Optimisation of cutting parameters for machining of newly developed Co-free hard-faced nuclear reactor components

ABSTRACT

The components of nuclear reactor require wear and corrosion resistance properties at elevated temperatures. In the nuclear industry, the use of cobalt-based alloys is eliminated because of the induced radioactivity in the reactor environment. Hence, Nickel-based Tribaloy 700 hard-facing alloys have been chosen for many reactor components. Due to the non-availability of cast Tribaloy 700, an alternative method was evaluated by depositing the hard-facing Tribaloy 700 on a SS rod with subsequent machining to obtain the desired properties. Tribaloy 700 is basically a Nickel base alloy and the hardness of the deposited weld metal is 58–65 HRC. In this regard, various cutting tools are available for normal machining, like high speed steel, coated carbide and cubic boron nitride inserts tools. Among these, which tool to be used for easy machining of Tribaloy 700 is evaluated by the optimisation of cutting parameters using the Taguchi method.

KEYWORDS:

• Nuclear reactor components
• cutting parameters
• optimisation procedure
• Tribaloy 700
• Taguchi method

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

N. Beemkumar http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3868-0382