A novel pathway for multiscale high-resolution time-resolved residual stress evaluation of laser-welded Eurofer97.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 35171674.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1126/sciadv.abl4592 and PMC identifier 8849299.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
The plasma-facing components of future fusion reactors, where the Eurofer97 is the primary structural material, will be assembled by laser-welding techniques. The heterogeneous residual stress induced by welding can interact with the microstructure, resulting in a degradation of mechanical properties and a reduction in joint lifetime. Here, a Xe<sup>+</sup> plasma focused ion beam with digital image correlation (PFIB-DIC) and nanoindentation is used to reveal the mechanistic connection between residual stress, microstructure, and microhardness. This study is the first to use the PFIB-DIC to evaluate the time-resolved multiscale residual stress at a length scale of tens of micrometers for laser-welded Eurofer97. A nonequilibrium microscale residual stress is observed, which contributes to the macroscale residual stress. The microhardness is similar for the fusion zone and heat-affected zone (HAZ), although the HAZ exhibits around ~30% tensile residual stress softening. The results provide insight into maintaining structural integrity for this critical engineering challenge.