Developing Capability for Hydride Moderator Manufacturing to Facilitate Thermal Spectrum Design Options

Technical Report · Fri Sep 27 04:00:00 EDT 2019

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1885405· OSTI ID:1885405

Hu, Xunxiang ^[1]; Silva, Chinthaka ^[1]; Terrani, Kurt A. ^[1]

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1. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

This report provides a summary of efforts to develop the capability to fabricate massive crack-free yttrium hydride samples to support thermal spectrum design options for the Transformational Challenge Reactor (TCR) in FY2019. The challenges to fabricating massive, crack-free single-phase yttrium hydride are discussed. By using a modified static hydriding system, we have successfully demonstrated the fabrication of crack-free yttrium hydride, guided by the well-established thermodynamics of the binary yttriumhydrogen system. The presence of α-phase yttrium in the fabricated yttrium hydride necessitates employing temperature-pressure isochore cooling at the end of the hydriding process. Thus, a fully programmable hydriding system with continuous hydrogen partial pressure and flow control coordinated with precise temperature control has been designed to facilitate processing of massive, crack-free metal hydrides with the desired H/Y atom ratio. The new system is capable of fabricating yttrium hydride samples that will be used to establish a complete database of yttrium hydride to support the application of yttrium hydride as a high-performance moderator material in the TCR and other nuclear systems.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE)
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-00OR22725
• OSTI ID: 1885405
• Report Number(s): ORNL/SPR-2019/1340
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE