Examination of Babcock and Wilcox tubes after exposure in an industrial waste incinerator
Seven ceramic tubes provided by, and in most cases manufactured by, Babcock and Wilcox were exposed in E. I. DuPont`s Wilmington, Delaware, hazardous waste incinerator. These tubes were subsequently examined at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to determine the effect of exposure on the strength and microstructural integrity of the tube materials. An unexposed tube section of one of the materials was also examined. Evaluation methods included c-ring compression tests, light microscopy, and electron microprobe spectroscopy. The c-ring compression tests revealed a very wide range in the strengths of the materials tested; the strongest was DuPont Lanxide Composites (DLC) silicon carbide particulate-strengthened alumina, and the weakest was the DLC Type B mixed-oxide material. The only material for which data on unexposed samples were available showed lower strength than the exposed material. Microstructural examination of the samples yielded minimal evidence of interaction of most of the tube materials with the components of the environment. Microprobe examination showed some segregation of yttrium in the matrix and along the surface of one of the PRD166/zirconia tubes and limited interaction of the fibers in the same tube with the components of the environment.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-96OR22464
- OSTI ID:
- 654027
- Report Number(s):
- ORNL/TM-13128; ON: DE98054270; BR: ED2104000; TRN: AHC2DT05%%110
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: Jun 1996
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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