THE IRRADIATION OF ALUMINUM-PLUTONIUM ALLOYS IN ZIRCALOY-2 SHEATHING. PART III. POST-IRRADIATION EXAMINATION AND TESTING OF ALUMINUM-PLUTONIUM ALLOYS

Technical Report · Sun Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 1962

OSTI ID:4784920

Jones, T I

Ten 0.38-in. diameter aluminum alloys containing 5 to 20 wt% plutonium sheathed in 0.030-in. thick Zircaloy-2 cans were irradiated without incident for four months under water-cooled power reactor conditions in the X-2 loop of the NRX reactor. Six of the elements were assembled with a slip fit between the sheath and fuel so that the fuel underwent irradiation at approximates 400 deg C. Volume changes and sheath/fuel interaction were insignificant after 0.25% of the total atoms present had fissioned. The tests showed, therefore, that Al --Pu alloys are dimensionally stable and highly compatible with Zircaloy-2 under conditions appropriate to water-cooled power reactors. Four elements were assembled also with diametral clearances between the fuel and sheath. Initially these- elements were irradiated at approximates 600 deg C but this temperature was reduced during irradiation due to swelling. The cores in these elements increased in volume by up to 6%. Relatively good agreement was obtained between three methods of measuring plutonium burn-up. Sheath puncture tests and measurements on Cs/sup 137/ collected from the internal surfaces of two specimens showed that very little diffusion of fission products occurred through the fuel to the sheath/fuel interface during irradiation. Metallographic, hardness and density changes after irradiation and post-irradiation annealing are described. (auth)

• Research Organization: Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd., Chalk River, Ont.
• NSA Number: NSA-17-002002
• OSTI ID: 4784920
• Report Number(s): CRRM-1097; AECL-1589
• Country of Publication: Canada
• Language: English

Related Subjects

ALUMINUM ALLOYS
ANNEALING
ATOMS
BURNUP
CESIUM 137
DENSITY
DIFFUSION
FISSION PRODUCTS
FUEL CANS
HARDNESS
HIGH TEMPERATURE
IN PILE LOOPS
INTERACTIONS
IRRADIATION
MATERIALS TESTING
MEASURED VALUES
METALLOGRAPHY
METALS, CERAMICS, AND OTHER MATERIALS
NRX
PLUTONIUM
PLUTONIUM ALLOYS
RADIATION EFFECTS
REACTORS
SLIP
SURFACES
VARIATIONS
VOLUME
WATER COOLANT
ZIRCALOY