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Electron-beam welding
Electron-beam welding (EBW) is a fusion welding process in which a beam of high-velocity electrons is applied to two materials to be joined. The workpieces melt and flow together as the kinetic energy of the electrons is transformed into heat upon impact. EBW is often performed under vacuum conditions to prevent dissipation of the electron beam.
Electron-beam welding was developed by the German physicist Karl-Heinz Steigerwald in 1949, who was at the time working on various electron-beam applications. Steigerwald conceived and developed the first practical electron-beam welding machine, which began operation in 1958. American inventor James T. Russell was also credited with designing and building the first electron-beam welder.
In 2023–2025, driven by small modular reactor (SMR) development, robotic EBW techniques were able to weld pressure vessels in hours/days instead of months. In 2024 a 3 m diameter (200 mm thickness) SMR pressure vessel demonstrator was completed in under 24 hours with a single-pass full penetration welding robot.
Electrons are elementary particles possessing a mass m = 9.1 · 10−31 kg and a negative electrical charge e = 1.6 · 10−19 C. They exist either bound to an atomic nucleus, as conduction electrons in the atomic lattice of metals, or as free electrons in vacuum.
Free electrons in vacuum can be accelerated, with their paths controlled by electric and magnetic fields. In this way beams of electrons carrying high kinetic energy can be formed. Upon collision with atoms in solids their kinetic energy transforms into heat. EBW provides excellent welding conditions because it involves:
Beam effectiveness depends on many factors. The most important are the physical properties of the materials to be welded, especially the ease with which they can be melted or vaporize under low-pressure conditions. EBW can be so intense that material can boil way, which must be taken into account. At lower values of surface power density (in the range of about 103 W/mm2) the loss of material by evaporation is negligible for most metals, which is favorable for welding. At higher power, the material affected by the beam can quickly evaporate; switching from welding to machining.
Conduction electrons (those not bound to the nucleus of atoms) move in a crystal lattice of metals with velocities distributed according to Gauss's law and depending on temperature. They cannot leave the metal unless their kinetic energy (in eV) is higher than the potential barrier at the metal surface. The number of electrons fulfilling this condition increases exponentially with increasing metal temperature, following Richardson's rule.
As a source of electrons for electron-beam welders, the material must fulfill certain requirements:
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Electron-beam welding
Electron-beam welding (EBW) is a fusion welding process in which a beam of high-velocity electrons is applied to two materials to be joined. The workpieces melt and flow together as the kinetic energy of the electrons is transformed into heat upon impact. EBW is often performed under vacuum conditions to prevent dissipation of the electron beam.
Electron-beam welding was developed by the German physicist Karl-Heinz Steigerwald in 1949, who was at the time working on various electron-beam applications. Steigerwald conceived and developed the first practical electron-beam welding machine, which began operation in 1958. American inventor James T. Russell was also credited with designing and building the first electron-beam welder.
In 2023–2025, driven by small modular reactor (SMR) development, robotic EBW techniques were able to weld pressure vessels in hours/days instead of months. In 2024 a 3 m diameter (200 mm thickness) SMR pressure vessel demonstrator was completed in under 24 hours with a single-pass full penetration welding robot.
Electrons are elementary particles possessing a mass m = 9.1 · 10−31 kg and a negative electrical charge e = 1.6 · 10−19 C. They exist either bound to an atomic nucleus, as conduction electrons in the atomic lattice of metals, or as free electrons in vacuum.
Free electrons in vacuum can be accelerated, with their paths controlled by electric and magnetic fields. In this way beams of electrons carrying high kinetic energy can be formed. Upon collision with atoms in solids their kinetic energy transforms into heat. EBW provides excellent welding conditions because it involves:
Beam effectiveness depends on many factors. The most important are the physical properties of the materials to be welded, especially the ease with which they can be melted or vaporize under low-pressure conditions. EBW can be so intense that material can boil way, which must be taken into account. At lower values of surface power density (in the range of about 103 W/mm2) the loss of material by evaporation is negligible for most metals, which is favorable for welding. At higher power, the material affected by the beam can quickly evaporate; switching from welding to machining.
Conduction electrons (those not bound to the nucleus of atoms) move in a crystal lattice of metals with velocities distributed according to Gauss's law and depending on temperature. They cannot leave the metal unless their kinetic energy (in eV) is higher than the potential barrier at the metal surface. The number of electrons fulfilling this condition increases exponentially with increasing metal temperature, following Richardson's rule.
As a source of electrons for electron-beam welders, the material must fulfill certain requirements: