INL RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT

Welding and Joining Coatings

Corrosion

Fracture and Mechanical Testing

High Temperature Mechanical 

Properties

Hydrogen Production and Storage 

Materials

Hydrogen Separation Materials

Irradiation

Materials Validation

Microstructure and Physical Properties

Modeling

Neutron Radiography

Nondestructive Evaluation

Post-irradiation Examination

Synthesis and Processing of Novel 

Materials

Welding and Joining

X-Ray Radiography

Capabilities/Facilities

Gas metal arc welding, 

gas tungsten arc 

welding, plasma 

arc welding, submerged arc 

welding, laser welding, hybrid 

laser arc welding, friction stir 

welding, resistance welding, electron beam welding; 

Gleeble testing; computer 

numerical control machining; 

robotic welding cell; welding 

of fuel elements and actinidebearing materials.

Materials

Carbon steels; stainless steels; 

nickel-, cobalt- and tantalumbased alloys; aluminum alloys; 

advanced polymers; oxide 

dispersion strengthened (ODS) 

alloys; fuel cladding materials 

and actinide materials.

Scientific/Engineering 

Issues

Intelligent machines research, 

intelligent sensors development, mathematical algorithm 

formulation for image processing, application of game 

theory to decision making, 

prototype machine design and 

fabrication, advanced computational methods, materials 

processing, heat and mass 

transfer experimentation and 

modeling, weld metallurgy of 

ODS materials, weld integrity 

evaluation and nondestructive 

evaluation of welds.

Staff

H.B. Smartt, C.R. Tolle, 

A.D. Watkins, R. Fielding, 

D. Baird. 

Recent Projects

• Design and fabrication of 

prototype weld cell, Yucca 

Mountain BSC, $2M/year

• In-process arc weld inspection, Saipem, $2M/

year

• Complex Intelligent 

Machines, DOE Office of 

Basic Energy Sciences, 

$500K/year

• Laser-assisted arc welding, 

American Iron and Steel 

Institute, $300K/year

• Joining ODS Alloys, DOE 

Office of Nuclear Energy, 

Generation IV reactor 

program, $250K

• Encapsulation of AFC-1 

TRU fuel test

• Friction stir-welding 

development for Reduced 

Enrichment Research and 

Test Reactor fuel plates

• Radioisotope thermal generator fabrication

Continued on back

Droplet transfer in gas metal arc welding. This is a nonlinear, chaotic 

dynamic process. The droplets are responsible for essentially all of 

the mass transfer, and approximately 50% of the heat transfer from 

the process to the weld.

83-75-1-1
INL RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT

05-GA50193-36

Continued from front

Collaborations

• “Laser-Assisted Arc Welding of High Strength Steels 

for Automotive Applications,” Oak Ridge National 

Laboratory, Y-12, Trumpf 

Inc., Lumonics, ISPAT 

INLAND Inc., Bethlehem 

Steel, Tower Automotive, 

Johnson Controls, American Iron and Steel Institute 

consortium

• “In-Process Control of 

Tubing Microstructure,” 

Oak Ridge National 

Laboratory, Timkin Steel, 

University of British Columbia

• “Intelligent Control of 

Cupola Melting of Iron,” 

Albany Research Center, 

Utah State University, 

American Foundry Society 

consortium 

Publications

“Intelligent Control of Modular Robotic Welding Cell,” 

H.B. Smartt, K.L. Kenney, 

C.R. Tolle, Trends in Welding 

Research, ASM International, 

ISBN 0-87170-780-2, p. 985, 

2003.

“Is There Evidence Of Determinism in Droplet Detachment Within the Gas Metal 

Arc Welding Process?” C.R. 

Tolle, R.A. LaViolette, et al., 

Trends in Welding Research, 

ASM International, ISBN 0-

87170-780-2, p. 380, 2003.

“Method for the Concurrent Ultrasonic Inspection of 

Partially Completed Welds,” 

J.A. Johnson, E.D. Larsen, 

K.S. Miller, H.B. Smartt, 

T.R. McJunkin, United States 

Patent 6,484,584, November 26, 2002.

For more information

INL is a U.S. Department of Energy 

national laboratory operated by 

Battelle Energy Alliance

Richard N. Wright, Ph.D.

(208) 526-6127

Richard.Wright@inl.gov

Douglas C. Crawford, Ph.D.

(208) 533-7456

Douglas.Crawford@inl.gov

www.inl.gov/envenergyscience/materials