BORON-ALUMINUM AND BORON-URANIUM-ALUMINUM ALLOYS FOR REACTOR APPLICATION

Technical Report · Thu Oct 17 04:00:00 EDT 1957

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/4334987· OSTI ID:4334987

Thurber, W. C.; Milko, J. A.; Beaver, R. J.

Additions of small quantities of the burnable poison, B, in Al reactor fuel elements offer the possibility of reducing undesirable neutron-flux perturbations, especially those caused by fuel burnup. This report describes techniques for induction melting of B--Al and B--U--Al alloys for producing materials with maximum homogeneity. Of the several B additions investigated, a nominal 12 wt.% B--Ni master alloy was the most satisfactory for preparing B-- U-- Al castings, while both 1.5 to 5 wt.% B--Al and 12 wt.% B--Ni master alloys were suitable for preparing B--Al castings. Data are presented which indicate that B improves the strength of Al. The corrosion resistance of a nominal 0.1 wt.% B-- 0.8 wt.% Ni--Al alloy is comparable with type 1100 Al in distilled and aerated water at both 60 and 100 deg C. Without the Ni, this alloy appears to be marginal in these environments. (auth)

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab., Tenn.
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-26
• NSA Number: NSA-12-000287
• OSTI ID: 4334987
• Report Number(s): ORNL-2149
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

ALUMINUM ALLOYS
BORIDES
BURNUP
CASTING
CORROSION
FUEL ELEMENTS
MELTING
MINERALOGY, METALLURGY, AND CERAMICS
MIXING
NEUTRON FLUX
NICKEL ALLOYS
PREPARATION
REACTORS
SPECIFIC HEAT
STABILITY
TENSILE PROPERTIES
URANIUM ALLOYS
WATER