In-situ ion irradiation of ZIRLO alloy

Conference · Fri Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 2016

OSTI ID:22750127

Kaoumi, D. ^[1]; Garde, A.; Pan, G. ^[2]

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1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29201 (United States)
2. Fuel Engineering and Safety Analysis, Westinghouse Electric Company, 5801 Bluff Road, Hopkins, SC 29061 (United States)

As an alternative to in-core neutron irradiations which are lengthy and costly, ex-core irradiations with energetic ions are envisioned as a possible way to probe the irradiation response of zirconium alloys used in pressurized water reactors (PWRs). Such ion irradiations, being well-controlled experiments, could offer a powerful, easier, and quicker way to study irradiation induced microstructural changes without remote handling that typically lead to structural component dimensional change (such as irradiation growth). Thus these irradiation experiments could help in the development of advanced dimensionally stable and deformation resistant alloys. For this matter, an initial investigation was performed to determine the feasibility of using ex-core ions to develop irradiation damage typically observed after neutron irradiation in Westinghouse's ZIRLO alloy. In-situ ion irradiations of ZIRLO alloy were conducted at the IVEM-Tandem Facility at Argonne National Laboratory at different dose levels and at different temperatures. The initial goal is to induce radiation damage of similar levels (in terms of dpa) to what develops during in-core neutron irradiation and analyze the potential of using ion irradiation as a substitute for in core neutron irradiation of Zr alloys. To facilitate comparison and convergence to in-core neutron irradiation, samples were ion irradiated in transmission and the amount of dpa developed during the ion irradiation was calculated using monte-Carlo based SRIM code. The TEM observations showed that the ion irradiation induced microstructure consisted of - and -type dislocation loops with the -loops developing at a later stage than the - loops, similarly to irradiation damage typically induced in neutron irradiated zirconium alloys. The study offers promises that heavy ion irradiation could potentially, under well-chosen conditions, be used to simulate neutron irradiation damage in PWRs. (authors)

• Research Organization: American Nuclear Society - ANS, 555 North Kensington Avenue, La Grange Park, IL 60526 (United States)
• OSTI ID: 22750127
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
ANL
MICROSTRUCTURE
MONTE CARLO METHOD
PWR TYPE REACTORS
TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
ZIRCONIUM ALLOYS