NOREM applications guidelines: Procedures for gas tungsten arc and plasma transferred arc welding of NOREM cobalt-free hardfacing alloys. Final report

Wire products have been successfully fabricated and new procedures developed for machine and manual gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) of the iron-base NORM hardfacing alloys. These developments enhance the attractiveness of NORM alloys both in replacement valves and in field repairs of installed valves. This report describes the GTAW procedures and summarizes plasma transferred arc welding (PTAW) parameters for shop applications of NORM alloys. The work described here provides a wider range of acceptable welding conditions than those described in EPRI report TR-101094. In addition to its ``welder friendly`` status, the NORM alloy also exhibits wear resistance equivalent to that of cobalt-base hardfacing alloys. NORM alloys should be considered for further applications in both nuclear and fossil plant valves.