Metallography of pitted aluminum-clad, depleted uranium fuel

Conference · Thu Dec 01 04:00:00 EST 1994

OSTI ID:10104776

Nelson, D Z; Howell, J P

The storage of aluminum-clad fuel and target materials in the L-Disassembly Basin at the Savannah River Site for more than 5 years has resulted in extensive pitting corrosion of these materials. In many cases the pitting corrosion of the aluminum clad has penetrated in the uranium metal core, resulting in the release of plutonium, uranium, cesium-137, and other fission product activity to the basin water. In an effort to characterize the extent of corrosion of the Mark 31A target slugs, two unirradiated slug assemblies were removed from basin storage and sent to the Savannah River Technology Center for evaluation. This paper presents the results of the metallography and photographic documentation of this evaluation. The metallography confirmed that pitting depths varied, with the deepest pit found to be about 0.12 inches (3.05 nun). Less than 2% of the aluminum cladding was found to be breached resulting in less than 5% of the uranium surface area being affected by corrosion. The overall integrity of the target slug remained intact.

• Research Organization: Westinghouse Savannah River Co., Aiken, SC (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC09-89SR18035
• OSTI ID: 10104776
• Report Number(s): WSRC-MS--94-0567; CONF-950304--6; ON: DE95003906
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

052002
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
360105
ALUMINIUM
CESIUM 137
CLADDING
CONTAMINATION
CORROSION AND EROSION
FUEL RODS
METALLOGRAPHY
PITTING CORROSION
PLUTONIUM
RADIOACTIVE WASTE STORAGE
SAVANNAH RIVER PLANT
URANIUM
WASTE DISPOSAL AND STORAGE
WATER