THE WELDING OF ZIRCALOY CANS BY ELECTRON BOMBARDMENT
sules were fabricated for irradiation in the MTR. In densities 5 to 8% greater than castings made in Zircaloy tubing. The majority of this difference is caused by gas porosity in the upper half of the castings, which are fed from the bottom. Casting techniques were developed for the routine fabrication of Pu- Al alloy extrusion billets which meet requirements such as vertical segregation less than 5% of nominal Pu content, radial segregation undetectuble by radiography, surface quality sufficient to eliminate need for machining, and porosity insufficient to affect extrusion properties of the material. Startup tests on the 280 ton extrusion press using U-Al and a variety of other aluminum alloys were performed. The effect of extrusion ratio on metal flow was evaluated and preliminary studies on coextrusion cladding were undertaken. UO/sub 2/PuO/ sub 2/ pellets covering a range of Pu concentrations and formed from mirtures of UO/sub 2/ with both PuO/sub 2/ and coprecipitated UO/sub 2/-PuO/sub 2/ were sintered at a number of different temperatures. A systematic study is underway to demonstrate solid solution formation on sintering for the entire UO/sub 2/-PuO/ sub 2/ system. In addition, sintering studies are in progress based on ultimate sintered density as a function of sintering time, sintering temperature, and PuO/ sub 2/ concentration for mixtures of UO/sub 2/ with both PuO/sub 2/ and UO/sub 2/- PuO/sub 2/ solid solution. Two new 19-rod cluster designs were developed. The Mark I-D is amenable to remote disassembly and reassembly and the Mark lE ia a more economical version when this feature is not required. Three dummy clusters were completed for hydraulic flow tests. A Mark IB dummy has been flow tested for 260 hours with a flow of 130 gpm at 580 deg F and a pressure of 1900 psi with no visible effect. This was followed by an additional 277 hours cycling between 300 and 580 deg F for approximately 45 cycles. Hydraulic pressure drop at 20 deg C, 150 psi and a flow of 120 gpm was determined to be 8.8 psi. A new welded end closure for PRTR fael elements was developed to replace the circumferential weld previously used. The new closure is a burn down fillet type head closure which has advantages such as radiography is not required, heat input is about 50% less, and the need of a press fit of the end cap into the tube is eliminated. As much as 0.005 inch clearance can be tolerated without adverse effects on the closure quality. Tensile tests performed on specimen tube welds demonstrated the welds to be superior in strength to the tubes. (auth)
- Research Organization:
- United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority. Research Group. Atomic Energy Research Establishment, Harwell, Berks, England
- NSA Number:
- NSA-14-015045
- OSTI ID:
- 4140123
- Report Number(s):
- AERE-M/M-224
- Country of Publication:
- United Kingdom
- Language:
- English
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