Influence of Different Beam Oscillation Patterns in Electron Beam Welding of Niobium Sheets with Different Thickness

The electron beam welding of the tubes and the half-cells for our 1.3 GHz single-cell superconducting radiofrequency (SRF) cavities is complex due to the different thicknesses of the tubes and the half-cells in the iris region. However, the mechanical properties and microstructure of the iris welds in niobium SRF cavities have barely been explored in previous studies. For high-quality iris welds, welding experiments of niobium sheets of 2 mm and 2.8 mm were carried out under different oscillating conditions. The results show that welding with no oscillation or sinusoidal oscillation may not be applied in actual welding owing to the large misalignment of the bottom surface. The weld grains were not significantly refined through beam oscillation. The joints with infinity oscillation had a higher elongation than circular oscillation, which exhibited a brittle fracture in the tensile tests at 77 K. Nevertheless, the texture of the weld with infinity oscillation implies poor formability, so the feasibility of infinity oscillation in actual welding needs verification in future study.