Introduction to the Measurement of the Quality of Electron Beams

TWI Industrial Member Report Summary 1009/2011

By A Dack

Background

It is well known that different electron beam (EB) machines can give very different welding performance. In critical applications, such as aerospace engine or nuclear component welding, process parameters are developed to reduce defects to an acceptable level without an underlying appreciation of the beam qualities required to produce acceptable welds. Better knowledge of these beam qualities is required to improve quality assurance, enable the transfer of welding from one machine to another and to ensure accurate assessment of new production welding equipment.

Objectives

• Review available beam quality assessment methods.
• Describe the method preferred by TWI.