Critical element development of internal-access pipe welding/cutting equipment

Author

Oka, K. ; Shibanuma, K. ; Tada, E. ; Kakudate, S. ; Obara, K. ; Kondoh, M. ; Kanamori, N. ; Nakahira, M. ; Hotta, M. ; Honda, K. ; Makino, Y. ; Seki, M.

Author_Institution

Naka Fusion Res. Establ., JAERI, Ibaraki, Japan

Volume

1

fYear

1993

fDate

11-15 Oct 1993

Firstpage

298

Abstract

In D-T burning reactors such as Fusion Experimental Reactor (FER), internal access welding/cutting of cooling pipe for in-vessel components, such as the divertor is inevitably required because of spatial constraints due to the nuclear shield and the available port opening space. For this purpose, internal-access pipe welding/cutting using a CO₂ laser beam is being developed. A welding/cutting processing head with a 10 kW CO₂ laser beam has been fabricated and the basic feasibility has been successfully demonstrated for studies of the internal-access pipe welding/cutting concept using a 100-A stainless steel pipe with 6.3 mm thickness. In this study, the optimum focal point of the laser beam, laser beam power and travel speed of the head have been investigated together with the adjusting mechanism for the relative distance between the head and the pipe wall

Keywords

carbon compounds; cutting; gas lasers; laser beam welding; nuclear reactor maintenance; optical focusing; 10 kW; CO₂; CO₂ laser beam; Fusion Experimental Reactor; focal point; head travel speed; internal-access; laser beam power; pipe cutting equipment; pipe welding equipment; stainless steel pipe; Fusion reactor design; Inductors; Laser beam cutting; Laser beams; Laser fusion; Maintenance; Optical design; Power lasers; Space cooling; Welding;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Fusion Engineering, 1993., 15th IEEE/NPSS Symposium on

Conference_Location

Hyannis, MA

Print_ISBN

0-7803-1412-3

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/FUSION.1993.518335

Filename

518335