Effects of irradiation on the fracture properties of stainless steel weld overlay cladding

Stainless steel weld overlay cladding was fabricated using the submerged arc, single-wire, oscillating-electrode, and the three-wire, series-arc methods. Three layers of cladding were applied to a pressure vessel plate to provide adequate thickness for fabrication of test specimens, and irradiations were conducted at temperatures and to fluences relevant to power reactor operation. For the first single-wire method, the first layer was type 309, and the upper two layers were type 308 stainless steel. The type 309 was diluted considerably by excessive melting of the base plate. The three-wire method used various combinations of types 308, 309, and 304 stainless steel weld wires, and produced a highly controlled weld chemistry, microstructure, and fracture properties in all three layers of the weld. 14 refs., 15 figs., 4 tabs