Highly loaded structures made of modern metallic materials are increasingly being placed under stringent standards with regard to the mechanical strength and deformation properties of their individual parts as well as with regard to the loading capacity of their joints. In order to create strain profiles in individual structural components, such components are heated with an electron beam at defined locations in order to bring in local microstructure changes and consequently the targeted local changes in the strength and deformation properties of the material with respect to a delayed crack growth. Additionally, components with specifically set tensile strength are welded to high quality structures. For this purpose the young but efficient non‐vacuum electron beam welding (NV‐EBW) method is used and further developed. Weld quality is examined especially in regard to an improved beam positioning, process control and weld joint defect detection.

In modern, highly loaded structures of metallic materials, particular standards are required both regarding the strength and deformation properties of individual components as well as in terms of the load carrying capacity of the bonded joints between individual components. This specific subject matter is taken up in the subproject C4 "Setting of Gradient Material Properties and Quality Control of High Tension 3D NVEB-Weld Joints" within the framework of "Collaborative Research Centre" CRC 675 "High strength, locally modified components and structures" in order to correspondingly and individually adapt a component's properties to the loading profile. For this purpose, components having specifically calibrated strength properties are joined into high quality structures. Although still quite new but powerful, and due primarily to its very favourable welding characteristics, the non-vacuum electron beam welding technology is, in this case, to be further developed with respect to an improvement in beam positioning and weld-seam defect inspection.On the other hand, a well-defined, local heat-treatment is to be carried out on individual, workhardened components to be able to introduce targeted and structured local, load-oriented microstructural changes into the component: thereby locally changing the component's strength and deformation properties with a view to retarding crack growth.