Effect of welding method on irradiation damage resistance of 316L stainless steel weld

To explore the influence of welding methods on the irradiation damage resistance of 316L stainless steel welds, 316L austenitic stainless-steel welds prepared by different welding methods were exposed to He⁺ ions with 70 keV energy to a dose of 1 × 10¹⁷ ions/cm² at room temperature. The welds were analyzed using atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), grazing incident X-ray diffraction (GIXRD), tensile testing, and nanoindentation techniques. The results showed that microdefects such as voids appeared on the surfaces of different weld joints after ion irradiation, and the mechanical properties decreased to varying degrees. TIG welds exhibited better irradiation damage resistance after irradiation. This is because more defect traps in TIG welds effectively prevent the mutual aggregation of irradiation point defects, resulting in fewer and smaller defects formed in the weld after irradiation. This indicates that refining the weld grain and improving weld resistance to irradiation damage and irradiation hardening by changing the welding method is a feasible idea and method.