Effects of irradiation on strength and toughness of commercial LWR vessel cladding
The potential for stainless steel cladding to improve the fracture behavior of an operating nuclear reactor pressure vessel, particularly during certain overcooling transients, may depend greatly on the properties of the irradiated cladding. Therefore, weld overlay cladding irradiated at temperatures and to fluences relevant to power reactor operation was examined. The cladding was applied to a pressure vessel steel plate by the three-wire series-arc commercial method. Cladding was applied in three layers to provide adequate thickness for the fabrication of test specimens. The three-wire series-arc procedure, developed by Combustion Engineering, Inc., Chattanooga, Tennessee, produced a highly controlled weld chemistry, microstructure, and fracture properties in all three layers of the weld. Charpy V-notch and tensile specimens were irradiated at 288/sup 0/C to fluence levels of 2 and 5 x 10/sup 19/ neutrons/cm/sup 2/ (>1 MeV). Postirradiation testing results show that, in the test temperature range from -125 to 288/sup 0/C, the yield strength increased by 8 to 30%, ductility insignificantly increased, while there was almost no change in ultimate tensile strength. All cladding exhibited ductile-to-brittle transition behavior during Charpy impact testing, due to the dominance of delta-ferrite failures at low temperatures. On the upper shelf, energy was reduced, due to irradiation exposure, 15 and 20%, while the lateral expansion was reduced 43 and 41%, at 2 and 5 x 10/sup 19/ neutrons/cm/sup 2/ (>1 MeV), respectively. In addition, radiation damage resulted in 13 and 28/sup 0/C shifts of the Charpy impact transition temperature at the 41-J level for the low and high fluences, respectively.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-84OR21400
- OSTI ID:
- 5689969
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-8710111-27; ON: DE88004701; TRN: 88-008408
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 15. water reactor safety information meeting, Gaithersburg, MD, USA, 26 Oct 1987; Other Information: Portions of this document are illegible in microfiche products
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Effects of thermal aging and neutron irradiation on the mechanical properties of stainless steel weld overlay cladding
Effects of thermal aging and neutron irradiation on the mechanical properties of stainless steel weld overlay cladding
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36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
BWR TYPE REACTORS
REACTOR VESSELS
PWR TYPE REACTORS
PHYSICAL RADIATION EFFECTS
STAINLESS STEELS
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
POST-IRRADIATION EXAMINATION
REACTOR MATERIALS
ALLOYS
CHROMIUM ALLOYS
CONTAINERS
CORROSION RESISTANT ALLOYS
IRON ALLOYS
IRON BASE ALLOYS
MATERIALS
RADIATION EFFECTS
REACTORS
STEELS
WATER COOLED REACTORS
WATER MODERATED REACTORS
210100* - Power Reactors
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Nonboiling Water Cooled
360106 - Metals & Alloys- Radiation Effects