Development of techniques for welding V–Cr–Ti alloys

Welding vanadium alloys is complicated by interstitial impurity introduction and redistribution at elevated temperatures. Gas tungsten arc (GTA) welding, which will probably be required for the fabrication of large tokamak structures, must be done in a glove box environment. Welds were evaluated by Charpy testing. GTA welds could be made with a ductile to brittle transition temperature (DBTT) of 50°C with a post-weld heat treatment (PWHT) or by using a heated Ti getter system on the glove box to reduce interstitial contamination. Titanium-O,N,C precipitates in the fusion zone were found to transform to a more oxygen-rich phase during a PWHT of 950°C/2 h. Hydrogen was found to promote cleavage cracking following welding in cases where the atmosphere was contaminated. Grain size and microstructure also affected weld embrittlement.