Tensile and fatigue strength of a through-wall-electron-beam-welded joint for the vacuum vessel of a fusion reactor

核融合真空容器における壁貫通電子ビーム溶接継手の引張及び疲れ強度

鈴木 隆之*; 宇佐美 三郎*; 木村 孝江*; 小泉 興一; 中平 昌隆; 高橋 弘行*

Suzuki, Takayuki*; Usami, Saburo*; Kimura, Takae*; Koizumi, Koichi; Nakahira, Masataka; Takahashi, Hiroyuki*

二重壁構造の核融合装置真空容器の外壁とリブ間を溶接するために新しい溶接継手を開発した。本継手は、外壁の外側より電子ビーム溶接を行う板厚貫通電子ビーム溶接(TW-EBW; Through-Wall Electron Beam Welding)で製造される。単軸負荷下の1本ビード試験片と曲げ負荷下の2本ビード試験片において静的及び疲労試験を行い、実験結果は有限要素法により解析的に検討した。本継手は不溶着部を有するけれども、溶着部の応力が3軸引張状態となる塑性拘束効果により継手の降伏応力が上昇する。この3軸引張状態が平均塑性相当応力を低下させ、継手母材断面あたりの強度を完全溶接継手の強度に近づける。本継手の低サイクル破断寿命における疲労強度減少係数は4より幾分大きい。また、継手部き裂の最大主応力拡大係数とASME Code XIで与えられている疲労き裂進展抵抗値より計算した継手部の疲労き裂進展速度は、実験結果を保守側に評価する。

A new type of welded joint for the outer wall and rib of a double-walled vacuum vessel of a fusion reactor has been developed. The joint is manufactured by through-wall electron-beam welding (TW-EBW), in which the beam is injected from the outside of the outer wall. Static and fatigue tests are carried out on one-bead-specimens under an axial load and two-bead-specimens under a bending load. The experimental results are analytically investigated by FEM. Although this joint is partially penetrated, the net yield strength of the bead is increased by the plastic constraint due to triaxial tensile stress in the weldment. This phenomenon reduces the mean equivalent stress on the bead cross section, and the gross strength of the joint is close to that of a full thickness welded joint. The fatigue-strength reduction factor for low-cycle fatigue life is a little larger than four. The calculated fatigue-crack growth rate in the joint is conservatively calculated by using the maximum stress intensity factor of the crack and the fatigue-crack growth rate given in ASME Code Section XI.