Marshall Technical Reports Server

Assessment of Corona/Arcing Hazard for Electron Beam Welding in Space Shuttle Bay at LEO for ISWE: Test Results

NASA/TM-108525, Nunes, Jr., A.C. and Russell, C. and Vaughn, J. and Stocks, C. and O'Dell, D. and Bhat, B., Assessment of Corona/Arcing Hazard for Electron Beam Welding in Space Shuttle Bay at LEO for ISWE: Test Results, Materials and Processes Laboratory, Science and Engineering Directorate. NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, AL 35812, November 1996, pp. 12, Format(s): PDF 186k

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Test welds were made in argon over a range of pressures from 10-5 to 10-3 torr (the latter pressure an order of magnitude above pressures anticipated in the space shuttle bay during welding) with and without plasma on 304 stainless steel, 6Al-4V titanium, and 5456 aluminum in search of any possible unwanted electrical discharges. Only a faint steady glow of beam-excited atoms around the electron beam and sometimes extending out into the vacuum chamber was observed. No signs of current spiking or of any potentially dangerous electrical discharge were found
Keywords:electron beam welding, arcing, electrical discharge, spike
CASI Document ID Number:97N13227
Subjects:Engineering: Mechanical Engineering: Welding
ID Code:362
Deposited On:03 July 2002