Stainless Steel Electron Beam Welding is often considered the optimal upgrade for manual GTAW welding. However

in some welding structures with shear strength requirements

the narrow characteristics of electron beam welds may affect their load-bearing performance. Since the welds of nuclear fuel cylinder components need to withstand long-term high temperature and pressure

radiation creep stress

and chemical corrosion in the reactor core

the shear load-bearing performance of electron beam welds has been questioned by experts. To ensure the reliability of the core product welding structure

the geometric dimensions and load-bearing area of electron beam (EB) welds and manual GTAW welds were first compared and analyzed

and it was found that the width of EB welds is only 53.5% of GTAW welds

and the load-bearing area is only 48.8% of GTAW welds. Then

through theoretical calculation and working condition analysis

it was concluded that the maximum load-bearing capacity of the cylinder component weld is 134

765 N

and the theoretical load-bearing capacity of both EB and GTAW welds is much greater than this value. Finally

through physical testing

it was found that the load-bearing performance of EB and GTAW welds is equivalent and both are greater than the load-bearing capacity of the cylinder component itself. It was ultimately proven that the EB welds can meet the design requirements for product load-bearing performance under normal and accident conditions

providing support for the smooth advancement of research on the localization of nuclear fuel.