Process for fastening a pipe by welding to a thick wall member such as a pipe-carrying shell of a nuclear reactor vessel

摘要

A connecting surface (24) of frusto-conical shape whose axis coincides with the axis of a pipe (23), having an apex semi-angle close to 45 DEG and a section of transverse dimension decreasing towards the end of the pipe (23) is produced on an end part of the pipe (23). A connecting surface (25) of frusto-conical shape corresponding to the shape of the connecting surface (24) of the pipe is produced on the wall member (20). The connecting surfaces (24, 25) are placed so that they coincide, and the pipe and the wall member are welded by means of an electron beam in a single pass and without filler metal, along their connecting surfaces (24, 25) from the side of the wall (20) onto which the widened part of the connecting surface (25) of the opening (22) opens. The invention applies particularly to the fastening of pipes (23) to a pipe-carrying shell (20) of a pressurized-water nuclear reactor vessel.