Beam profile analysis for the C and MS B231 electron beam welding machines

摘要

The electron beams produced by two different welders were examined using computer assisted tomographic (CT) analysis. The machines used are Hamilton Standard welders with 150 kV/50mA maximum. One machine uses a ribbon filament while the other uses a hairpin filament. The objective of this study was to characterize the beam power distribution on each machine to see if weld parameters could easily be transferred between machines. Beam focus, voltage, and current settings were pre-selected to duplicate the welding conditions used in LLNL program applications. The results show that the actual beam currents measured by Faraday cup are 5 to 10% higher for the first machine and 30% lower for the second. The CT analysis of the beam shapes shows that the hairpin filament welder produces an elliptical beam shape in the sharp focus condition that defocuses to a diamond shape. The ribbon filament welder produced less of an elliptical beam shape in the sharp focus condition, but when defocused, acquires an elliptical shape. CT analysis of the effects of defocus on the peak power density shows that the hairpin filament drops in peak power density much more quickly than the ribbon filament for a given amount of defocus. Furthermore, it was more difficult to find and repeat the sharp focus condition for the hairpin filament, particularly at higher beam currents.