A METHOD FOR TENSILE TESTING AN END CAP WELD IN A TUBE REGION OF AN ELONGATED NUCLEAR FUEL ELEMENT SPECIMEN HAVING A WELD AND AN APPARATUS FOR CONDUCTING A TENSILE TEST TO INITIATE FAILURE IN AN END CAP WELD IN AN ELONGATED NUCLEAR FUEL ELEMENT SPECIMEN HAVING AN AXIAL DIMENSION

摘要

A tensile test apparatus and method for testing a circumferential weld on a tubular member wherein the tube region of the weld is completely supported by a mandrel and the tubular specimen is gripped on both sides of the weld along the specimen's longitudinal length with a very small separation distance between the tensile test grips. If there are any non-bonded defects in the weld, they are captured by the weld fracture surface as mesa or void features with an orientation different from that of a well bonded region.