| About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2024 AWS Professional Program
|
| Symposium
|
2024 AWS Professional Program
|
| Presentation Title |
Friction Stir for Nuclear Fusion: Adapting FSW for Thick Section Dissimilar Copper Joints with Varying Base Material Properties |
| Author(s) |
Michael Eff, Rafael Giorjao, Tim Stotler, Dang Cai |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Michael Eff |
| Abstract Scope |
The National Spherical Torus Experiment Upgrade (NSTX-U) is a magnetic confinement fusion device critical to research tied to nuclear fusion and is led by Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory(PPPL). In these devices, magnetic fields are used to electromagnetically suspend and confine hot plasma, which can exceed 1,000,0000C in order to create suitable conditions for nuclear fusion. To generate the large magnetics fields required for the NSTX-U, thick copper bus bars are manufactured to create the toroidal field (TF) conductors. The TF conductors consist of a 6-m long Class 1 copper extrusion to a Class 2 copper flag on each end. The joint between the two materials is 34.7-mm in thickness and of dissimilar copper alloys, thus eliminates traditional fusion joining techniques. This presentation will cover EWI’s and PPPL’s effort to fabricate the TF conductors. During fabrication, the material properties of the 6-m long copper lengths varied roughly +/-20% and the copper flag material hardness varied within +/-14%. The lot of material examined varied greatly due to the differing amounts of cold work during
fabrication and straightening of the material. These material property variations added a level of difficultly to the welding process. It was observed that process forces varied in correlation with material property variations.
Strategies involving both force and position feedbacks were employed to adapt the process in situ based upon observed trends between starting material hardness and weldability and ultimately fabricate the needed components for fabrication support of the NSTX-U. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Undecided |