ORNL welder Devin Johnson, left, and Roger Miller, senior welding researcher, with the EB welder. Credit: Ed Bodey, ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy
The highly skilled crafts team in the Fabrication Complex at the Department of Energy’s 91°µÍř achieved a major milestone earlier this year by successfully completing the first production weld using their state-of-the-art electron beam, or EB, welder.
The accomplishment was the first step in providing on-site manufacturing of target vessels for the Spallation Neutron Source, a DOE Office of Science user facility, located at ORNL. Few companies can manufacture targets, which highlights the talent and critical manufacturing capabilities of the Fabrication Complex, also known as the Fab Shop.
By a process called spallation, SNS produces neutrons using an accelerator-based system that delivers short (microsecond) proton pulses to a steel target filled with liquid mercury. The neutrons are then directed toward state-of-the-art research instruments that provide a variety of capabilities to researchers across a broad range of disciplines, such as physics, chemistry, biology and materials science.
The first EB weld was performed on a water-cooled shroud that will encase the target’s mercury vessel. With a wide array of new and sophisticated equipment and a highly trained staff, the Fab Shop will be able to complete both the shroud and the target vessel for use at the SNS.
The Fab Shop’s new capability also puts target manufacturing literally at SNS’s back door, improving communication and interaction not only with SNS but with other ORNL researchers seeking high-tech, precision fabrication solutions.
“Starting from the welder installation over a year ago to a completed weld is a testament to the skill and dedication of our folks,” said Fabrication Complex Facility Manager Eric Brewer. “This was a big step to being an EB welding provider to SNS as well as other researchers on site.”
Brewer named Roger Miller, ORNL senior welding researcher and an expert in specialized welding engineering, as key to their success because of the high quality of welds. For example, during neutron production, 60 pulses of protons collide with the target vessel, releasing energy roughly equivalent to a stick of dynamite exploding every second, creating extreme stress on the target vessel.
The ORNL Fab Shop’s EB welding prowess has also played a crucial role in manufacturing and repairing a moderator vessel for the latest Inner Reflector Plug — a 30-ton assembly that represents another critical and complex consumable component of neutron production at SNS — bringing parts back from the vendor to be welded in house.
UT-Battelle manages ORNL for the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States. The Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit . — Ed Bodey
