Metallurgy of Electron Beam Welding

EBW is capable of joining a variety of materials in a broader thickness range than any other fusion welding process. This is being industrially applied to materials ranging from a minimum thickness of approximately 0.1 mm and in extremis, as single pass penetration alloys, steel & aluminium alloys of >100 mm, >300 mm & >500 mm respectively. Generally speaking, t he chemist ry of autogenously EB welds is at least very similar to the parent material and the grain size in the weld metal is small, owing to the low heat input in relation to the material thickness. In many cases autogenous electron beam welds either have near parent mechanical properties in the as welded conditions or can be heat treated to provide them. In some cases this doesn't true, example

1) Mat erials where mechanical properties are heavily dependent on previous thermo - mechanical processing.

2) Materials where one or more of the critical alloying elements are depleted or otherwise modified by the welding process.

3) Materials where mechanical properties are affected by a microstructural change that occurs in the weld that is not readily reversed subsequently.