# Study of Microstructure and Performance Evaluation of Zr-Sn-Nb Joints by Electron Beam Welding

## TL;DR

This study examines the microstructure and performance of Zr-Sn-Nb joints made using electron beam welding, finding that the process produces strong but less ductile joints with minimal corrosion damage.

## Contribution

The paper presents a detailed microstructural and mechanical evaluation of Zr-Sn-Nb joints produced via electron beam welding.

## Key findings

- The weld zone contains coarsened grains and phases like α-Zr and α′-Zr, which enhance strength but reduce plasticity and toughness.
- Tensile strengths at room temperature and 375 °C were 438 MPa and 313 MPa, respectively, with impact energy at 58.3% of the base metal.
- Corrosion resistance was preserved, with minimal differences in corrosion weight gain and layer thickness between the joint and base metal.

## Abstract

In this work, Zr-Sn-Nb alloy was joined by electron beam welding (EBW). A defect-free Zr-Sn-Nb joint with sound appearance was obtained. The grains in the weld zone (WZ) and heat-affected zone (HAZ) are significantly coarsened. The columnar grains with a maximum grain size of 0.5 mm are distributed in the upper region of the WZ, while the equiaxed grains are almost located in the bottom region of the WZ. The WZ is mainly composed of the dominant α-Zr, α′-Zr and a few β phases. The grain orientation of WZ and HAZ is uniform, indicating that no obvious preferred orientation existed. Coarse grains and fine acicular α′ phases increase the strength of the joint, but reduce the plasticity and toughness of the joint. The tensile strengths of the joints at room temperature (RT) and 375 °C were 438 MPa and 313 MPa, respectively. The RT impact energy of the joint is 18.5 J, which is only 58.3% of the BM. The high purity of the EBW process and unsignificant grain orientation minimizes damage to the corrosion resistance of Zr-Sn-Nb alloy joints. The corrosion weight gain of the joint specimen and the BM specimen were 12.91 mg/dm2 and 12.64 mg/dm2, respectively, and the thicknesses of the cross-section corrosion layer were 12–15 μm and 9–12 μm, respectively.