Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 February 2011
The axial and tangential components of residual strain have been measured through the region of an electron beam weld in Zr 2.5 wt.% Nb tube. Marked changes in grain orientation in the tube occur as far away as 10 mm from the weld-centre. In particular a large fraction of the grains which had an [0002] direction aligned tangentially in the original tube were reoriented with this direction aligned axially. These grains showed high (5 x 10-4) tensile strain. Compressive strains (-5 to - 10 x I0-4) were measured in the region 5 - 10 mm from the weld-centre in those grains with [1010] directioný aligned axially. The hoop straint vary from tensile (maximum 5 x 10-4) to compressive (maximum -5 x 10-4) as a function of distance from the weld centre.