Technology, 2007 Vol.3 No.1, pp.76 - 87

Published online: 13 Feb 2007 *

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